Week Three Blog

The Bhagavad-Gita quote connects to Holden because he lives life by his own rules. He doesn't let other people influence him.  Many people are fake to him because they are all the same, they don't venture out and be their own person. My understanding of the quote is it is better to live your own life, no matter how many mistakes you make, than to conform and live how you are expected to. "One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That's all. They were coming in the goddam window."  He then goes on and talks about his principle, how he would only talk to the 'normal' or 'rich-looking' parents.  Also, Holden doesn't seem to care about what others think of him. This is shown when he forgot all the equipment on the train, but he thought it was funny. This quote also fits Holden because he thinks if you die, but lived your own life according to your own rules, then you have lived successfully. 

One of my favorite quotes is "Be who you are and say what you feel because those that mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind" -Dr. Seuss. I think this connects to Holden because Holden doesn't care what people think about him. He is going to be himself no matter what. And the people in his life, like Jane, his sister, and Allie, who accept him for who he is.  Being who you are is something I think is very important to Holden because he is always surrounded by phonies. So how do you know if people will really like you for who you are if you are not yourself 100% of the time?

Holden: Good or Bad?

In class we discussed both the good and bad qualities about Holden. I really like Holden's character. He has a different personality than most and I can find ways in which I can relate to him.  Some of the bad qualities we mentioned about Holden was that he is very over-dramatic, judgmental, and can appear ungrateful for many things. I think Holden may come off ungrateful because he is bitter. It seems like Allie's death planted a bitter seed inside Holden and he can't seem to move on. Every time Holden describes someone, he automatically puts them into a category, no matter if he has even met them before.  "I didn't know him too well or anything, but he looked like the kind of guy who wouldn't talk to you unless he wanted something off you".  Holden has many other good qualities. He is very caring, which was shown in the chapter about Jane. That chapter was one of my favorites so far because we saw, yet again, another side of Holden. He notices every little detail about Jane, from the way her mouth moves when she talks to the way she plays checkers. It is evident through that chapter how much Holden cares about Jane. You can also tell Holden cares about his little sister by the way he talks about her. Another reason why I like Holden so much is because of the way he treats girls. He always seems to respect their wishes and put them before himself, especially with the hooker. He genuinely felt sorry for her. "It made me feel sad as hell... I felt more than depressed than sexy if you want to know the truth. She was depressing."  I think Holden is different and that is why I like him. He is not afraid to do what he wants. He doesn't do something if he's not in the mood for, and doesn't tend to take people's crap. He just seems very real.

Grief

I think people react to grief in many different ways, and it affects all people differently. In Holden's case, he chose to take his anger out physically. While reading chapter five Holden lets down his barriers and gives us an inside glimpse of himself. When Holden started talking about Allie, I thought he felt vulnerable and a little bitter, as if he was asking how the nicest and most real person had a shortened life. When Allie died Holden's anger sort of swelled up inside of him until he couldn't take it anymore, and eventually broke his hand breaking all the windows. Honestly I don't blame Holden. I mean, c'mon, his brother just died and he did not know how to express his grief. His brother dying affected Holden a lot more than what he was letting on.  Even to this day he has his hand as a reminder to Allie's death. "My hand still hurts me once in a while, when it rains and all, and I can't make a real fist... but outside of that I don't care much." I think he like having the reminder of Allie with him at all times.
   In a way, I think Allie's death is one of the main reasons Holden can see through these false personas people put up. Holden described Allie as such a real person, and that is why I think Holden is so fed up with all these phonies. You can tell Holden is still dealing with Allie's death because he was so upset when Stradlater ripped up his composition about the glove.  Holden was putting himself out there when he wrote about it, and Stradlater's rejection really hurt Holden, more than anyone would know.  As I said before, I think everyone has their own way with dealing with grief. Some turn to anger or violence while others choose to isolate themselves. I have never had anyone really close to be die before, so I don't know how I will react when the time comes. Allie's death could also be one of the main reasons Holden chooses to isolate himself, because he never really stopped grieving.

Catcher in the Rye (1-4)

Even after reading only four chapters I can tell Holden is a very complex character. One thing I like about him is that he doesn't take life too seriously and doesn't fret about the future too much. "The whole team ostracized me the whole way back on the train. It was pretty funny in a way." One thing Holden is constantly reiterating throughout the book is how many 'phonies' there are, which is one reason I think he chooses to not associate with many others. I like the fact that Holden can see all of this. He seems to be thinking about much more than what other kids his age would be. Especially when he was talking of life being a game with his teacher. "Game, my ass. Some game. If you get in the side where all the hot-shots are, then it's a game... But if you get on the other side, where there aren't any hotshots then what's a game about it? Nothing." I think it's really cool that Holden can see through this false image of who we are and what society wants us to be. Holden also doesn't seem to apply himself at all, which I do not understand.  Maybe this lack of motivation is coming from a past experience or maybe even from his parents lack of interest in him. He is failing four out of five subjects, but is supposedly extremely good at writing. He also seems to really enjoy reading, which was a surprise to me. That kind of makes me think the whole 'I don't care act' is just a coverup. I mostly sympathize with Holden. From what I understand it doesn't seem like he has had the best childhood, or the best influences around him while he was growing up.  Also, he is  not very close with his parents, considering they didn't find out he was being kicked out of school for awhile. I feel like Holden had to mature quickly in order to take care of himself and sometimes doesn't know how to handle things. When he found out his friend, Jane, was at the school he remembered the smallest details about her and couldn't get her off his mind.  This shows Holden really does care and Jane is in some way very important to him.  Why else would he remember how a neighbor played chess?