Amanda Thought Questions pgs: 1-8 1. What does Holden's view of Mr. Spencer show about Holden's view of pain and living? 2. Why does Holden dislike the idea of attention and fame? How does this influence what he values? 3. How does Holden's dislike of Pencey contradict himself when Holden feels the need to feel a good-bye? Sneha Thought Questions 9-17 How does Mr. Spencer’s tone change during the conversation he has with Holden? How would Holden’s conversation with Mr. Spencer differ if it did not take place within Mr. Spencer’s house? Why does Holden react to the “essay” Mr. Spencer reads in the way that he does? What does this show about Holden's personality? Zoe Thought Questions 18-26 1) What has driven Holden to not care about his work or classes in school? 2) What can the interactions between Holden and Ackley or Holden and Stradlater express about Holden's character? 3) How is the concept of jealousy/being supportive displayed through the way Ackley talks about Stradlater? Steven S – jealousy? Ackley constantly says that he doesn’t like S. H is trying to convince him that he is not a bad guy – Ackley is still not being supportive… Jacob – Spencer’s tone changing – at first – Spencer tries to hide what he is talking about – getting kicked out – at first Spencer was supportive of H and then brought out the test on Egypt – tone changed – angry at Holden – did not care about the school or his life – when you grow up – any qualms? Seth – ideas about school contradictory – some acknowledgement – just bashing the school so far – finally going – kind of upset that nobody liked him either Andrew – not in Spencer’s house – would have taken the conversation more seriously – in his bathrobe – room reeked of medicine smell – not in his room would have stayed longer – instead of lying about going to gym – could have discussed more about why he did not care about his schoolwork
Lily – when he says goodbye – not really contradicting himself – not that he will miss anything there – but he wants closure – he wants to know where he is going and to be done with the school before he leaves Roshni – H feels bad when he is told that he doesn’t apply himself – he knows what work is good or bad – just does not care – feeling bad when he hears it come back…caring/not caring Caitlin – acts like he doesn’t care about fencing team ostracism – probably a bit regretful – uses sarcasm Stephan- kind of cared about his brother – bragging about him but alos putting him down in the next sentence Andrew – prostitute – sell out Hanna – when he heard his essay – I could tell that he felt lousy about failing me – felt bad that he had to make his teacher feel that way… Will – he didn’t care about his grades in school – looking back on it – regret that he has to leave the school… Haofeng – interactions with Ackley – not with him not that bad of a guy – talks to him then how annoying… Dani – cares enough about Spencer to go to his house but when talking wanted to leave as soon as possible not really giving good answers Miyu – he does these things to his fencing team to leave equipment – makes the team and other people that he thinks they are not as important – but he wants a proper goodbye from them Roshni – Caitlin – bashing or not bashing? The Catcher in the Rye Dermot Kantor Concepts 1-27 Concept- Alienation vs Group Passage: pg.8, “Oh...No game.” In order to make sure he does not go into the cultural norms of society, Holden alienates himself from the people around him in order to feel like an individual. While talking to Mr. Spencer Holden quietly contradict Mr. Spencer’s idea that you have to play by the rules of “The Game”, “If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game,... But if you get on
him in the first place, which is interesting that is how he would explain someone that is “phony”. Also, it is like he is lying to himself, and what he is saying is directly contradicting what he is thinking. Reading Due 180-193 Roshni Vocabulary pages 180-193 Digression- a temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writing. “The digression business got on my nerves” (Salinger 183) Holden explains to Mr. Antolini what he did in his Oral Expression class at Pencey, where the students yelled the word “digression” when the student presenting got off topic. Holden later claims that he hated that because he enjoyed the off topic subject more than the actual subject the student is suppose to be discussing. According to Holden the off-topic subjects were more interesting than the real subjects. Holden does not feel that the subjects he learns in school are interesting; he has interest elsewhere. This could be true, or Holden may be lying in his narration when he claims that that he enjoys the student digressing. He may just be enjoying the other students yelling at the student presenting because he often takes joy in other peoples unhappiness. Unify-to make something united, uniform, or whole “I mean you can’t hardly ever simplify and unify something just because somebody wants you to” (Salinger 185). In this small section, Holden was explain to Mr. Antolini how one of his teachers at Pencey asked the students to put together the information they have learned, to “unify” it. They learn the information in separate parts, and the students are asked to put together the information they learned in order to understand their lessons. Holden does not feel as if he can always unify information just because someone asked you to because he does not always want to listen to his teachers. This can be another example of how Holden does not apply himself in school. He does not want to try hard enough to put together in information that he learned because he does not find any of his studies interesting. He does not want to commit time to study his subjects and make connections between them because he does not seem to care about school in general. Psychoanalyst- a person who practices psychoanalysis, which is a system of psychological theory that aims to treat mental disorders by investigating the interaction of and unconscious elements in the mind.
times he has said – in my childhood or when I was a kid – even though he is still a child he is trying to separate from it Haofeng – he thinks ironically of himself as an adult – fatherly figure to Phoebe – but Phoebe gives him the money and advice… Hanna – more comfortable around other adults – does not talk about his parents that much – first page of the book – two hemorrhages a piece – something going on that we don’t know about – to protect them in a way – Phoebe tells him that his dad will kill them – might be disappointed in him…with all the situations we have seen – adults know he can try harder Andrew – adult or a child – does not want to be either – catcher in the rye – not really on one side…doesn’t want to go to child side – incidents like Antolini happened – doesn’t want to go into the museum… Will – sees himself as an adult – takes responsibility for his actions – didn’t want to confront his parents about it – man up for his actions but he doesn’t Georgina – Holden scared of change – does not want the perception to change – wants to put him in a glass case…. Haofeng Holden yearns to become a child again and forget all his worries, yet he sneaks out of the house to go live with his old English teacher. What concept does this represent? How are Holden's actions similar to Odysseus' on his journey home? It represents a balance of contradictions. If Holden stayed at home and confessed everything to his parents, they would be upset but probably would try to help Holden in some way. Even though he was just reminiscing about his childhood and how he wanted to be worry-free, he ran away and went to live with Mr. Antolini. This contradiction is similar to Odysseus on his journey home: Odysseus wanted to return home to his wife and child, yet he succumbed to temptation and stayed with both Calypso and Circe, delaying his journey home. Reading Due 194-214 Lily Thought Questions pages 194-203 On page 198, what does his depressing feelings show about his character? Why was Holden talking to Allie, did he really think he was dying?
Caitlin – he will apply himself – gold ring scenario affected him – we don’t know what happened – all of his memories – three days had a huge effect – he will keep reaching for the gold ring and keep falling… Haofeng – there is also a chance that he will get kicked out again and repeat the cycle – like a carrousel going around – one of those people who floats around – observes… Will – if you tell people stuff – you start missing everybody – why? Steven M – I was thinking if this really were his last 3 days of childhood – missing Stradlater and Ackley and even Maurice – childhood is in that box now and he will never get back to it – remembers it nicely even though it wasn’t so nice – an unreliable narrator Roshni - around and around in the blue coat – like Einstein’s Dreams. Asked if he will apply himself – repeat itself again… Dani – saying that he is not a child anymore – understands – now that he has gone through this experience – realize this is what he wants to do Steven M – I guess now he has a responsibility – for his sister and stuff… Hanna – you are an ace composition writer – a really good descriptive piece for Stradlater – naturally smart – he doesn’t care for getting a grade on it Steven O – in the beginning his whole opinion shifted – still holds that opinion but it is important – he will put his own effort into it – childhood ended – he’ll do better essays