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.