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/

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.
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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.

Works Cited: http://www.novelguide.com/thecatcherintherye/themeanalysis.html

: http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pmCatcher06.asp

: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/catcher/facts.html

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

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

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

Did Holden have post-traumatic stress disorder?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition that can develop following any traumatic, catastrophic life experience. Recognition of this condition increased dramatically following the war in Viet Nam, when many returning U.S. veterans developed disturbing psychological symptoms and impaired functioning. More recently, the 9/11 tragedy, the Asian tsunami, the London bombings, and Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath have left thousands of people at risk for this potentially debilitating condition.


PTSD symptoms can develop weeks or months, or sometimes even years, following a catastrophic event. Along with survivors of natural disasters, wars, and acts of terrorism, people who have been the victims of violent crime or torture often develop symptoms of PTSD.
PTSD symptoms vary among individuals and also vary in severity from mild to disabling. PTSD Symptoms can include one or more of the following:

• "flashbacks" about the traumatic event
  


• feelings of estrangement or detachment
  


• nightmares
  


• sleep disturbances
  


• impaired functioning
  


• occupational instability
  


• memory disturbances
  


• family discord
  


• parenting or marital difficulties

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

Impact on the 20th century

The book, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger had a large impact on the twentieth century. Despite having many flaws, it is considered one of the best works of that time. It is considered very controversial by many adults. The explicit content in the book is the reason for much of the controversy. This is because of the loose moral codes it portrays. For example the main character, Holden, he discusses and participates in drinking, smoking, foul language, lying and promiscuity. Another main reason the book is considered debatable by many is because Mark David Chapman, murderer of musician John Lennon, was carrying the book when he was arrested immediately after the murder and referred to it in his statement to police."I'm sure the large part of me is Holden Caulfield, who is the main person in the book. The small part of me must be the Devil."said Chapman shortly after the assassination. But oddly enough John Lennon was reading the same book when killed.

Above pictured: Mark David Chapman

Works cited:

http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/the-catcher-in-the-rye/controversy.html

http://www.absolutenow.com/mugshots/mark_david_chapman.html [photo]

Incomes in 1949

In 1949 the median income for men was 2,754 which is worth about 19,938 in todays economy.

The median income for a woman in 1949 was 1,322 which is worth about 9,571 today.

The median income for a 15 year old boy was 2,346, today this would be worth 16,984.

The average income of a 15 year old girl was 960, but today that amount would be 6,950.

At the theater

(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r277/MedusaTCM/more%20tcm/TheRobe.jpg)

Top ten movies of 1949 (click the link to see movie posters)

(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r277/MedusaTCM/more%20tcm/RivoliTheatercometothestable.jpg)

1.The Third Man
2.Kind Hearts and Coronets

3.White Heat
4.Adam's Rib
5.She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
6.On the Town
7.Twelve O'Clock High
8.Nora inu
9.All the King's Men
10.Sands of Iwo Jima

Work cited: http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Years/1949/total-votes

Music

Freddy martin was one of the most popular artists in the year nineteen forty. His most famous song was a lovely bunch of coconuts. This song was used much later in the movie the Lion King.

The top fifteen songs in the year nineteen forty nine were:

1. (Ghost) Riders In The Sky - Vaughn Monroe
2. I've Got A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts - Freddy Martin
3. "A" You're Adorable (the Alphabet Song) - Perry Como
4. I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts - Freddy Martin
5. Trouble Blues - Charles Brown Trio
6. Some Enchanted Evening - Perry Como
7. Ain't Nobody'd Business - Jimmy Witherspoon
8. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - Les Brown
9. The Huckle-Buck - Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers
10. That Lucky Old Sun - Frankie Laine
11. You're Breaking My Heart - Vic Damone
12. Mule Train - Frankie Laine
13. Forever and Ever - Russ Morgan
14. She Wore A Yellow Ribbon - Eddie "Piano" Miller

Works cited:

www. google.com/images

http://www.popculturemaddness.com/

Slang Used in the Late 1940's

A
Alderman: A man's pot belly.
Ameche: Telephone
Ankle:
(n) Woman
(v) To walk
B
Babe: Woman
Baby: A person, can be said to either a man or a woman
Bangtails: Racehorses
Barber: Talk
Baumes rush: Senator Caleb H. Baumes sponsored a New York law (the Baumes Law) which called for automatic life imprisonment of any criminal convicted more than three times. Some criminals would move to a state that didn't have this law in order to avoid its penalty should they be caught again, and this was known as a "Baumes rush," because of the similarity to "bum's rush."
Be on the nut, To: To be broke
Bean-shooter: Gun
Beezer: Nose
Behind the eight-ball: In a difficult position, in a tight spot
Bent cars: Stolen cars
Berries: Dollars
Big house: Jail
Big one, The: Death
Big sleep, The: Death (coined by Chandler)
Bim: Woman
Bindle
of heroin: Little folded-up piece of paper (with heroin inside)
the bundle (or "brindle") in which a hobo carries all his worldy possessions
Bindle punk, bindle stiff: Chronic wanderers; itinerant misfits, criminals, migratory harvest workers, and lumber jacks. Called so because they carried a "bindle." George and Lenny in Of Mice and Men are bindle stiffs.
Bing: Jailhouse talk for solitary confinement, hence "crazy"
Bird: Man
Bit: Prison sentence
Blip off: To kill
Blow: Leave
Blow one down: Kill someone
Blower: Telephone
Bo: Pal, buster, fellow, as in "Hey, bo"
Boiler: Car
Boob: Dumb guy
Boozehound: Drunkard
Bop: To kill
Box:
A safe
A bar
Box job: A safecracking
Brace (somebody): Grab, shake up
Bracelets: Handcuffs
Break it up: Stop that, quit the nonsense
Breeze: To leave, go; also breeze off: get lost
Broad: Woman
Broderick, The: A thorough beating
Bruno: Tough guy, enforcer
Bucket: Car
Bulge, as in "The kid had the bulge there": The advantage
Bulls: Plainclothes railroad cops; uniformed police; prison guards
Bum's rush, To get the: To be kicked out
Bump: Kill
Bump gums: To talk about nothing worthwhile
Bump off: Kill; also, bump-off: a killing
Buncoing some (people): Defrauding people
Bunk:
"Take a bunk" - leave, disappear
"That's the bunk" - that's false, untrue
"to bunk" - to sleep
Bunny, as in "Don't be a bunny": Don't be stupid
Burn powder: Fire a gun
Bus: Big car
Butter and egg man: The money man, the man with the bankroll, a yokel who comes to town to blow a big wad in nightclubs (see reference)
Button: Face, nose, end of jaw
Button man: Professional killer
Buttons: Police
Butts: Cigarettes
Buy a drink: To pour a drink
Buzz, as in "I'm in the dump an hour and the house copper gives me the buzz": Looks me up, comes to my door
Buzzer: Policeman's badge
C
C: $100, a pair of Cs = $200
Cabbage: Money
Caboose: Jail (from "calaboose," which derives from calabozo, the Spanish word for "jail")
Call copper: Inform the police
Can:
Jail
Car
Can house: Bordello
Can-opener: Safecracker who opens cheap safes
Canary: Woman singer
Case dough: "Nest egg ... the theoretically untouchable reserve for emergencies" (Speaking)
Cat: Man
Century: $100
Cheaters: Sunglasses
Cheese it: Put things away, hide
Chew: Eat
Chicago lightning: gunfire
Chicago overcoat: Coffin
Chick: Woman
Chilled off: Killed
Chin: Conversation; chinning: talking
Chin music: Punch on the jaw
Chinese angle, as in "You're not trying to find a Chinese angle on it, are you?": A strange or unusual twist or aspect to something
Chinese squeeze: Grafting by skimming profits off the top
Chippy: Woman of easy virtue
Chisel: To swindle or cheat
Chiv, chive: Knife, "a stabbing or cutting weapon" (Speaking)
Chopper squad: Men with machine guns
Clammed: Close-mouthed (clammed up)
Clean sneak: An escape with no clues left behind
Clip joint: In some cases, a night-club where the prices are high and the patrons are fleeced (Partridge's), but in Pick-Up a casino where the tables are fixed
Clipped: Shot
Close your head: Shut up
Clout: Shoplifter
Clubhouse: Police station
Coffee-and-doughnut, as in "These coffee-and-doughnut guns are ...": Could come from "coffee and cakes," which refers to something cheap or of little value.
Con: Confidence game, swindle
Conk: Head
Cool: To knock out
Cooler: Jail
Cop
Detective, even a private one
To win, as in a bet
Copped, To be: Grabbed by the cops
Copper
Policeman
Time off for good behaviour
Corn: Bourbon ("corn liquor")
Crab: Figure out
Crate: Car
Creep joint: ?? Can mean a whorehouse where the girls are pickpockets, but that doesn't fit in Pick-Up
Croak: To kill
Croaker: Doctor
Crushed out: Escaped (from jail)
Cush: Money (a cushion, something to fall back on)
Cut down: Killed (esp. shot?)
D
Daisy: None too masculine
Dame: Woman
Dance: To be hanged
Dangle: Leave, get lost
Darb: Something remarkable or superior
Dark meat: Black person
Daylight, as in "let the daylight in" or "fill him with daylight": Put a hole in, by shooting or stabbing
Deck, as in "deck of Luckies": Pack of cigarettes
Derrick: Shoplifter
Diapers, as in "Pin your diapers on": Clothes, get dressed
Dib: Share (of the proceeds)
Dick: Detective (usually qualified with "private" if not a policeman)
Dinge: Black person
Dingus: Thing
Dip: Pickpocket
Dip the bill: Have a drink
Dish: Pretty woman
Dive: A low-down, cheap sort of place
Dizzy with a dame, To be: To be deeply iin love with a woman
Do the dance: To be hanged
Dogs: Feet
Doll, dolly: Woman
Dope
Drugs, of any sort
Information
As a verb, as in "I had him doped as" - to have figured for
Dope fiend: Drug addict
Dope peddler: Drug dealer
Dormy: Dormant, quiet, as in "Why didn't you lie dormy in the place you climbed to?"
Dough: Money
Drift: Go, leave
Drill: Shoot
Drink out of the same bottle, as in "We used to drink out of the same bottle": We were close friends
Drop a dime: Make a phone call, sometimes meaning to the police to inform on someone
Droppers: Hired killers
Drum: Speakeasy
Dry-gulch: Knock out, hit on head after ambushing
Ducat
Ticket
For hobos, a union card or card asking for alms
Duck soup: Easy, a piece of cake
Dummerer: Somebody who pretends to be (deaf and?) dumb in order to appear a more deserving beggar
Dump: Roadhouse, club; or, more generally, any place
Dust
Nothing, as in "Tinhorns are dust to me"
Leave, depart, as in "Let's dust"
A look, as in "Let's give it the dust"
Dust out: Leave, depart
Dutch
As in "in dutch" - trouble
As in "A girl pulled the Dutch act" - committed suicide
As in "They don't make me happy neither. I get a bump once'n a while. Mostly a Dutch." - ?? relates to the police (Art)
E
Eel juice: liquor
Egg: Man
Eggs in the coffee: Easy, a piece of cake, okay, all right
Elbow:
Policeman
A collar or an arrest. Someone being arrested will "have their elbows checked."
Electric cure: Electrocution
Elephant ears: Police
F
Fade: Go away, get lost
Fakeloo artist: Con man
Fin: $5 bill
Finder: Finger man
Finger, Put the finger on: Identify
Flat
Broke
As in "That's flat" - that's for sure, undoubtedly
Flattie: Flatfoot, cop
Flimflam(m): Swindle
Flippers: Hands
Flivver: A Ford automobile
Flogger: Overcoat
Flop:
Go to bed
As in "The racket's flopped" - fallen through, not worked out
Flophouse: "A cheap transient hotel where a lot of men sleep in large rooms" (Speaking)
Fog: To shoot
Frail: Woman
Frau: Wife
Fry: To be electrocuted
From nothing, as in "I know from nothing": I don't know anything
G
Gams: Legs (especially a woman's)
Gashouse, as in "getting gashouse": Rough
Gasper: Cigarette
Gat: Gun
Gate, as in "Give her the gate": The door, as in leave
Gaycat: "A young punk who runs with an older tramp and there is always a connotation of homosexuality" (Speaking)
Gee: Man
Geetus: Money
Getaway sticks: Legs (especially a woman's)
Giggle juice: Liquor
Gin mill: Bar
Gink: Man
Girlie: Woman
Give a/the third: Interrogate (third degree)
Glad rags: Fancy clothes
Glom
To steal
To see, to take a look
Glaum: Steal
Go climb up your thumb: Go away, get lost
Go over the edge with the rams: To get far too drunk
Go to read and write: Rhyming slang for take flight
Gonif: Thief (Yiddish)
Goofy: Crazy
Goog: Black eye
Goon: Thug
Goose: Man
Gooseberry lay: Stealing clothes from a clothesline (see reference)
Gowed-up: On dope, high
Grab (a little) air: Put your hands up
Graft:
Con jobs
Cut of the take
Grand: $1000
Greasers:
Mexicans or Italians.
A hoodlum, thief or punk.
Grift:
As in "What's the grift?": What are you trying to pull?
Confidence game, swindle
Grifter: Con man
Grilled: Questioned
Gum:
As in "Don't ... gum every play I make": Gum up, interfere with
Opium
Gum-shoe: Detective; also gumshoeing = detective work
Gun for: Look for, be after
Guns:
Pickpockets
Hoodlums
Gunsel:
Gunman (Hammett is responsible for this use; see note)
Catamite.
"1. (p) A male oral sodomist, or passive pederast. 2. A brat. 3. (By extension) An informer; a weasel; an unscrupulous person." (Underworld)
Note Yiddish "ganzl" = gosling
H
Hack: Taxi
Half, A:50 cents
Hammer and saws: Police (rhyming slang for laws)
Hard: Tough
Harlem sunset: Some sort fatal injury caused by knife (Farewell, 14)
Hash house: A cheap restaurant
Hatchetmen: Killers, gunmen
Have the bees: To be rich
Have the curse on someone: Wanting to see someone killed
Head doctors: Psychiatrists
Heap: Car
Heat: A gun, also heater
Heeled: Carrying a gun
High pillow: Person at the top, in charge
Highbinders
Corrupt politician or functionary
Professional killer operating in the Chinese quarter of a city
Hinky: Suspicious
Hitting the pipe: Smoking opium
Hitting on all eight: In good shape, going well (refers to eight cylinders in an engine)
Hock shop: Pawnshop
Hogs: Engines
Hombre: Man, fellow
Hooch: Liquor
Hood: Criminal
Hooker, as in "a stiff hooker of whiskey": A drink of strong liquor
Hoosegow: Jail
Hop:
Drugs, mostly morphine or derivatives like heroin
Bell-hop
Hop-head: Drug addict, esp. heroin
Horn: Telephone
Hot: Stolen
House dick: House/hotel detective
House peeper: House/hotel detective
Hype: Shortchange artist
I
Ice : Diamonds
In stir: In jail
Ing-bing, as in to throw an: A fit
Iron: A car
J
Jack: Money
Jake, Jakeloo: Okay
Jam: Trouble, as in "in a jam"
Jane: A woman
Jasper: A man (perhaps a hick)
Java: Coffee
Jaw: Talk
Jerking a nod: Nodding
Jingle-brained: Addled
Jobbie: Man
Joe: Coffee, as in "a cup of joe"
Johns: Police
Johnson brother: Criminal
Joint: Place, as in "my joint"
Jorum of skee: Shot of liquor
Joss house: Temple or house of worship for a Chinese religion
Juice: Interest on a loanshark's loan
Jug: Jail
Jujus: Marijuana cigarettes
Jump, The: A hanging
Junkie: Drug addict
K
Kale: Money
Keister, keyster:
Suitcase
Safe, strongbox
Buttocks
Kick, as in "I got no kick": I have nothing to complain about
Kick off: Die
Kicking the gong around: Taking opium
Kiss: To punch
Kisser: Mouth
Kitten: Woman
Knock off: Kill
Knockover: Heist, theft
L
Lammed off: Ran away, escaped
Large: $1,000; twenty large would be $20,000
Law, the: The police
Lay
Job, as in Marlowe saying he's on "a confidential lay;" or more generally, what someone does, as in "The hotel-sneak used to be my lay"
As in "I gave him the lay" - I told him where things stood (as in lay of the of land)
Lead poisoning: To be shot
Lettuce: Folding money
Lid: Hat
Lip: (Criminal) lawyer
Lit, To be: To be drunk
Loogan: Marlowe defines this as "a guy with a gun"
Looker: Pretty woman
Look-out: Outside man
Lousy with: To have lots of
Lug
Bullet
Ear
Man ("You big lug!")
Lunger: Someone with tuberculosis
M
Made: Recognized
Map: Face
Marbles: Pearls
Mark: Sucker, victim of swindle or fixed game
Mazuma: Money
Meat, as in "He's your meat": He's the subject of interest, there's your man
Meat wagon: Ambulance
Mesca: Marijuana
Mickey Finn
(n) A drink drugged with knock-out drops
(v) Take a Mickey Finn: Take off, leave
Mill: Typewriter
Mitt: Hand
Mob: Gang (not necessarily Mafia)
Moll: Girlfriend
Monicker: Name
Mouthpiece: Lawyer
Mud-pipe: Opium pipe
Mug: Face
Muggles: Marijuana
Mugs: Men (esp. dumb ones)
Mush: Face
N
Nailed: Caught by the police
Nance: An effeminate man
Nevada gas: Cyanide
Newshawk: Reporter
Newsie: Newspaper vendor
Nibble one: To have a drink
Nicked: Stole
Nippers: Handcuffs
Nix on (something): No to (something)
Noodle: Head
Nose-candy: Heroin, in some cases
Number: A person, can be either a man or a woman
O
Off the track, as in "He was too far off the track. Strictly section eight": Said about a man who becomes insanely violent
Op: Detective (esp. private), from "operative"
Orphan paper: Bad cheques
Out on the roof, To be: To drink a lot, to be drunk
Oyster fruit: Pearls
P
Pack: To carry, esp. a gun
Palooka: Man, probably a little stupid
Pan: Face
Paste: Punch
Patsy: Person who is set up; fool, chump
Paw: Hand
Peaching: Informing
Pearl diver: dish-washer
Peeper: Detective
Pen: Penitentiary, jail
Peterman: Safecracker who uses nitroglycerin
Pigeon: Stool-pigeon
Pill
Bullet
Cigarette
Pinch: An arrest, capture
Pins: Legs (especially a woman's)
Pipe: See or notice
Pipe that: Get that, listen to that
Pipes: Throat
Pistol pockets: ?? heels?
Pitching woo: Making love (Turner)
Plant
(n) Someone on the scene but in hiding
(v) Bury
Plug: Shoot
Plugs: People
Poke
Bankroll, stake
Punch (as in "take a poke at")
Pooped: Killed
Pop: Kill
Pro skirt: Prostitute
Puffing: Mugging
Pug: Pugilist, boxer
Pump: Heart
Pump metal: Shoot bullets
Punk
Hood, thug
"A jailhouse sissy who is on the receiving end." (Also as a verb, as in "to get punked.")
Puss: Face
Put down: Drink
Put the screws on: Question, get tough with
Q
Queer
(n) Counterfeit
(n) Sexually abnormal
(v) To ruin something or put it wrong ("queer this racket")
R
Rags: Clothes
Ranked: Observed, watched, given the once-over
Rap
Criminal charge
Information, as in "He gave us the rap"
Hit
Rappers: Fakes, set-ups
Rat: Inform
Rate: To be good, to count for something
Rats and mice: Dice, i.e. craps
Rattler: Train
Red-light: To eject from a car or train
Redhot: Some sort of criminal
Reefers: Marijuana cigarettes
Rhino: Money
Ribbed up, as in "I got a Chink ribbed up to get the dope": Set up, arranged for? "I have arranged for a Chinese person to get the information"? (Knockover, 203)
Right: Adjective indicating quality
Right gee, Right guy: A good fellow
Ringers: Fakes
Rod: Gun
Roscoe: Gun
Roundheels
A fighter with a glass jaw
A woman of easy virtue
Rub-out: A killing
Rube: Bumpkin, easy mark
Rumble, the: The news
Run-out, To take the : Leave, escape
S
Sap
A dumb guy
A blackjack
Sap poison: Getting hit with a sap
Savvy?: Get me? Understand?
Sawbuck: $10 bill (a double sawbuck is a $20 bill)
Scatter, as in "And don't bother to call your house peeper and send him up to the scatter"
Saloon or speakeasy.
A hideout, a room or lodging
Schnozzle: Nose
Scram out: Leave
Scratch: Money
Scratcher: Forger
Screw
Leave, as in "Let's screw before anybody pops in"
Prison guard
Send over: Send to jail
Shamus: (Private) detective
Sharper: A swindler or sneaky person
Shells: Bullets
Shine
Black person
Moonshine, bootleg liquor
Shine Indian: ?? (Knockover, 89)
Shiv: Knife
Shylock: Loanshark
Shyster: Lawyer
Silk, as in "all silk so far": All okay so far
Sing: Confess, admit secrets
Sister: Woman
Skate around, as in "She skates around plenty": To be of easy virtue
Skid rogue: A bum who can't be trusted
Skipout: Leave a hotel without paying, or a person who does so
Skirt: Woman
Slant, Get a: Take a look
Sleuth: Detective
Slug
As a noun, bullet
As a verb, to knock unconscious
Smell from the barrel, Have a: Have a drink
Smoke: A black person
Smoked: Drunk
Snap a cap: Shout
Snatch: Kidnap
Sneak
Leave, get lost, as in "If you're not a waiter, sneak"
Type of burglary, as in as in "The hotel-sneak used to be my lay"
Sneeze: Take
Snitch: An informer, or, as a verb, to inform
Snooper: Detective
Snort (as in of gin): A drink
Snow-bird: (Cocaine) addict
Snowed: To be on drugs (heroin? cocaine?); also "snowed up"
Soak: To pawn
Sock: Punch
Soup: Nitroglycerine
Soup job: To crack a safe using nitroglycerine
Spill: Talk, inform; spill it = tell me
Spinach: Money
Spitting: Talking
Spondulix: Money
Square: Honest; on the square: telling the truth
Squirt metal: Shoot bullets
Step off: To be hanged
Sticks of tea: Marijuana cigarettes
Stiff: A corpse
Sting: Culmination of a con game
Stool-pigeon: Informer
Stoolie: Stool-pigeon
Stringin': As in along, feeding someone a story
Sucker: Someone ripe for a grifter's scam
Sugar: Money
Swift, To have plenty of: To be fast (on the draw)
Swing: Hang
T
Tail: Shadow, follow
Take a powder: Leave
Take it on the heel and toe: Leave
Take on: Eat
Take the air: Leave
Take the bounce: To get kicked out (here, of a hotel)
Take the fall for: Accept punishment for
Tea: Marijuana
That's the crop: That's all of it
Three-spot: Three-year term in jail
Throw a joe: Pass out ?? (Key, 86)
Throw lead: Shoot bullets
Ticket: P.I. license
Tiger milk: Some sort of liquor
Tighten the screws: Put pressure on somebody
Tin: Badge
Tip a few: To have a few drinks
Tip your mitt: Show your hand, reveal something
Tomato: Pretty woman
Tooting the wrong ringer: Asking the wrong person
Torcher: Torch singer
Torpedoes: Gunmen
Trap: Mouth
Trigger man: Man whose job is to use a gun
Trip for biscuits, as in "You get there fast and you get there alone - or you got a trip for biscuits": Make the trip for no purpose, achieve no results
Trouble boys: Gangsters
Turn up: To turn in (to the police)
Twist: Woman
Two bits: $25, or 25 cents.
U
Under glass: In jail
Up-and-down, as in "to give something the up-and-down": A look
Uppers, as in "I've been shatting on my uppers for a couple of months now" or "I'm down on my uppers": To be broke
V
Vag, as in vag charge, vag law: Vagrancy
Vig, Vigorish
Excessive interest on a loanshark's loan
Advantage in odds created by a bookie or gambler to increase profit
W
Weak sister: A push-over
Wear iron: Carry a gun
Wheats, as in "a stack of wheats": Pancakes
White
Good, okay, as in "white dick"
Gin ("a gallon of white")
Wikiup: Home
Wire, as in "What's the wire on them?": News, "What information do you have about them?"
Wise, To be To be knowledgeable of; put us wise: tell us
Wise head: A smart person
Wooden kimono: A coffin
Worker, as in "She sizes up as a worker": A woman who takes a guy for his money
Wrong gee: Not a good fellow
Wrong number: Not a good fellow
Y

Yap: Mouth
Yard: $100

Yegg: Safecracker who can only open cheap and easy safes
Z
Zotzed: Killed

Works Cited: http://www.miskatonic.org/slang.html

Historical Facts about the 1940's

FACTS about this decade.

• Population 132,122,000
• Unemployed in 1940 - 8,120,000
• National Debt $43 Billion
• Average Salary $1,299. Teacher's salary $1,441
• Minimum Wage $.43 per hour
• 55% of U.S. homes have indoor plumbing
• Antarctica is discovered to be a continent
• Life expectancy 68.2 female, 60.8 male
• Auto deaths 34,500
• Supreme Court decides blacks do have a right to vote
• World War II changed the order of world power; the United States and the USSR become super powers
• Cold War begins.

http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade40.html

Life in 1949

This is what Las Vegas, as well as other big cities, looked like in 1949.

Fashion in 1949

Work cited: www.google.com/image