Thursday, September 4, 2008

Outside Elements

In The Catcher In The Rye Salinger mentions alot of different books and authors in his book what I want to know is why he selected these few books and authors from all the rest. Karen Blixen (1885-1962), also known by her pseudonym, Isak Dinesen, is famous for her memoir, Out of Africa, and for several works of fiction, including Seven Gothic Tales (1934) and Winter's Tales (1942). She was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. She wrote in English, after living on a coffee farm in Kenya from 1914 to 1931. She married her second cousin, Baron Bror Blixen of Sweden, thereby acquiring the title Baroness. Following their separation and divorce, she had a long affair with the safari hunter, Denys Finch Hatton, son of a titled English family. In 1931, after losing the coffee farm in the Great Depression, Karen Blixen returned to Denmark and embarked on the writing career that lasted until her death in 1962. I think the reason why Salinger mentioned this author in the book was because of all the miss fortune she went through.

W Somerset Maugham the author to, Of Human Bondage is considered a classic. It was published in 1915 and is a very thinly veiled autobiography. The main character is Philip Carey who experiences the pain of loneliness in a small town. The names of places are twisted versions of those in Maugham’s own life. Maugham grew up in Whitstable, and as such Carey lives in Blackstable; Maugham was educated in Canterbury, Carey in Tercanbury etc. The novel follows his adventures as he lives with the frustration of having a club foot. In Maugham’s own case, a bad stammer was a similar source of alienation. I think the reason again why Salinger chose this novel was because of the authors and the characters bad fortune.

Emily Dickinson is considered one of the most original 19th Century American poets. She is noted for her unconventional broken rhyming meter and use of dashes and random capitalization as well as her creative use of metaphor and overall innovative style. She was a deeply sensitive woman who questioned the puritanical background of her Calvinist family and soulfully explored her own spirituality, often in poignant, deeply personal poetry. Emily near half way through her life 1864 she went to see the eye doctor and was told to never read of write again for the sake of her vision. She also acquired Bright’s disease which affects the kidneys that might be the reason why she spent so much time at home. I believe Salinger chose this author because of her tragic life.

Ringgold Wilmer Lardner was born on March 6, 1855 in Niles, Michigan, the youngest of nine children born to well-to-do parents Lena (1843-1919) and Henry Lardner (1839-1914). It was not until 1907 that he obtained his first job as journalist with the South Bend Times. He then went on to work with the Chicago Tribune eventually writing his column "In the Wake of the News". He also wrote the column "Pullman Pastimes" and edited the St. Louis Sporting News and the Boston American. In 1911 Lardner married Ellis Abbott, with whom he would have four sons; John, James, Ring Jr., and David. For many years Ring Lardner battled alcoholism and, at the age of forty-eight, died from a heart attack on September 27, 1933. As you can tell his life had drama in it too which is why Salinger might have put this author in his book.

Fitzgerald had been an alcoholic since his college days, and became notorious during the 1920s for his extraordinarily heavy drinking, leaving him in poor health by the late 1930s. Fitzgerald suffered two heart attacks in late 1940. After the first, in Schwab's Drug Store, he was ordered by his doctor to avoid strenuous exertion and to obtain a first floor apartment. While awaiting a visit from his doctor, Fitzgerald collapsed in Graham's apartment and died. He was 44. The Gatsby is a book about relationships between many people and there being more to people than what meets the eye. I think the reason why Salinger chose this author in his book was because The Great Gatsby didn’t become famous in Fitzgerald’s life time. The reason why Salinger might have used the catcher in the rye poem as the title is because in the poem it is about a guy trying to find his place in the world which is what Holden is doing.

Works Cited: http://www.online-literature.com/

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Literary Elements

FORESHADOWING


At the beginning of the novel, Holden hints that he has been hospitalized for a nervous breakdown, the story of which is revealed over the course of the novel.


IMAGERY


1. Imagery is a set of mental pictures or images.
2. The use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas.
So when Holden was pretending he had been shot in the guts this is an example of imagery.


SETTING


(TIME) -A long weekend in the late 1940s or early 1950s

(PLACE) -Holden begins his story in Pennsylvania, at his former school, Pencey Prep. He then recounts his adventures in New York City.


CONFLICT


Protagonist
Holden Caulfield is the protagonist and narrator of the novel, and all the events in the plot revolve around him. He is a sixteen- year-old boy who has trouble fitting in and finding a place for himself in life. There is nothing heroic about Holden, and he is often considered an anti-hero.
Antagonist
Holden’s antagonist is his inability to fit into society. Throughout the novel, he is pitted against different characters, social situations, educational environments, technology, and the world in general. But Holden is really fighting himself, and until he learns who he is and finds a place for himself he the world, he cannot be at peace.
Climax
This is a novel of progressive climax, where one high point in the plot leads up to the next, as follows:
Mini-Climax One
The first climax is reached when Holden ends up lying on the floor with a bleeding nose after his roommate Stradlater has beaten him a fight that Holden started. Holden has lost his first battle against the world and escapes form Pencey.
Your browser does not support the IFRAME tag.

Mini-Climax Two
When Holden has been beaten by the pimp Maurice at the end of Chapter Fourteen, he is once again lying on the floor incapacitated with the pain from the impact. His second direct confrontation has ended in defeat. With no where to go, he heads to Grand Central Station.
Mini-Climax Three
In his search for human connection, Holden gathers his courage, places a phone call to Sally, and sets a date with her for the afternoon. He tells her about his plan to run away out West and suggests that she join him. She scoffs at his foolishness and walks out, leaving him again rejected and in isolation.
Mini-Climax Four
The fourth climax occurs when Holden faces rejection from the one little person upon whom all his hopes are anchored--Phoebe. This has the most shattering impact on Holden, and he is forced to search elsewhere for understanding. Hence he goes to Mr. Antolini for help.
Mini-Climax Five
The fourth climax occurs when Holden is rejected by Mr. Antolini, the last person he has to turn to for help. He is sure that this man, above all others, will be able to understand his needs and accept him. To his horror, Mr. Antolini gives Holden an academic lecture about scholastic performance. Then he approaches Holden in the middle of the night, touching his on the forehead. Holden interprets he gesture as a sexual advance.
The actual climax is never viewed in the course of the novel, only foreshadowed by the mini-climaxes and proven by Holden’s stay at a psychiatric hospital. Sometime after the close of action in the book, life amongst the "phonies" gets to be too much for Holden. The reader is forced to imagine the inevitable outcome of this story - the total mental breakdown of the protagonist, Holden Caulfield.
Outcome
The novel ends in tragedy for Holden when he finally realizes he cannot win his battle. He returns home to his parents and is obviously sent to a psychiatric hospital to "rest" before retiring to the world that has defeated him.




Theme Analysis


J. D. Salinger presents an image of an atypical adolescent boy in The Catcher in the Rye. Holden is much more than a troubled teen going through "a phase." Indeed Holden is a very special boy with special needs. He doesn’t understand and doesn’t wish to understand the world around him. In fact most of the book details his guilty admissions of all the knowledge he knows but wishes he didn’t. Though his innocence regarding issues of school, money, and sexuality has already been lost, he still hopes to protect others from knowing about these adult subjects.
Holden, unlike the usual fictional teenager, doesn’t express normal rebellion. He distrusts his teachers and parents not because he wants to separate himself from them, but because he can’t understand them. In fact there is little in the world that he does understand. The only people he trusts and respects are Allie, his deceased brother, and Phoebe, his younger sister. Everyone else is a phony of some sort. Holden uses the word phony to identify everything in the world which he rejects. He rejects his roommate Stradlater because Stradlater doesn’t value the memories so dear to Holden (Allie’s baseball glove and Jane’s kings in the back row). Even Ernie, the piano player, is phony because he’s too skillful. Holden automatically associates skill with arrogance (from past experiences no doubt) and thus can’t separate the two. Even Holden’s most trusted teacher, Mr. Antolini, proves to be a phony when he attempts to fondle Holden. Thus the poor boy is left with a cluster of memories, some good but most bad.
Yet because of these memories, Holden has developed the unique ability to speak candidly (though not articulately) about the people he meets. Though he seems very skeptical about the world, he is really just bewildered. His vocabulary often makes him seem hard, but in fact he is a very weak-willed individual. Holden has no concept of pain, and often likes to see himself as a martyr for a worthy cause. This is proven after the fight with Maurice, after which he imagines his guts spilling out on the floor.
The end of the book demonstrates significant growth on the part of Holden. Although at first Holden is quick to condemn those around him as phony (like Stradlater and Ackley), his more recent encounters with others prove that he is becoming more tolerant and less judgmental. This is evidenced after the ordeal with Mr. Antolini, where Holden is determined not to make any conclusions about his teacher. This growth contributes to Holden’s fantasy of being a catcher in the rye. Despite his inability and fear of becoming an adult, he has found his role in keeping the innocence of other children protected. This is shown when he tries to scratch out the obscenities at Phoebe’s elementary school. He imagines himself on a cliff, catching innocent children (like himself at one time) who accidently fall off the cliff, bridging the gap between childhood and adulthood.
Holden, like the typical banana-fish, simply absorbs all experiences, good and bad, adding them to his own knowledge base. Really the poor teenager is so confused about what he should do, he simply regresses socially, hoping to escape the tough choices of adulthood by keeping others from them.










literary elements symbolism and point of view

Symbolism- there are many symbols throughout the book The Catcher in the Rye, one of the many symbols is his hunting hat. Another main symbol would be the ducks in central park. I believe Salinger placed emphasis on the ducks because holden relates to them. Like the ducks he feels like he doesn't have any where to go. I believe the red hunting hat is a main symbol because it represents Holden's individuality. It makes him different.
Some other symbols are the museum, and the broken record. I believe these symbols were included because the museum represents holden's longing for stability and nostalgia for his childhood, and the broken record symbolizes himself because like the record after he goes home he is in pieces and could be considered distraught

Point of view- The point of view in the book, The Catcher in the Rye, is first person. It is written from the perspective of Holden Caulfield, the narrator. The author, Salinger, wrote it using terms and mimicing language used by a teenager. In the book all we know is what Holden tells us. Therefore the point of view is very limited.





works cited: http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides3/Catcher.html

Literary Elements:Irony & Tone

Irony

The book,The Catcher in the rye is filled with irony. Such as, Holden's hate for religion and God. He talks about how much he despises religion and God's disciples. However, he later tells us how he admires Jesus. One of the most prominent ironies throughout the book would be how Holden characterizes everyone as being "Phony."In chapter 2 he says, "One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies." Oddly enough, Holden is very similar to the "phonies" he describes. He often deceives people to hide his true identity. "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life." he admits.


Tone
The tones included in the book are: wit, cynical, ironic, sometimes sad and bitter, and relates to the challenges that young adults face in today's society.



Works cited: http://www.enotes.com/catcher-qn

http://blog.readwritethinkspeak.com/2008/04/catcher-in-rye-literary-terms-and.html

Friday, August 29, 2008

Character Analysis

Holden Caulfield: Sixteen years old. Six feet two with a shock of gray hair. Very immature but can act older than his age. (But no one notices.) Our narrator. Loves children. Hates phonys.


Phoebe Caulfield: Holden's ten-year-old sister. Very smart and perceptive girl. Roller-skate skinny with red hair. She likes to write girl books that she never finishes. Affectionate and emotional.


Walt Stradlater: Holden's roomate at Pency. Handsome and shallow. Asks Holden to write his composition for him and goes on a date with Jane Gallagher. Holden and Stradlater have a fist-fight. He was a friendly guy but "it was partly a phony kind of friendly.


Allie Caulfield: Holden's younger brother who died three years earlier of leukemia. Bright, sensitive, and exceptional. Wrote poetry on his baseball mitt. "You'd have liked him."


Robert Ackley:Ackley kid. Roomed next to Holden at Pency. No one liked him. Nosey and dirty. Holden took him along into town to be nice. Bad skin and bad teeth that "always looked mossy and awful."

SunnyYoung:prostitute sent to Holden's room. Shallow, uneducated, and all-business. Holden and Sunny only talk. This is five. It costs ten. Holden assumes the alias of Jim Steele with Sunny. She calls him "crum-bum."


Mr. Antolini:Former English teacher at Elkton Hills. He was the one who finally picked up the body of James Castle. Holden retreats to his house and recieves a long lecture. Plans to stay there until Tuesday, but while Holden is sleeping Mr. Antolini begins to pet him. Flitty. Likes to drink.


Maurice Edmont: elevator operator/pimp. Sends "a girl" up to Holden's room for "a good time". After agreeing upon a price, Maurice wants more. Holden has a fist-fight with him but he doesn't stand a chance.


Mr. Spencer: Holden's History teacher at Pency. Holden visits him before leaving school. He flunks Holden and reads his essay on "the Egyptians" aloud as an explanation. He smells like Vicks Nose Drops and is a bad throw. "Life is a game, boy."


D.B. Caulfield: Holden's older brother. Served in the army. A writer. Author of "the Secret Goldfish". Now a Hollywood prostitute.


Mr. & Mrs. Caulfield: Holden's parents. Mr. Caulfield is a businessman. Mrs. Caulfield doesn't sleep well. She's still traumatized over Allie. "They're grand people."

Works Cited:
http://www.geocities.com/deadcaulfields/Characters.html

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Five Stages of grieving and loss.

Denial: Usually our first reaction to the loss of something we're attached to, is denial. Upon hearing my 51-year-old brother was dying, I entered denial that was so strong I didn't let him say "die"...I brought him to the best doctors...I called talk radio health shows...all to find some answer other than the one I kept hearing...no one lives through stage 4b pancreatic cancer once the liver is involved. Some people deny the death of a loved one so much that they won't let anyone refer to them as 'gone'. They will refer to imaginary conversations as if they had happened. What we all need to know is, denial is normal. Mom isn't coming unhinged...she's just trying to wrap her mind around losing the love of her life. If she's still consulting him a couple years from now, maybe there's something to be concerned about.


Anger: This stage of grief is probably the cause of the most pain from grief. Anger can cause deep and sometimes permanent wounds that are totally unnecessary. Let it go! I've had my days of shaking my fist at God, saying, "Why my brother?...Why my mother?...Why my career?" Then I had to let it go, or it would be my life that was lost...consumed in anger over things I didn't understand or control. You will experience anger in your grief. You may perceive that someone "harmed" you in some way. This stage of grief is probably a major cause of law suits, but, even if you win...all you get is money...you lose the years you allowed the anger to consume you. I used to keep mental lists of the people who had hurt me in some way, until I realized they were consuming my life...I was increasing the harm they caused me by "nursing my grudge". Let it go. Forgive them. It will give you the ability to heal from your loss.


Bargaining: This is as strange a grief behavior as Denial. It's where we try to make deals to gain back what we lost. As a minister, several years ago, I got fired from a church staff over a misunderstanding. Instead of accepting the decision, I decided to start a non-profit organization to perform the same services I had been performing and then contract with the church. I was unable to bargain my way back into that church, and once I accepted what had happened, I was able to move into areas of greater opportunity. The next few lines may offend some, but it's the best example of the bargaining in grief I can think of. In some religions, they teach of a place called Purgatory, where "sinful" relatives supposedly go after death. They are said to be punished there until they are purged (purge-atory) of their sins by the faithful donations of time and money by their living loved ones. This is a great way for grieving people to bargain with God over the fate of their loved ones. I imagine it's a great fundraiser, too. For those of you who are wondering, Purgatory is not a Biblical concept. The Bible says all it takes is belief to be with God forever, that no one can, and no one has to, earn it by good works, church attendance, or by giving. Everyone bargains over a loss in some way, trying to somehow regain what they've lost. Some people try too fast after the loss of a spouse to "replace" them. This is the bargaining part of grief and is normal but it has potentially harmful consequences. It prevents you from healing from your grief and it opens you up to picking someone who is not your lost loved one. Once reality sets in, both people are usually deeply hurt. Try to finish processing your grief (usually 2-3 years) before entering a serious relationship. If you find yourself or a loved one going to unusual extremes to recover a loss...understand it's the bargaining part of grief, try to protect them and cut them some slack.


Depression: This is the most dangerous stage of grief. Everyone goes through depression before they can heal from a major loss. My childhood Barber and his 3 friends made up a golf foursome for most of their adult life. All of them died from natural causes within one year of each other. The Barber's wife died 6 months after he did. It's possible to will yourself to death if you don't get over the depression stage of grief. With some people, depression is so deep, they don't wait for natural causes. If you feel you or a loved one is too deeply depressed over a loss, look at Depression Treating for ideas. The closer the attachment, the deeper and longer the depression will be. I remember being depressed for about 2 months after the loss of a job. I still ate and everything, but I was definitely uninterested in most any aspect of life...just wanted to give up. Within 18 months of that loss, we founded http://www.way2hope.org, and nothing has been the same since. There is always light at the end of the tunnel, but for someone suffering a great loss, the tunnel is long and dark. Unless there is a suicide threat or they are about to lose their job, house, etc. it's better to let the grieving person work through their depression. When we're going through this part of the grief process, all of life seems pointless...but then we start to see some joyful things. We almost feel guilty when we laugh or enjoy something because the one we lost isn't there. Then we start to realize that they won't be there, in a physical sense, for the rest of our lives. We choose to be happy anyway...not happy because they're gone, but happy despite their absence, and happy because that's what they would have wanted. My sister didn't want people to be moping around, so, when I spoke at her memorial, I wore a funny hat and bright lemon tennis shoes. It didn't work on any of us, but it reminded us she wanted us to be happy, anyway. That transition is what brings us to the final stage.


Acceptance: This isn't all bells and fireworks. It's a decision to be at peace with the way things are. To know that no amount of denial, bargaining, anger or depression is going to recover our loss. We begin to accept that loss is part of life. It's not good or bad...just how it is. So we decide to go on, to find joy in our lives and to bring joy to the lives of others. The most noble sign of acceptance I've seen is when a grieving person, uses his empty spot as motivation to try to make the lives around him less empty.

http://www.way2hope.org/5_stages_of_grief_and_loss.htm

Did Holden have depression?

Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts, that affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. People with a depressive disease cannot merely "pull themselves together" and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people with depression.

http://www.medicinenet.com/depression/article.htm