ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
- Why does Holden seem so ambivalent about the adult world?
- Why does Holden fear or resist change?
- Why does Holden struggle to develop meaningful relationships with his family and peers?
SAMPLE POST:
Why does Holden seem so ambivalent about the adult world?
When describing the difference between what ads at Pencey promise and what the school is really like, Holden reveals how suspicious he is of the adult world . He doubts that "they do any more molding at Pencey than they do at any other school." (Salinger 2) Holden implies that schools do not make us who we are and might even give us a false impression of who we could or should become.
While Ackley gets ready to go see the movie, Holden writes, "It took him about five hours to get ready. While he was doing it, I went over to my window and opened it and packed a snowball with my barehands... A little while later I still had [the snowball] with me when I and Brossard and Ackley got on the bus" (Salinger 36). According to this quote, Holden clearly exaggerated the time that Ackley took, in order to express the time that Ackley wasted him. It supports the fact that Holden cares a lot more about himself than others, which prevents him from developing meaningful relationships.
ReplyDeleteHolden, Brossard, and Ackley just came back from Agerstown. "Old Ackley parked himself in my room...all he did was talk in this very monotonous voice...I dropped about a thousand hints, but I couldn't get rid of him" (Salinger 37). Holden keeps pushing people away. He won't be able to have meaningful relationships if he does that all the time. Ackley was trying talk to him, but Holden just kept thinking about how he could get Ackley out of his room.
ReplyDeleteWhen Holden's talking about his brother he says, "He's dead now. He got leukemia and died when we were up in Maine..." (Salinger 38). I think this could be a reason why Holden struggles to develop meaningful relationships with anyone because as he talks about Allie and what a great brother he was, the tone projected is one of sadness showing his hesitance to get close to someone else.
ReplyDeleteWhen Holden hears that Stradlater is going on a date with Jane Gallagher, he doesn't stop talking about her. But because he fears change, he doesn't go down to see her. When he says to Stradlater, "I oughta go down and say hello to her, at least," (Salinger 32). Stradlater replies, "why the hell don'tcha, instead of keep saying it?" (Salinger 33). Holden really wants to say hi to her, but he's so afraid of change that he can't talk himself into doing it, which also shows his struggles to develop meaningful relationships with his family and peers.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for Holden to develop meaningful relationships with people because he always finds a reason to dislike them even if they are his "friends". "I didn't even enjoy sitting next to them in the movies" (Salinger 37). Holden was just saying how they were going to go to the movies together and how they were friends, and then starts saying how he is annoying at the movies because he laughs so much.
ReplyDeleteHolden is always looking for flaws in the people around him as reason to not be close to them and not build a meaningful relationship. I think this is because of how highly Holden regarded his brother and how after his death Holden never wanted to feel that way again so he never got close enough to anybody where it would hurt for him to leave him. I think that is also why Holden is ok with leaving so many schools.. "It wasn't just that he was the most intelligent member of the Familly, he was also the nicest, In a lot of ways. He never got mad at anybody" I think that Holden is comparing everyone he meets to the impossible standard of his dead brother and looking to find flaws in them because he knows what it will feel like if he becomes close to someone again the way he was to his brother and if that person is hurt.
ReplyDeleteWhen Stradlater asks Holden to write his composition for him, Holden says that if he feels like it he will. After Holden returns from the movies, he sits down to write the composition and, "It was around ten-thirty, I guess, when I finished it"(Salinger 39). Although Holden acts if he isn't going to bother writing the composition for Stradlater, he stays up late writing it. This is why Holden fears/resists change, because he cares too much about the people in his life and doesn't want to lose them. Holden proves this through little gestures, inviting Ackley to the movies, doing Stradlater favors, and complimenting people.
ReplyDeleteWhen Holden tells Stradlater about how Jane Gallagher used to line up all her kings in the back row, "Stradlater didn't say anything. That kind of stuff doesn't interest most people" (32). Holden struggles to develop meaningful relationships with people because he has different interests than most other people. While he is fascinated by little things like how Jane lined up her kings in checkers, most people wouldn't care.
ReplyDeleteHolden struggles to develop relationships with his peers because he always feels like pushing them away and basically always has to look at the negative side of others. One example of holden pushing away others is when he's in the 'can' he mentions how annoyed he gets when people whistle to songs that are too hard to whistle too. "...and he always picked out some good whistler, like "Song of India" or " Slaughter on Tenth Avenue." If Holden were just to accept stuff he can't change he would be a lot closer with others and not look on the fake side too much.
ReplyDeleteWhen Stradlater mentions the girl jane or "Jean" Holden suddenly gets very interested in talking with Stradlater about the girl. For example his mood before is calm not really caring and vauge with his answers, "if I get the time, I will. If I don't, I won't."(29). He's very laid back with his answer. Now the girl is mentioned and his reaction is immediate, "boy I nearly dropped dead when he said that" (31). He's went from a zero on the excitement scale to about an 8, but then he can never get the courage to go talk to her and say hi. This shows his lack of ability to be social.
ReplyDeleteWhen Holden is in the bathroom with Stradlater, Holden grabs Stradlater in a half Nelson and tells him, "liberate yourself from my viselike grip." These actions exhibit Holden's immaturity and lake of care for the wellbeing of others. These characteristics could make it much more difficult for Holden to develop relationships.
ReplyDeleteWhen Stradlater asks Holden to write a composition for him, he ends up yawning in the middle of asking him. Holden states that its "a royal pain in the ass.. If somebody yawns right while they're asking you to do them a goddam favor" (Salinger 28). Holden is yet again finding little things that annoy him that make him not want to talk to someone. Having a pet peeve is one thing, but picking at every little thing a person does is too. This definitely is a major factor in his struggle to develop relationships with people.
ReplyDeleteWhen Holden, Ackley, and Brossard come back from Agerstown, "Old Ackley parked himself in my room...he laid down on my bed, with his face right on my pillow and all...I dropped about a thousand hints, but I couldn't get rid of him" (Salinger 37). Holden will not be able to develop a meaningful relationship with people if he pushes people away constantly. The whole time Ackley was there, Holden didn't listen to him talking, but instead thought of ways to get rid of him.
ReplyDeleteWhen the boys come back from the movies "Old Ackley parked himself in my room...all he did was talk in this very monotonous voice...I dropped about a thousand hints, but I couldn't get rid of him" (Salinger 37). Holden is struggling to create and keep a strong relationship with people. Instead of trying to understand them he is pushing them away.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 4 page 28, Holden shows he not only knows how to play his friends, but does purposefully when he doesn't "answer [Stradlater] right away. Suspense is good for bastards like Stradlater". This is an example of Holden struggling to create meaningful relationships with his peers, because he tries hard to manioulate them in ways beneficial to him.
ReplyDeleteWhen Holden describes his night after his brother dies he explains, " I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage". Holden resists change because after his brother dies he doesn't know how to handle himself. He just flew off the handle before he could think about it. He can't handle this huge change at first.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why Holden struggles to have a meaningful relactionship with his friends and family because he is always negative about people he lies to them all the time. For example he didn't tell how he got kicked off his house. He also doesn't get along with other kids or teen like normal teens, he doesn't doesn't like sports and stuff.
ReplyDeleteWhen Holden goes to the movies with Ackley and Mal Brossard he describes the scene as, "I didn't care about not seeing the movie, anyway. It was supposed to be a comedy,... They both laughed like hyenas at stuff that wasn't even funny. I didn't even enjoy sitting next to them in the movies" (Salinger 37). This event shows how Holden is always pessimistic and fails to think about the others. He is selfish and doesn't care what his friends think at all. This cripples Holden from ever having a meaningful friendship or relationship with anyone.
ReplyDeleteWhen holden said "I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage. I don't blame them." I think that he is being sarcastic. He has a lot of dissatisfactions about the adults.
ReplyDelete