"I know its crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be..."

I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around--nobody big, I mean--except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff--I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye..." (Salinger 173)

You can tend to tell a lot about a person from what they wanna do with their lives: some aim to serve, others aim to create, others aim to learn. Regardless of what you choose, it goes without saying that its a reflection of yourself and what you wish to achieve. Sometimes this is symbolic or subconcious, we don't actually realize the real reason we are drawn towards certain careers. Other options  are more obvious or clear-cut. Either way, it still shows something about who we are and what we value.

This being said, let's take a look at Holden's idea of what he would like to do. In some ways, it sounds pretty straight-forward: keeping kids from accidentally wandering over a cliff, but even Holden himself admits that this sounds crazy. So if we dig deeper, what is it that Holden really wants to do?

For homework: Do the assignment below based on your card type for class. Regardless of your assignment, please remember to give a DETAILED RESPONSE, work that is sloppy or seems to have been done last minute or in under 5 minutes is not acceptable. Bring the homework into class on Friday.

Spades:  Break down the whole name of our main character: Holden Caulfield. What could this name mean? Think literally as well as abstractly. Think about smaller words that may appear in the bigger ones too. Then build an answer of what you think his name tells us about Holden himself as a character and his personality.

Clubs: Holden's idea of what he would like to do is pretty abstract. What do you believe Holden really means by being "a catcher in the rye"? Figure this out, then suggest what you think would be a good "real" job for Holden. Be sure to explain why.

Hearts: Several songs/poems have been written in honor/to pay homage to Holden or The Catcher in the Rye. Choose one of these songs, and explain how you believe it relates to Holden or the Catcher in the Rye. What connections can you make?

Diamonds: Between chapters 21 and 22 we basically find Holden in the longest conversation we've seen him had with anyone. Flip back to chapter 10 (pages 67 & 68 specifically). How accurate of a representation of Phoebe do you believe Holden gave us now that we've met her? Is she exactly the same or is she different? 

I Felt Swell, For a Change...

"You take adults, they look lousy when they're asleep and they have their mouths open, but kids don't. Kids look all right. They can even have spit all over their pillow and they still look alright." (Salinger 159)

So, we finally meet her! Phoebe finally enters the picture. Holden's younger sister, who Holden seems to hold in very high regard is finally revealed to us. Does she act as Holden describes or does she seem to act differently?

How about Holden himself? He says he feels happier, but do you feel how Holden talks is different from how he talks to others? Most people, if you ask them, will act different around children (or animals for that matter). Many of us tend to have "child" or "cat/dog" voices that we use just in those situations. But we don't only change our voice, we change our language, and many of us will try to match the excitement, energy, imagination, or curiosity of a young child.

Think about it like this: do you have a younger brother/sister/nephew/niece? Say around the age of 4 to 8. When a little kid gets excited over something small, do you tell them its nothing to get excited over or do you try to match their excitement/enthusiasm? 

To avoid crushing a child's dreams and sense of wonder, for most of us, chances are it's the second option. Just check youtube. Within seconds you've got thousands of videos of children getting excited over something many of us would not even begin to be as excited about. Like this little girl's reaction to finding out she's going to Disney World.

In these situations, why do we feel the need to match a child's emotions? What is it about a child's emotional excitement over the smallest of things that suddenly causes us to return to an earlier stage of our lives?

 As Antoine de-Saint Exupery tells us, "Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them." I wonder, if he's on the right track with this... :-)

For homework, I would like you to do one of the following:

1) Find a quote about children that you think maybe describes how Holden feels about Phoebe (or maybe all children), and explain (in about 30-50 words) how you feel it expresses Holden's ideas.

2) Share a time when you had to match a child's enthusiasm, curiosity, excitement, etc. Then, explain why you think you matched the child's excitement and how it made you feel.

3) Answer the question in the section in blue above. What do you think is the reason for this? What do you believe the quote from Exupery can tell us about how and why we might match a child's emotions and feelings?

Have a great day, ladies and gentlemen. Keep smiling, and dare to be curious! :-)

-Barton

The best thing...

Years ago, in ancient Greece, there was a philosopher by the name of Heraclitus. One of his greatest (or rather most well known) statements was "you can never step in the same river twice", meaning to say that change is permanent, unavoidable, and always happening. Despite this fact, we all tend to have different interpretations on change. For some, we accept it with open arms, others we fight it strongly, only to lose the battle in the end. That's the issue with fighting change, more often than not, you're fighting a losing battle. However, it never seems to stop us from trying does it? We're all guilty of trying to act younger than we are at times, we take pictures of everything we do to hold on to certain moments in time forever, and we tend to get uncomfortable or upset when something breaks the cycles or habits we're used to. Ever get upset when the internet takes more than 5 seconds to do something? Its because we expect it to be faster, but something is different from the way things normally are, and we get upset about it. :-)

For example, in Chapter 16 Holden says...

"The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move. You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would still be on their way south...Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you" (Salinger 121)

What is it that Holden enjoys about the museum? Does he seem to be more excited about the fact that he's different? Or more that everything is the same? How do you think Holden would react if every time he returned to the museum it was new exhibits? Would he feel the same way or be upset? 

If we infer that this is true, that maybe change is what makes Holden upset. What does this tell us about maybe how Holden perceives the world around him? For example, what connection might there be between "change" and how Holden hates "phonies"? 

With this in mind, I would like you answer ONE of the following questions in the comments section below:

1) If it was up to Holden...when would we stop "changing" and why? Be sure to support it with an example and explanation from the book.

2) What is a place you feel never changes even though you do? Do you like this about that particular location? Be sure to explain your answer. (5 Sentences Minimum)

"I'm not too crazy about Romeo and Juliet..."

"All those Montagues and Capulets, they're all right--especially Juliet--but Mercutio, he was--it's hard to explain. He was very smart and entertaining and all. The thing is, it drives me crazy if somebody gets killed--especially somebody very smart and entertaining and all--and it's somebody else's fault. Romeo and Juliet, at least it was their own fault" (Salinger 111).

Some say that to truly know a person, you should look to his or her friends. Well, Holden doesn't tell us too much about his friends (the few he has) and even the ones he has, he rarely has good things to say about them. Perhaps, for Holden, we can't learn much about him from his friends, but how he interprets events, ideas, and stories he encounters or comes in contact with.

For example, what Holden says about the disciples and Jesus in chapter 14. Holden seems to have a different view about them than most people, what might this reflect about Holden's personality?

In chapter 15 we hear Holden's opinion of Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet. While it seems to be his favorite character, there is something overall that bothers Holden about him. Holden views Mercutio as an intelligent and intriguing character, which makes him extremely upset to learn that Mercutio is killed because of the fight between Romeo's and Juliet's families, something unrelated to Mercutio himself.

Why do you believe Holden becomes so upset at this fact? Holden says he is OK about Romeo and Juliet dying because it was "their own fault", but what upsets him about Mercutio's death? 

In a way, some may find it weird, but perhaps we all have a tendency to lean towards characters who either:

1) Have beliefs/qualities we deeply honor or find important.

2) That we see a bit of ourselves in them.

For example, as a kid I loved The Lion King. For many people their favorite characters are Simba, or maybe Timon or Pumba. But for me, my all-time favorite Disney character (from Lion King or any other Disney/Pixar movie) is Rafiki. Why? He's not one of the biggest characters in the story. However, I've always been drawn to "sage-like" characters in stories. Someone who isn't exactly the hero of the story, but someone who helps guide the heroes to the answers they seek so that they may better themselves. Hmm...where else do I do something like that? :-)

For homework I would like you to do ONE of the following:

1) If you aren't familiar with him already, look up Mercutio and his role in "Romeo and Juliet". This could be famous quotes (though it can be a little challenging in Old English), a character analysis/etc. and using information from what you find, explain why you think Holden is so attached to Mercutio.

2) Think about your favorite story/movie/etc. is your favorite character the main one or a secondary character and why? Do you believe your connection to that character is similar to Holden's with Mercutio? Why or why not?

"You should've heard the crowd. . .you would've puked"

"Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain"

-Lily Tomlin

When you plan on going out, whether it be with friends or a night on the town by yourself, what tends to be the purpose? What are the first thoughts that enter your head? 

"I'm just looking for a fun time with good people"

Or

"Everything is going to terrible"

For most of us (I'm hoping) it would be the former choice. In life we find comfort and happiness in familiar places and preferably with familiar faces. Happiness should be present everyday, and we should surrounded by it as much as possible. When we think there isn't anything to be happy about, some researchers suggest that we aren't thinking broadly enough about what happiness is. 

For some, happiness is more money, a better job, higher grades, but when you think about it (depending on your interpretation) that is just an invitation to always be unhappy. If we believe happiness is always more than what we currently have...then it would follow that we will be consistently unhappy since we always need more than what we have.

Alternatively, some researchers (within the happy-go-lucky fields of positive psychology) suggest that we should find at least three things everyday that make us happy, and that with time our definition of happiness changes, becomes more flexible, and we find happiness more frequently.

How about Holden in Chapter 12? Which mentality does he seem to adopt? Finding the happiness in everything (which is very like Holden) or finding reasons to be negative about everything?

For homework: after you read chapter 12, I want you to choose three lines you feel best capture the essence (the main idea) of how Holden feels during his time at Ernie's. Then post it in the comment section below. Here's an example using lines from Chapter 2 to describe how Holden felt while talking with Mr. Spencer:

I can't stand that stuff.

Please don't worry about me.

I didn't wanna hurt his feelings.

The three lines are taken directly from the text (without being changed at all), and used in a way to try and capture (in very few words) what was going on in Holden's head during his talk with Mr. Spencer. I would like you to do the same using Chapter 12 and how he feels in Ernie's.

Have a great weekend (or Monday :-P) ladies and gentlemen. Keep up the great work, and dare to be curious. :-)

I'd of bought the three of em a hundred drinks...if only they hadn't told me that

"She's very emotional for a child, she really is."(Salinger 68)

So, Holden's finally good and settled in his hotel in New York. And who wants to spend their first night back in The Big Apple just sitting around doing nothing? Not Holden, that's for sure. So we find the majority of this story happening in "The Lavender Room": a nightclub attached to the hotel Holden is staying in. 

Holden, being underage, finds himself unable to drink and (as always) pretty annoyed at everything going on around him. Strange...considering what he has to say about his sister (Phoebe) being emotional for a child. Hmm...who else do we know that tends to be rather emotional? What does this tell us about that character? Maybe they aren't as mature as they think.

As we talked about in class today, maturity is a funny thing. For many of us, in some ways we want to grow up and mature. In other ways, we fight maturity. As we say in the United States:

In other words...the fact that we age, is unavoidable. However, our maturity? Well, let's just say it's more of a choice :-). Let me give you an example. My family tends to be very informal people. Whether you're new to the family or you are born into it, most of my family gatherings are filled with inappropriate jokes, childish pranks/games, and people in their 50s and 60s acting like they are in their 20s. My father, a man I always turn to for advice and wisdom, has the same maturity as a college student when my brother and I are around, but at the same time is still often quite sophisticated and appropriate when he needs to be. 

Does this mean it is impossible to be both mature and immature? How can we perceive maturity and immaturity? 

Is it a scale? That as one end becomes heavier, the other side appears to be lighter?

Maturity

Immaturity

Is it more like two piggy banks? Where every action we do is like we are adding a coin to one or the other? Both filling up, never emptying, but a certain balance between the two where sometimes maybe one has more deposits than the other?

Or is it like walking the tightrope? ALWAYS on that fine line drawn between the two, and at any moment you can bend one way or the other?

For homework, I want you to explain how you view maturity/immaturity. And then use evidence from chapters 9 & 10 of CITR to explain where you think Holden falls into your analogy. Post your answer in the comments section below.

Keep up the great work ladies and gentlemen! Dare to be curious! :-)

-Barton

"All they want to hear about is what a hot shot their son is..."

"I lie like a madman." -Holden Caulfield

Holden's told us that he likes to lie several times before, but really we just have seen smaller ones up to this point. In chapter 8, Holden really lets loose with the lies. He opens up (if you can consider the lies he is telling opening up) to a classmate's mother, and basically tells her nothing but lies. He lies about his name, that he needs an operation, about why he's bleeding, and about Ernest Morrow (the son of the woman he is talking to on the train).

We know Holden doesn't think well of Ernest, he tells us how much he can't stand him. But for some reason, he makes up extremely elaborate and detailed lies to make Ernest look like not just a good person, but a great person in his mother's eyes. Why do you believe Holden did this despite the fact that he can't stand Ernest? Holden has told us multiple times how much he hates being phony and how he hates when other people are phony. Why not just make a tiny lie or two so that Ernest looks good and then be off the topic?

Put yourself in Holden's situation with the example below: 

You run into the mother of a boy from your math class. She is worried that her son, Richard, is smart, but doesn’t apply himself in class. She worries that he will fail if he doesn’t apply himself. You know Richard answers the occasional question in class (and gets it right), but he usually stays quiet and stares out the window.

What would you say to Richard's mother? I mean, you know Richard seems to know his stuff even if he doesn't answer every question in class, but at the same time his mother is worried about him. Would you lie to make Richard's mom not worry? Or would you fear that if you don't be honest with her that maybe Richard's grades will get worse and eventually drop out of school or fail?

What would you say to her?

Vs.

What do you think Holden would say to her?

Just some questions and ideas to try getting you into the mind of Holden Caulfield :-).

That being said, your homework has relatively little to do with the actual events of this chapter since we've talked quite a bit about Holden's lying already. However, we haven't talked much about the time period of the story: the 1950's. One of my favorite things about reading (or writing for that matter) is that everyone paints themselves a different mental picture of what they read: how the characters look, how they sound, what the area they live in looks like, or what is interesting and popular during that time.

So to help you guys understand the 1950s United States that Holden lives in a little better, I would like you to read chapter 9, and do the following based on the card you picked in class:

Spades: Look up the fashion styles of the 1950s. What looks were popular for men and women? What designs or brands were big? Find some information and pictures regarding these ideas and bring them in to class on Thursday.

Diamonds: Like any age, music is constantly changing growing and adapting. What were some of the most popular styles of music in the United States during the 1950s? What were some of the most popular musical artists? Find some information regarding this, choose a song from Youtube your group think well represents one of the top musical styles of the 1950s, and be prepared to share your information and the song with us on Thursday.

Clubs: Pop culture isn't just a thing of today. Movies from the 1950s (give or take a decade) are considered by some to be the golden age of movies (a distinction some believe sits on the line between what you can call a "film" versus a "movie"). Find out what films were popular during this time period in the United States, and bring in some information regarding the popular styles/actors/actresses. Additionally, find a clip online of a scene or song from a popular movie in the United States during the 1950s. Be prepared to share what you find.

Hearts: Why hasn't Holden been texting? I wonder if Holden would have a twitter account. The technology of the 1950s probably seems "primitive" compared to the technology we have today. What was the most dominant form of media? Were there any hand-held devices like we have today? Find some information and pictures regarding the "most recent" technology during the 1950s and bring it in to share with the class on Thursday.

Have a great day, ladies and gentlemen! Keep up the great work! :-)