What did you learn? Personally? Academically?

Out of the course of this semester I have gained so much knowledge and appreciation for books, people, and education. I found out that sometimes being more academically advanced does not always get you farther in life and that is why I feel like I grew so much as a person by taking this class. I was able to interact and discuss topics with classmates that I may never had with this whole school year without taking this class. I enjoyed every minute of this class and have been truly inspired by each and every one of my classmates.
On an academic level I was able to advance my writing skills, deep thinking, and collaborating my thoughts and ideas into actual projects that hopefully inspired others. I also learned the power of communication and the power of words. My classmates and my blog affected so many and for the first time I realized how powerful communication is and that we (as students) have the ability to voice our opinions anywhere and have it found by anyone. Not only did I advance in those areas, but I learned things on my own and had to work through problems and adjust to new things. One of the many great parts of this class was that I was able to interact with many people several of them being my parents. Never have I been so excited to communicate with my parents about school until this class. I wanted to share what I was doing with them, and I wanted to share the amazing work of my classmates. The ability to share those things with my parents and others has truly been an academic and personal growth for me as well as I think my parents also.
On a personal level I learned so much I am not sure where to start. One of the best parts of this class was Mrs. Olson's continuous help, inspiration, and drive she gave to each of us students. Her constant motivation and wisdom helped me to realize I wanted to change my major. If I had never taken Novels I may not have realized how much I enjoyed writing, thus not choosing this major in the first place. Another great example of why I enjoyed this class so much was the amazing lesson I learned. I feel everyone should learn this and I know if we all did there would be world peace. I learned the valuable lesson of not judging a book by its cover. I was in a class full of all different people, some who I never thought I would ever associate with. By the end of this class, these students became closer to me and I realized how much I cared for them. Their ideas inspired me and made me want to inspire others. I cannot thank you all enough for the time I was given to get to know all of you and be inspired by all of your creative minds. All in all, thank you for the past two years that I was blessed with to get to know all of you.

Snowee White and The Seven Chicks // Characterization

Characterization 

Although there were many characters to make up this comedy one act, the characters that really made this one act were Snowee White and Amy.

Snowee White: Snowee White is a not a very successful singer who is facing the downfall of his career and becoming poor. He is faced with a dilemma when his deceased uncle gives him a large sum of money, but with there is a catch. He must marry one of the seven women his uncle has selected for him. This obviously would not be a big problem if he already was planning on marrying his girlfriend Amy.

Amy: Amy has been dating Snowee White for quite some time and is planning on marrying him soon, once they get enough money of course... When Snowee is faced with this dilemma, she immediately leaves Snowee knowing how much he needs the money and will choose that over her.

There are seven women that Snowee ends up choosing from and as each woman comes in to meet Snowee, the progression of his dislike is felt throughout the one act. As each woman meets Snowee he realizes that the money isn't for him and neither are the women. They want to change him into someone he's not and he knows deep down that Amy never wanted that for him and loved him for who he is. Overall the characters really made this one act. The plot was good, but without the characters and their personalities the plot would have never worked. In the end the characters made the message and gave the message and moral of the whole story. When you think you will be happier with something because you will be gaining money or fame and end up leaving someone or something for it, in the end you will only be disappointed and saddened. Juliet Garver (writer) did a good job at setting up a plot and characters that portrayed the ending message.

Anthem // Why Read?

Perhaps there are many reasons why people should read Anthem, but perhaps there are none. Anthem will make readers contemplate the way our world is run. We know from history how corrupt governments and people have been, so what would lead us to believe that it will be any different in the future..or even now? Can we trust everything the media, government, and even our closest friends throw at us? Anthem will give you a whole new perspective on individuality and how important it is and that we do not take it for granted. It allows us to see the effects of brainwashing by a powerful “government” per say. It allows us to appreciate our individuality and that, “we” comes second behind “I.” It allows us to make sure we never let people in power overtake our minds into thinking not only that we do not have individuality, but that we do not have the choice to make decisions on our own. Anthem is a necessary read, not only  to appreciate individuality, but to recognize the sometimes over extensive power governments hold in our world today.

Anthem // Style

Ayn Rand used an interesting style while writing Anthem by using short, non-descriptive words, and as I stated before she has almost a robotic way of telling her story. For example:

“We stopped when we felt hunger. We saw birds in the tree branches, and flying from under our footsteps. We picked a stone and we sent it as an arrow at a bird. It fell before us. We made a fire, we cooked the bird, and we ate it,...” p. 79

Although Rand leaves us as readers with little detail on her characters and setting, she does use a unique language, such as “the night of the ages.” p. 59 or “And the roads of the world will become as veins which will carry the best of the world’s blood to my threshold.” p104. 

Although her writing seems vague and indistinct, her writing gives off an air of powerful simplicity that ends up giving us as readers the chance to develop more of a picture in our brains as we read. I noticed as I read that it was confusing and quite vague, but rereading certain passages made me realize much of her writing leaves you with a very unique and powerful aura after finishing a sentence or paragraph. 

Anthem // Setting

The setting in Anthem reminds me much of the setting of the place where Katniss lives in the Hunger Games. The city is gloomy, dark, and behind the times of other places around the world. The part we do not know in Anthem is whether the city that Equality 7-2521 lives in is the only city in the world or if it is the only city that is living in a so-called Utopian society. 

The city in Anthem is definitely behind times because Equality 7-2521 ends up inventing electricity all over again. Instead of using light bulbs, the city only uses candles. They also assign the people of the city to certain jobs such as a “street sweeper.” If the city were more modernized, they would not need street sweepers. I believe the way Rand describes the setting helps to describe the city even more. The subtle hints of the way people act and how the city is run gives us readers an idea of how much the city is behind times. Not only does the setting of the book give us a visual, but it also leads us to questions. Why is that the city has not modernized? Why (if the setting is futuristic) has the city gone backwards? These questions can be brought up due to the way Rand has described the setting of the novella. 

Anthem // Periphrastically

“I am. I think. I will.” is the most important passage in Anthem because at last Equality 7-2521 has found the word “I.” He has not only discovered the word but for all that it means and represents. It now offers him and others the meaning of individuality. No one has to go about saying the word “we” to identify themselves. Equality 7-2521 now can spread think on his own and share the word “I” with the Golden One. He can now think, feel, and make decisions on his own without including everyone else because he is an individual; his own self. I felt a big transition in the novella when Equality 7-2521 discovered the word “I.” Everything became more positive and brighter once he found the word. I compare this to the enlightenment of when the people came out of the cave for the first time in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” It resembled Plato’s story due to the fact of finding out something so important and how it completely changes your life.

Anthem // Affectively

Affectively

While reading Anthem I felt quite intrigued, yet hollow. Ayn Rand gave characteristics to her characters that resembled robots. They had no emotions, nothing that made them stick out from anyone else in the city except for the actions of Equality 7-2521 and The Golden One. I believe that Rand wrote this book to display the effects of when someone in power is given too much power and we (citizens) in turn are brainwashed and end up destructing our own identity. I believe that our own government, media, and celebrities have the ability to destroy people’s identity. They have a way of manipulating our thoughts, opinions, values, and morals by what they say, how they dress, what they sing, and what they express. In turn, it is our own choice on whether or not we follow their ways or stand up for everything we believe in. This, of course, is my take on Rand’s message of Anthem, but there are many different ways you can look at this novella. 

Symbolism // Suicide Note

In finishing Suicide Note the most symbolic part of the whole story was the bridge where Jenn spent a lot of her time. The bridge was where she would read and contemplate her life and the past that kept haunting her. The bridge was symbolic of a person, the one person she did not have in her life to go to and talk about her problems and comfort her. So she was lead to this bridge where she felt at peace. The bridge was strong and made Jenn feel comforted just as person who is trustworthy, loyal, and honest would have; the bridge was Jenn's safe haven. I find it ironic that the real life person who ends up taking the bridge's "place" found Jenn on the bridge. It was almost as if it was a passing over. Although the bridge is not real, it was giving Jenn up to Shane because after meeting him, Jenn went to the bridge once and this was because Shane was gone in the military. The part where Shane meets Jenn on the bridge symbolized a father giving up his daughter during a wedding or a mother watching her son go off to college. The bridge had done its job for Jenn; it had comforted her and been her safe haven, but it was time to give her up to someone new.

Reading Affectively // Suicide Note

How this reading makes me feel...

All my life I have tried to remind myself "everything happens for a reason." I remind myself this because I know that it all must be a part of God's plan and I trust His plan for me. Reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason compares to me that reminding yourself on a Thursday that tomorrow is Friday or even though you just spent a lot of money on a car, at least you have a sweet ride...and a car. Although the circumstances now may be pretty crappy, something better is going to turn out because of it. A situation may happen in your life where you do not understand at all at why it happened; you're frustrated, grieving, depressed, confused, etc. The belief that something amazing is going to happen from it is a difficult task to accomplish. How can we have so much strength and confidence that we are going to get out of this situation and be okay from it?

Reading Suicide Note was a slight impulse of mine. I was on my Kindle searching for something to spark my interest. The summary of the book was short but those five words hit me and I knew I had to read it...everything happens for a reason. As I began reading I felt many of the emotions that Jenn and Shane, and Jake feel in this book. I realized as I read further that I didn't relate with one character, but pretty much all of them. It made me think about how although you may think that someone is completely different than you and may be living their dream or has a great life...they may be fighting the same battle as you are. 

I must admit this isn't my favorite book nor does it have the best storyline, but it made me realize the bigger picture than just the words on the pages. I keep referring back to those five words "everything happens for a reason"; simple, yet so important are they. I have been fighting my own battles as well as everyone else on this planet and it was nice to get another wake up call to remind myself that my problems and worries don't take president over anyone else's. Not only did it remind me of that, but it also hit me a little more personally. There have been many times where I feel like giving up. To give up completely on things I hold close to my heart. I have had these thoughts due to going through tough times, not having the confidence and strength I needed, and most importantly not having a close relationship with God. All of those factors seem to be a roller coaster in my life. One minute I feel like everything is going alright and I have the strength to muster through any hard times coming my way, and the next minute I feel like the dirt on the bottom of someone's shoe. I feel so low and that I can't go on anymore. Although this book is not true, I still feel that I learned something from it. I can't give up when things are going wrong. I have to be strong enough to go on and get to the better part of my life. Problems and bad situations are always going to occur in people's lives, but it is how we deal with those problems to fully grasp them and take them as a tragedy or a blessing.

"Things spoken can be forgotten and forgiven, but the written word has the power to change the course of history, to alter our lives." 

My Page on Facebook // "I am"

I have a part of my project started! I created a Facebook page called "I am." Here's the description:

>> My last year of high school is coming to a close and I want to do something inspiring. I am currently in a Novels class, but this isn't your normal Novels class. We read, blog, and inspire. We read to get inspired from others words. At the end of our quarter we create something from what inspired us with what we read.

>> I read The Catcher in the Rye and was pretty moved by JD Salinger's word s. They were blunt, but they were real. All of us in the world today get so caught up in things that probably won't matter when we die. All of us in the world today have acted or still act like someone we're not. We can be phony, fake, and have no depth. But why? Because we conform to what is "normal" instead of being the person God set out for us to be; the person we should be most comfortable with: oUrSeLvEs.

>> "I am" is a part of my project. What I want this page to be is a source of reflecting on yourself and being inspired by other people's reflections. I want people to realize that other people are fighting the battle of not being true to themselves. We can all help each other to recognize who we really are, but first it starts with your individual self. Reflect on everything you've ever done and ask yourself, "Is that really who I am?"

>> What to do:

      >Reflect on who you really are as a person!
      >Type it out! Make a video! Get creative!
      >Go be this person!

>>Reminder..start off your wall post or video with "I am..."  

That's the description of my page, so go like it and express yourself! :) https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-am/305132322945760 "I am"

Free Write // To Kill A Mockingbird

As I finish up reading my last novel for this quarter I can honestly say how glad I am that I read To Kill A Mockingbird. Reading doesn't always come easy to everyone, but if you take the time to give yourself up to a book, the number of things you can come away with it are remarkable. There are a countless number of conflicts and messages put into this novel to give you new insights on life. Each individual message can affect you differently, but I promise you that they will give you a different perspective on life.
Throughout the novel you read about Scout, Jem, and Dill growing up. Scout seemed to be grown up all along. She is the type of person we need more of in our world today. Perhaps she should have thought before she spoke, but the overall message I am trying to explain is that we don't need to tailor our thoughts and opinions all the time to make them seem socially acceptable. Honesty will always be better than buttering up to someone. Yes, we need to know our boundaries but what if our boundaries our so tight that they end up suffocating our thoughts and opinions to where we only do and say what others want to hear. Sounds pretty unfair to me.
Harper Lee used a child as the narrator not only to show innocence but also to show that sometimes a child is smarter than an adult. I have experienced a number of times where a child has made me think about something in a completely different way. Harper Lee reminded me that we need to use everyone in the world. Everyone is important, everyone's voices should be heard, their feelings should be taken to heart, and that we are all equal no matter what the situation. Just like a book, people can change your perspective on anything in life, big or small.

Significant Part // To Kill A Mockingbird

A significant part for me in To Kill A Mockingbird would be the time Dill and Scout met Mr. Dolphus Raymond. Dill felt sick to his stomach during the trial, so Scout took him outside for awhile. While they were out there they encountered Mr. Raymond. He gave Dill a drink out of his mysterious brown sack of which everyone thought had alcohol in it. Scout warned Dill about Mr. Raymond before he started to drink whatever was in the sack which happened to just be Coca Cola.
When Dill stated to Scout that it was only Coca Cola, I felt like that was a very significant part. The significance in it was all of the rumors and gossip about Mr. Raymond being a horrible drunken man were shattered, because all of the rumors and gossip were nothing but rumors and gossip. Mr. Raymond went on to explain his way of life and why he chooses to pretend he's an alcoholic. I thought it was fascinating and slightly hard to wrap my mind around. Mr. Raymond was living his life as a lie, but not in the way most do. He was pretending to be a drunk so that everything else he did that wasn't "normal" in the eyes of society would seem "okay." Mr. Raymond explains in one sentence why he lives the way he does:

"...but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that's the way I want to live." (201)

One could use the argument, "Why care what people think. Live the way you want to live." I suppose this could work a little better in our time, when people seem to be a bit more eccentric, but the human race will never stop judging others and creating rumors and gossip. So, Mr. Raymond (in the 1930's) probably felt that it was a better idea if he just lied and lived his life how he wanted to live it.


"Because you're children and you can understand it."

I felt like Harper Lee did a good job of explaining in her novel that children are capable of much more than adults think they are. In fact, children may be better at understanding problems and feelings in the world than adults are...another fascinating thing to think about. Lastly, Mr. Raymond goes on to say:

"Cry about the simple fact hell people give other people...without even stopping to think they're people too."

This statement made by Mr. Raymond was a perfect, yet simple way of summing up his life, colored people's lives, white people's lives, and anyone in the world's lives. We as people don't always understand the hurtful things we say to each other or how we treat each other. I love how Mr. Raymond mentions colored people, white people, and any people in general. He simply stated that it doesn't matter what color of skin you are, we as humans don't deserve to be treated differently than another. Too often do we just say without thinking if it's going to hurt that person. It's a problem we all know about and we are all well aware of it. It was important for Mr. Raymond to say this to Dill and Scout to make them aware of it at a young age. It was definitely a significant moment for Dill and Scout to take the time to get to know Mr. Raymond when everyone else judged him without getting to know him.

My Project

Romans 12:2- Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

This verse is the center of my project. I came upon it about a week ago and it clicked with everything I had been thinking about for my project. God is my rock and my strength, so it was very comforting to be my reminded that God wants me to be me. He gave me this life to be me and only me. He has given me this opportunity to do something great with my life not for my benefit, but for others. So here's the plan...

I want to inspire people, because I have been inspired by words, the thoughts, and feelings of someone else. I think that, that in itself is inspiring; the fact that you can be so moved to do something because of the words you read. Reading has generated my words, thoughts, and feelings for not only my project, but my life as well. I want others to feel the same way I felt after reading this book. I know I won't have the power to have everyone read The Catcher in the Rye or connect to it the same way I did, but I do have the power to relate with students. Just as JD Salinger inspired me with Holden Caulfield's story so did the Bible verse that is why I'm incorporating the two. I want to be the catcher in the rye. I want to help those who feel like they've completely lost who they are or feel like they've had to conform to what society thinks is "normal." 

I would like to speak to the incoming freshman class about the importance of being yourself. I find it important to speak to everyone about staying true to who you are, but I find it especially important because of the changes you go through as a freshman. Peer pressures seem to rise and people change dramatically. I would like to bring a panel of different students already in the high school to talk about their experiences of being true to who they are. I've thought about having the 8th graders (incoming freshman) write down several things that they enjoy, describes them, or anything that a friend of theirs or someone they're close to doesn't know about them. I've also thought about introducing them to an online diary that I found that would be a great way to express your feelings and who you are with the ability to put pictures and to personalize it to who you are.

I am always up for ideas from anyone who would like to share their thoughts and I might be posting new ideas about my project in the near future!

To Kill A Mockingbird -Connection- Ted Talks

Natalie Warne: Being Young and Making an Impact

My connection to my novel this week was a Ted Talk. I listened to Natalie Warne speak about her experiences of being young and inspired. There were many connections that I made while listening to her inspiring and motivating speech. At 17, Natalie Warne became inspired to do something for a country thousands of miles away in the continent of Africa. She began working with the Invisible Children movement that has inspired many to help with the Kony fight or to just be inspired to work for something they believe in.

MY CONNECTIONS:

1) Young and uninformed
  In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem are both young and uninformed with the racial war going on in their country, in their town. Their father, Atticus, is a lawyer who is defending an African American man and the town of Mobile is in an uproar. Opinions are being thrown around, while Scout and Jem are left to question what they all mean. The two kids don't know what to think of it all, because they don't know what some of the words people are saying mean and they don't know why people are acting a certain way towards "colored" people. In Warne's talk, she explains how young she was as she started this huge project. She also explains how uninformed she was about the 25 year long war that had been going on over in Africa.

2) Race
 A small connection would be Natalie Warne's childhood that was affected by racial comments due to her mixed family. Her mother is an African American and her father is white. In To Kill A Mockingbird, one of the main focuses that pops out as you read the novel is the war between the whites and blacks. Not only is this an important part of the book, but it makes you not look at just race, but at the good vs. evil perspective that every person in the world has to make.

3) Inpsire
Scout inspires us as a reader. Her conflicts that she experiences as a 6 and 8 year old are conflicts that we as teens and adults face. Scout is young and innocent, so her actions and words are set aside because of her age (although she is taught throughout the book what is wrong and right). But what is our excuse to our actions and words that we do and say? Reading To Kill A Mockingbird puts many things into perspective and shows us that no matter our age, we can act foolish; that is why Scout inspires me to think and act before I speak. Words and actions can hurt and once they are done they can't be undone. Natalie Warne inspires me in a completely different way, but she inspired me and isn't that the goal? Her strength at 17 years old showed me that anything is possible as long as you have the dedication and drive to go out an make a difference. Not only did Natalie's talk make connections to the book, but she also made connections to my life and is now part of my drive for my project to do something inspiring. 

To Kill A Mockingbird // Connection

When in a hectic situation don't allow your emotions to control your mind. Breathe, and listen to what the person has to say. *Keep Calm And Keep Calm*

To Kill A Mockingbird // Free Response

Connection

As I have gotten farther into To Kill A Mockingbird I came across a part in the book that connected with a part in my life.

"You're real nice, Uncle Jack, an' I reckon I love you even after what you did, but you don't understand children much."

Scout had just been whipped by her Uncle Jack from beating up her cousin Francis. The reason behind Scout's beat down on Francis was because of his rude comments about Atticus (her father) and her brother and Scout. Atticus is a lawyer who is defending an African American in a trial in the 1930's and the turmoil of it all is just starting. Atticus knows that Scout will be very sensitive to the comments made by others about her father and family even though she doesn't quite understand what is going on.
My Connection...
Scout's comment to her uncle hit home to me. I have grown up with four siblings and of course, we all have an array of different personalities. My 14 year old sister and I have completely different personality traits and characteristics except for when it comes to speaking to adults. Growing up, Jill and I have always wanted to have our opinions heard. Jill does it on the loud, obnoxious side of it sometimes where I try to present my opinion civilly. Either way, we want our opinions thought about and understood by adults even though we are much younger than them. I believe that anything a person has to say is important. It is the hardest thing to do in some situations because you may just not want to hear it at all. But you would be amazed at what you could learn or take from that single sentence that person says.
Scout is the same way. She mentions to her uncle that he never even allowed her the chance to tell him her side of the story. Not only that, but he may have just turned her down and said that her opinion didn't matter. Luckily in the story Uncle Jack allows to hear Scout's side of the story where he learns something very important. It is better to be calm in a hectic situation than to light right into someone. The more calm you are the easier it is to listen and you never know, you may just learn something that you never would have if you hadn't...

To Kill A Mockingbird

Click it. Buy it. Read it. Get inspired.

To Kill A Mockingbird // Conflict • Setting • Theme

Conflict • Setting • Theme

I have just started my second novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. It is difficult to find the overall conflict of the story because I have just started it, but from what I have read so far the conflict is Man vs. Man. Scout is struggling with her first year of school due to teachers, other classmates, and even her brother. Scout speaks her mind, but doesn't know that it's wrong to do that now. Scout doesn't get along with all of her classmates, because she is more mature than them in ways. Lastly, Scout is struggling with the fact that her brother doesn't want to have anything to do with her during the school day.
The setting takes place in the 1930's in a town called Maycomb, Alabama. So far the setting of the book has always taken place in Maycomb either at the Finch's home, the school, or by the Radley residence.
The overall theme of the novel that I see so far is accepting the reality of growing up. Scout is finally faced with her first year of school and already sees many changes in her life. The changes in her life so far consist of Dill leaving at the end of the summer, going to school, realizing her brother is growing up which is changing him too, how Calpurnia treats her, how her peers treat her, and her relationship with her teacher. Scout realizes that since school has started she has seen Calpurnia change the way she acts toward Scout due to her going to school:

"For some reason, my first year of school had wrought a great change in our relationship: Calpurnia's tyranny, unfairness, and meddling in my business had faded to gentle grumblings of general disapproval. On my part, I went to much trouble, sometimes, not to provoke her." (34) 

Midterm Response // It's All a Cycle

So far I have read The Catcher in the Rye and now I have begun To Kill a Mockingbird. Overall, reading The Catcher in the Rye was much more of learning experience and an eye opener than I had intended it to be. When I first began reading the novel, it was definitely a drag. I just couldn't get into it as I hoped I would have. I never got to the point where I couldn't put it down, but I did get to a point where things started to make sense and I realized what the author's message was.
Salinger's message was to adults, not just adolescents. An adult or a teenager could read it and take something from it. As a teenager I discovered that there is a lot of conformity in our world today. Too many people follow the path that has been traveled way too many times and either realize that it isn't for them or don't realize it and are stuck on this path of no originality, phoniness, and artificial life. This novel taught me to just keep being me. Not only to keep being myself, but help others who feel like they are being swallowed up by the shallow lives of others. It was also a wake up call to point out the things I myself do in life that are phony and bland. My favorite part of the novel was the brutally honest, Holden Caulfield. Salinger wasn't afraid to give it to you straight and that's what I enjoyed the most. I would encourage others to read The Catcher in the Rye, but I recommend that they find a clean version. (If possible) :)
Reading books of any sort in school seems to be ancient history anymore. So, I appreciate the fact that we have been given this privilege to read again. The reflection part that is involved with our reading is probably the most important part. By reflecting what we read to others through our blogs or other means of communication inspires others to read, do something for someone, reevaluate parts of their lives, etc. It's a trickle down effect. What inspires us may inspire someone else in a completely different way, but the main achievement in it all, is that it is inspiring someone.
Our quarter project for Novels is to do something awesome. We are supposed to take something we learned from our book and do something with it that is well, awesome. I have an idea, but I'm just not certain if it's the idea. I learned from my novel that the world needs less phony, more real. So I thought about speaking to the incoming freshman class of the next school year. I would talk to them about how important it is to be yourself in a world full of people who seem to be all the same. If money wasn't an issue I thought about creating bracelets that would remind someone each day to be yourself and live your life with conforming or being phony to others.
Reading can really change the way people think. It opens your eyes, mind, and heart to look at a situation completely different. It's other people's words, but sometimes it's your words too. An author may write about exactly how you feel or what you are thinking and it can make you feel less alone. I love how no matter what, some part of a book will always apply to my life.
As for the rest of the quarter (and semester), I hope to become a person who inspires others because I was inspired by someone else. It's all a cycle.

The Catcher in the Rye //Free Response

Symbol

In many novels there is symbolism. A symbol is related to imagery where something or an object in the story is itself, but really stands for something more. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield talks about his red hunting hat all throughout the story. When I first read about his hat, I instantly tried picturing it in my head. Although Holden never describes the hat as being anymore than just a hat but as the story continued I felt as if there was a deeper meaning to it. So, I went back through and read some of the parts where he talks about it. One sentence that stuck out to me in particular was:

("I took my red hunting hat out of my pocket and put it on – I didn't give a damn how I looked") (88)

When I reread this sentence I knew that the hat symbolized Holden's personality. His personality of being unique and not conforming to what others have. The hat symbolizes his individuality as a person. It also symbolizes Holden still just wanting to stay young where he didn't have a care in the world.

The Catcher in the Rye //Dialectically

 How are we, as adolescents, supposed to be real in such a phony world?

 From the beginning to the end of the story, Holden Caulfield tries to alienate himself from society. Although he is with people for most of the novel, he has a struggle within in himself. He struggles to choose to either interact with people and face their phony and bland personalities that are so much like everyone else or to be by himself and avoid everyone. Either way he is depressed and lonely. So the question that the text is responding to is "How are we, as adolescents, supposed to be real in such a phony world?" Holden Caulfield is constantly questioning or making a remark to how phony the people around him are, especially the adults. I pulled out a phrase from the novel that incorporated with my question,

"It's such a stupid question, in my opinion. I mean how do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't. I think I am, but how do I know? I swear it's a stupid question." (213)

As adolescents, we are always struggling. Our struggles range from family, friends, school, boy/girl problems, self-esteem issues, peer pressure, and the list goes on. This phrase is well stated. How do we know what we're going to do until we actually do it? As I stated before teens don't know much, our emotions are unbalanced and to top it off we have to somehow find out what we're going to do when we are constantly faced with a phony world? Seems unfair to me. So, the text addresses this question by using a teen as the main character who also tells the story. We, as the readers, definitely get a feel for Holden's emotions, but we can relate in so many ways. The text addresses this question by the thoughts, questions, and remarks throughout the novel that Holden makes. Lastly, the text's response to the question does match much of my own personal thinking. Sometimes I do get a little paranoid and a bit crazy when I think about how many phony people I have to deal with in one day. For once it would be nice to see everyone completely being themselves and cut the crap, so to speak. For once it would be nice to see people caring for things other than themselves or their phone. We live in a society where having the most updated and new technological device is more important than just being yourself.

The Catcher in the Rye // Periphrastically

"Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them - if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry."
Ch. 24 page 189
I chose this section from the book to be my paraphrase because of how it summed up almost everything Holden Caulfield has thought throughout the book, but never expressed. Caulfield's previous teacher explains to Holden exactly how he is feeling, but he has a positive response to it. He lets him know that he is not alone in this world but also that he is going to learn something amazing from it. Throughout this novel, man vs. society is played out perfectly. Holden is in a constant battle with a phony society, where everyone seems to think and act for themselves. No one truly cares what you are thinking or how you feel. People throughout the story that Holden encounters are fake and show it without possibly knowing or with completely knowing. Holden was always commenting about the people he met or knew and how they acted. For example on page 73, "...because they were too ignorant." He also states on page 28, "...gives me a royal pain in the a**. I mean if somebody yawns right while they're asking you to do them a favor." All in all I see Holden's old teacher Mr. Antolini expressing to Holden that he is not and will not be the only person that is sickened by the phoniness of people in today's society. On a bright note, Mr. Antolini reminds Holden that he can take good from the bad, by reading other people's stories on how they perceive human behavior. Not only can he read, but he can also write and help others who are struggling with the same things as he does. It is overall a perfectly written passage from the book that helps Holden to grasp what is happening and to be able to move on with his life, knowing that there are good things to come.

The Catcher in the Rye // Periphrastically

The Catcher in the Rye //Literary Terms

Conflict

The literary term I chose for this week is conflict. Conflict is the struggle within the story and with every story ever written, there is a conflict. In the story The Catcher in the Rye the conflict is Holden Caulfield vs. The World, or character vs. society. Holden Caulfield feels alienation with society. He doesn't feel as if he has fit in anywhere. For example on page 29, Caulfield randomly starts tap-dancing for no apparent reason (which makes him seem different). The text also describes a time when Caulfield writes a composition for his roommate on a topic completely different than his roommate wanted or expected. The biggest one I see so far is that Caulfield's opinions on people and how they act are much different than most. He makes comments throughout the text where he would say something such as, "..but he wouldn't believe me. People never believe you." He doesn't come right out and say it, but you can feel as you read the story his discontent with society and how people act. He doesn't have hope for his future or anything in his present due to his constant battle with society and himself. His lack of hope is from society and their artificial ways of going through life that makes him bitter.

The Catcher in the Rye //Psychoanalytic Criticism

What does the work suggest about the psychological being of its author?

The Catcher in the Rye author, JD Salinger, was born on January 1, 1919 in New York City. Both of his parents were of different ethnic backgrounds; his mother being of German, Irish, and Scottish descent and his father being of Lithuanian descent. Salinger was enrolled in a private school and had trouble fitting in at this school. He was eventually enrolled into a Military Academy where he graduated. Upon graduating he went to NYU, Ursinus College (where he dropped out), and finally to Columbia University. Although it is little information and background of JD Salinger, I was able to read more about this author. As I read more of Catcher in the Rye and the biography of Salinger I was able to see similarities of the author's life to the ones in the book. An example would be Salinger going to several different schools where he dropped out or didn't feel like he fit in compared much with Holden Caulfield's life in the book. Salinger's work suggests possibly that he wanted to explain his life through text, but not by writing an autobiography, but a story. Salinger's work suggests that he didn't have a Christian upbringing or respected upbringing due to the excessive use of coarse language and swearing. Holden Caulfield is a very independent, depressed, and cynical character. Page 51-52 not only explains Holden's emotions, but makes you feel depressed and sad with him as well. At the beginning of the last paragraph on page 51 is where Holden explains his packing. He talks about the brand new skates his mother had bought him and how it depressed him. He goes on to say, "It made me feel pretty sad. She bought me the wrong kind of skates - I wanted racing skates and she bought hockey - but it made me sad anyway. Almost  every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad." This part of the book stuck out to me and made me think about Salinger's work altogether. Throughout the book Salinger's work suggests that his psychological being was associated with being an introvert, depressed, and cynical. Due to the similarities between Salinger and Caufield suggests that Salinger felt alienation and that he didn't fit in just as Caulfield doesn't in the story.

The Catcher in the Rye //BuyItReadItGetInspired

href="http://www.amazon.com/Catcher-Rye-J-D-Salinger/dp/0316769487">

The Catcher in the Rye //Literary Terms

Tone

Tone is the way the author has chosen to communicate with words for his readers and is essential because of the way it designates mood and the effect of the author's work. The tone is an attitude and can range from playful, somber, serious, casual, formal, or ironic. In "The Catcher in the Rye", JD Salinger sets the tone of the book in the first sentence. Holden Caulfield (main character) states at the very beginning of the book, "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." Salinger is setting the tone by his word choice ("lousy", "occupied", and "crap") His reference to David Copperfield also may set the tone to some readers if they know who Copperfield is. The overall tone in "The Catcher in the Rye" would have to be pessimistic and somber. In all, Holden is the one creating and setting the tone for the story by his use of words and how he acts and reacts to people and situations in the book. Several examples of Holden's pessimism and cynical attitude would be, ""I'm the one that's flunking out of the -- place, and you're asking me to write you a -- composition," I said.", "People always think something's all true. I don't give a damn, except that I get bored sometimes when people tell me to act my age. Sometimes I act a lot older than I am--I really do--but people never notice it. People never notice anything.", and "So I shot the bull for a while. I told him I was a real moron, and all that stuff. I told him how I would've done exactly the same thing if I'd been in his place, and how most people didn't appreciate how tough it is being a teacher. That kind of stuff. The old bull."

The Catcher in the Rye //Affectively

Before I began reading The Catcher in the Rye, I had a feeling I would relate to it somehow. I read the summary of the book and thought of the many scenarios I have been in, where I have faced the infamous "being a teenager" problem. Several words stuck out to me as I read the summary of the book such as, "teenage confusion," "angst," "alienation," and "rebellion." All in which I have felt and continue to feel while still being a teenager. Although I am at the start of this book, it has already made me feel different emotions already. I feel slightly depressed, because of the way Holden (main character) describes his roommate and people he associates with, where he lives, and the things he has to deal with on a daily basis. This book also makes me feel confused, empty, and anxious as to what is going to happen in the near future to Holden. So far I think this book is slow. I am anxious to get to the good parts of the book, but I feel like it is just taking time. Perhaps JD Salinger did this to either lead us up to something important in the book or to help us become aware of Holden's life. I know that Holden is being kicked out of yet another school because of failing four out of the five classes he as enrolled in. I also know that even though he has failed 4/5 classes, he is very knowledgeable when it comes to his English class. I believe that I am going to continue to connect to some of Holden's emotions and opinions in this book. Holden is very opinionated and likes to be himself. I am very much the same way. I know that Holden is telling the story and tells the story he does. His language and some of the people he associates with can be quite offensive, so at times it can be difficult to read.