Catcher in the Rye Discussion Questions and Answers
Contribution Instructions
Remember to put your chapter title in "heading 1" font. Include your name.
Write the question in "Heading 2" font
Put your contribution in the proper order.
Chapter 1. C.Chalmers
1. How are observations of our surroundings an important way to understand our place in the world?
Our observations are important because 80% of the information we receive about the world comes through our eyes. In fact, it is said that what we say is far less important than how we say it. Body language and facial expressions, therefore, can be considered more important than the actual words used.
In society, our roles are determined by our relationships to others, and our ability to be successful depends on knowing about others and being able to adjust our behaviour in light of that knowledge. Therefore, it is extremely important that we observe others in order to understand, and change, our place in the world.
Chapter 5. Jake Hong
1.why is Holden unable to write the composition about a place and instead chooses to write about Allie's mitt?
According to the text, there is a word " I couldn't think a room or a house or anything to describe the way Stradlater said he had to have. I'm not too crazy about describing rooms and houses anyway. So what I did, I wrote about my brother Allie's baseball mitt, and it is very descriptive subject.
Chalmers: Where does this quote end?
2. How is Allie's Mitt symbolic?
The Allie's Mitt is very symbolic in catcher in the rye, because it left numerous perfect and pure memories to Holden about Allie with green-inked poems which shows the purity of Allie,for instance, Allie won't be mad at anybody, which symbolize a innocence from the adults' phonny world and all.
Chalmers:
Underline title.
delete "and all"
3.How is Allie's death symbolic?
Allie represent the prefection of Holden, He had spend a nice childhood with perfect score, moreover he was a guy who spread from "matruity". Maybe this is the result that Holden wants, because he couldn't stand the phonny adults' world with full of lying hypocrites.
Chalmers:
replace "with" with "which is"
4.Why does Holden react so violently to Allie's death? Do you Sympathize with him?
First of all, losing one of family membership must hurt Holden's feeling, because Allie is such a good guy to appritiate
and enjoy themselves with him, but Allie only left memories to Holden.
I do sympathize with Holden, when he break the windows, he just want to forget about Allie's impact.
5.why does Holden chooses to write the composition for Stradlater? What does this say about Holden.
Holden is bored, and this is the last day of school, which makes him desire to be a good man, on the other hand he is
decent to his friend, and the other reason is he is caring about Jane
Chapter 6-7. Tony Huang
1.What does Holden's altercation with Stradlater say about him?
What we obserced was the best evidence to illustrate the world because our eyes will never lie to us. We can not say that one is a violent person if we see one is fighting with others, but he/she is a guy who are not good at expressing his/her own feeling by words when he/she is mad.The altercation between Holden and Stradlater shows that Holden was a kind of impulsive boy; his impulsion reflects his immaturity because he never realized the consequence of the fight. On the other hand, the altercation tells us that Holden loves Jane because he wants to konw what Stradlater and Jane did in the date.
Chalmers:
impulsiveness
2.Why does Holden attack him?
"[Holden] tried to sock [Stradlater], with all his might, right smack in the toothbtush". Holden hits Stradlater for various reasons. Personally, he was unsatisfied with Stradlater's altitude. At first, Stradlater keep complaining about the O.C which he asked Holden to write for him. Secondly, Holden keep asking Stradlater about waht he did with Jane in the date because Jane was also a friend of Holden, and Holden was sort of falling love with Jane. Whereas, Stradlater said that "That's a professinal secret, buddy" insteas of telling the truth. The anwer rose Holden's anger and leads Holden to believe that" [Stradlater] give [Jane] thetime in Ed Banky's goddamcar". Moreover, Stradlater did not want to discuss any thing with Holden.
I believe that I will punch Stradlater if he does not want to tell me what he did in the date with my girlfriend.
Chalmers:
I would punch Holden if..
3. Who or what was Holden actually defending?
Everything happens for reasons, Holden was actually fighting for Jane. In the Chaper7, Holden told Alkley that he fight with Stradlater because "[Holden] was defending [Ackley]'s goddam honor". In fact, the fight has nothing about Ackley, but Jane; Holden was actually defending Jane's reputation because he did not want to believe that Stradlater gave the time to Jane in the car.
Chalmers:
gave the time should be in quotation marks
Chapter 8-- Shylock answers:
Why does Holden lie so much?
The truth is those things he can not be satisfied with, so he did not want to talk about them, He felt good about the woman and he knows waht a mother likes to hear about her son. Also, his experiences are not great, he avoides to share them.
Is Holden a hypocrite? Is Holden the type of person he despises? What makes him so different?
No, he is just an immature boy, and he is different from those he desises? He acts differently because he is dealing with a different kind of person- akind woman. As well, he wants to be a good man deep inside.
Does leaving Pencey early help or hinder Holden?
Both, it enriches his experience, but hinders hin from the academic work he should do.
Chalmers: The truth is that there are things that he...
Is Holden a hypocrite?
Chapter 9 Leroy Shi
1.Where does Holden fit in?
In my opinion, Holden should fit in an activated, health environment just like school. Teachers would teach Holden how to be and how to do. He should run away from “bad place” such as “Edmont hotel”. Why? These places would aggravate his wicked emotion. Holden is a teenager, and he does not have enough preparation to face the adult society directly. For example, after he watched “a man and a woman squirting water out of their mouths at each other”, Holden “was feeling pretty horny.” He could not control his desire. Moreover, Holden used his eyes to tell people that there was another “gray-haired, very distinguished-looking guy” who “took out all women’s clothes, and put them on.” In Holden’s words, “the hotel was lousy with perverts.” To live in this environment for a long time, even a normal person would go so far as to become an insane one.
Chalmers:
healthy environment
2.Why does he go to the Edmont Hotel? How does this new environment affect him?
Holden went to Edmont Hotel because he would not go home until Wednesday and “ he don’t want to stay at any hotels on the East side where he might run into some acquaintances of his.” The environment of the hotel made Holden want to have sex. For example, “It was the address of this girl that wasn’t exactly a whore or anything but that didn’t mind doing it once.” Holden’s behaviors and thoughts are dangerous for a teenager.
good answers
Chapter 10-12 Tom.Zhang
1) what type of people does Holden really like? ( using present tense in each question)
Holden likes people who are candid without phoniness. Moreover, he also likes his sister Phoebe, his female friend Jane and so on. In the page 67, '' you never saw a little kid so pretty and smart in your whole life. she's really smart'' Holden says, it means he likes his sister Phoebe extremely and in his mind, Phoebe is full of merits. Additionally, he also mentions about Jane, who is quite intimate with Holden.'' she was a funny girl, old Jane, I wouldn't exactly describe her as strictly beautiful '' and '' she is always reading and she reads very good books, she reads a lot of poetry and all.'' Holden describes her. It displays Jane is not only beautiful and knowledgeable. From chapter10-12, he likes his sister Phoebe and Jane most while he hates those people who entertain in the lavender room and his brother D.B who prosistutes himself because he is phony and corny in Holden's mind. Additionally, he likes beautiful girls such as one of three girls who dances with him.
2) why does Holden visit places he doesn't really like?
In the beginning of chapter 10, Holden stays in a hotel of New York city and he felt very solitary and nothing to do through his actions in the room.'' the one thing i hate to do is go to the bed when i am not even tired...... i thought i had go downstairs and see what the hell was going in the lavender room'' it shows he knows that place is a night club he can not go and he hates to go due to his age. From my point of view, i think Holden goes to there because he feels lonely and solitary so he probably wants to chat with others and make friends with them. About the second guess, he wants to experience the life of adulthood earlier.
Chalmers:
stays in a New York hotel
felt solitary and had nothing to do
3) why are we polite? why do we adhere to social norms?
We should be polite due to the following reasons: first, we have our civilizations and accept education so that we can show our good manners for others spontaneously. Moreover, we will be easily accepted by others if we have politeness and good manners and we also respect anyone when we meet them. About the narrator Holden in the novel, he thinks the Adult World is full of phoniness and expresses rudely so that his language and behavior are impolite according to the content of the novel. He is extremely anti-social and pursues a simple lifestyle- the catcher in the rye. on the other hand, we also observe social regulations. If we ignore the rules, our society will be unstable and paralyzed so that we will maintain stability of our society through social norms and adapt the current society. In the novel, Holden appeas against his society so that he feels lonely and disconnected with most people .Therefore, obeying social norms will allow us connect with the people who live in the same community.
Chalmers: Good revision Tom
Chapter 13-14 Ralegh Zhang
1. Why is Holden depressed?
Holden was depressed by his yellowness. He was so scared of others “I can’t stand looking at the other guy’s face, is my trouble.” Also in Chapter 14, his yellowness makes him lost his desire to ML with the girl.
Chalmers: make love, not ML
2. How does Holden view himself?
He views himself as a turkey, a yellowness guy. (See question 1)
Chalmers: coward
3. Why does Holden cry in this chapter?
Holden cry because he feels grievance. He paid the whore with 5 bucks but the old Maurice came back to ask for 5 bucks more. He even does not have one throw with the girl and he paid the girl 5 bucks, then the old Maurice came back treat him as a bad guy who give a throw and don’t give money.
Chalmers: give a throw = have sex
Chapter 15 Gordon Sun
1.Is Holden Caulfield a hypocrite?
Holden is not a hypocrite. The meaning of the word hypocrite is the person who pretends to be what he or she is not. Within Ch 15 I could not find any clue that shows Holden pretending to be something. Whereas, I find some details that show Holden as a non-hypocrite person, such like he gives money to the two nuns who he has never met before. A hypocrite, in my opinion, will not give strangers some money just for charity reason.
Chalmers: a hypocrite professes values which s/he does not uphold.
2. How does Holden gauge intelligence?
The first standard that Holden uses to gauge intellegence is whether you are honest and kind or not. In Holden's opinion, if a person is phony and selfish no matter how smart he is, that just make him a smart "basterd" but not intelligent. Then Holden would see if you are knowldgeble, have read alot of books and have a deep understanding about things. In a word, Holden prefers a honest fool rather than a phony genies, but if you are fundamentally a good person the more intelligent the better.
Chalmers: genius
3. How does experience affect one's observation?
Experience sometimes acts like a colored glass in our lives. Acturally, everything has many aspects either good or bad. When you look at it from different direction you will have different judgement. People who undergoes lots of hardships in life tend to think about things in negative direction, while for those people who live in happiness and prosperity al the time, why would they even care about how the negative aspect of the society looks.
Chalmers: colored glass=good analogy
Chapter 16 Wesley Qi
1. How does Salinger use symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye?
Salinger uses duck, snow and cliff to show the powerful mainstream society culture from Pensy Prep school and Holden is too weak to resist it alone, so he just can leave by hiself and travel. The author also takes advantage of red hunting hat to represent the empty of Holden's inner world. And when Holden went to the museum, the scene what he saw reflect the difficulties to find his ideal world. However, In Chapter 16, I think there are the most important symbolism what is Old Sally who is Holden's girlfriend. As we know, Holden mostly hates to watch drama, but he still wastes time in the cinema with boredom. Although he does not like his girlfriend's vanity and lack of will, he also is attracted by her beauty. All the things are described as "pseudo-mode pseudo-type", maybe that is what like in that period of American!
Chalmers: no strong minded=lack of will
2. How is the title symbolic?
The Catcher in the Rye this title has two mean words, "Catcher" and "Rye". Indubitably, the Catcher is appointed to Holden who is the books' protagonist. In Chapter 23 "I thought it was 'If a body catch a body,'" and "I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all." From this sentence, that has already shown Holden want to become the "Catcher" in the "Rye". This catcher protects the "Rye" where is full of the children's happiness, pure and innocent. In conclusion, the sentense what is written full of the disappointment and the anger of the life. He could only hoping to prevent the youngs goes down from the dark society.
Chalmers: indubitabililitillity? C'mon everyone, check your spelling!
3. Why does hearing the poor man sing the line "If a body could catch a body coming through the rye" make Holden feel better?
First, Holden does not hear the poor man sing, the song is sung by the man's son. Then the boy's pure and innocent touches the deep of Holden's heart because Holden hates the society but boy's cute and pure let him know the world still has the hope. In fact, the boy also sings very well, his voice also sweet. A good song will change a person's mood.
Chapter 17 Randolph Zhao
Chapter 17 Randolph Zhao
Even though Holden’s dreams are possible to be achieved by himself, I still deem that his dreams are unrealistic. Firstly, I think it is too hard for youth to live by themselves in nowhere. Without helping from others, Holden cannot face the oncoming difficulties. For instance, “when the dough runs out, I could get a job somewhere and we could live somewhere with a brook and all” (132). Holden images that he can find the job which can offer him enough money for living and not need to communicate with phony people. Hence, the dreams are grounded on the job being perfect but not easy to get. Secondly, finding a partner is also a problem for Holden. According to the social background of the book, there is impossible to find a girl that has the same idea and fall in love with Holden because she must trust Holden and take the risk of losing everything including her family.
Chalmers:
Although Holden can achieve his dreams himself...
2. Why does Holden engage with people he does not like, people he considers to be below him?
Holden has to engage with people he does not like because he belongs to a unique group which merely himself can fit in. Almost everybody and everything is not fit his personal value in New York City. Hence, He has to stay with “phony people” such as “George something” from “Andover” (127).
3. Was Holden’s date with Sally doomed to fail?
Yes, Holden’s date with Sally is given to fail because they obtain distinct attitudes of society, people and marriage. For example, Holden would like to go to a place that nobody knows, but Sally wants him to get into college and find a job in office, which Holden is disgust at all.
Chalmers: obtain>have
4. Why does Holden get so incensed when Sally does not support his dreams?
“’Maybe I don’t. Maybe you don’t, either.’ Old Sally said” (133). And Holden also think that “there wasn’t any sense trying to have an intelligent conversation (with Sally)”. Obviously, Holden and Sally have two opposite idea about the dreams. And the dreams that Sally rejected are exactly from Holden’s real mind. Holden feels so depressed when he notices that Sally doesn’t understand him at all. Furthermore, Sally may think Holden is a crazy and irresponsible person because his dreams. That Holden, while nobody understanding his ideas and personal value, feels so afflicted is the reason of why Holden getting so incensed.
C: nobody understands
Chapter 18 Clement Zhou
1.Why is Holden lonely? Is he ever able to feel less lonely? How?
Holden was lonely because he had a quarrel with old Sally and Holden went away and leave her alone. Therefore, Holden can't find a friend who can spend time with him at that lonely night because there were only three people in his address book. So Holden didn't know what should he do next.
Sometimes, Holden feel less lonely. Obviously, Holden imagined about the personalities of other people a lot. It is not hard to see there are lots of unfounded calumnies about others from Holden. In my opinion, when Holden think about theses kinds of stuffs, he will feel less lonely and get lots of fun from it.
Chalmers: went and left
2.What is Holden's view of human nature?
In Holden's mind, there are lots of trouble with girls. For example, "if they like a boy, no matter how big a bastard he is, they'll say he has an inferiority complex, and if they don't like him, no matter how nice a guy he is, or how big an inferiority compex he has, they'll say he's conceited." That's the way which Holden think about how girls think about a boy. Moreover, there was a lady sat next to Holden and she cried more when the movie was phonier. But Holden didn't think she was kindhearted because she didn't kind to the kid which she took. Furthermore, Holden thought that the person who cries their my eyes out over phony stuff in the movies,and nine times out of ten they're mean bastards at heart.
C; a lady who sat next to...
3.In the movie, what happens to Alec that causes him to regain his memory?
One day Alec was walking on a lawn and there were some kids playing playing cricket on it. Moreover, he got smacked in the hear with a cricket ball. Then he got his memory back.
chapter 19 Gary zhu
1. what are Holden's values?
Holden values a sexual intercourse which is based on love. He would like to have sex with the one he like, otherwise he would lose his disire.
Chalmers: are there no more values? please be comprehensive.
2. what dose Luce illuminate about Holden?
Holden, when comparing with Luce, considers sex a very serious thing. Holden would not have sex with any girl unless he really get into her. Luce thinks sex is simple and enjoys sex life the same way as he would enjoy shoping, trying out new stuff if he can. Luce calls Holden immature. But i do think Holden's attitude is healthier.
Chapter 21 Harry Yu
1. Is Holden comfortable in his own home?
Holden feels uncomfortable in his own room because he sneaked into the house. Perhaps he sneaked into his house because of his early arrival, but it still shows that he does not like his house. Though he “certainly knew [he] was at home”, but he “had to be very careful not to bump into anything and make a racket”. Also, “[he] even held my breath, for God’s sake” when he passes through his parents’ room.
Chalmers: good answer
2. How does being with Phoebe affect Holden?
Phoebe makes Holden feel peeved at her because of the excitement of meeting Holden. When Holden was eager to know if their parents are at home, Phoebe just keeps talking about the school, the play, D.B’s new script, and so on. However, when she realizes that Holden comes back home two days early, she got angry and refused to keep the conversation. It makes Holden doleful.
3. How does Holden’s relationship with Phoebe embody his value?
Holden values childhood and innocence. His 10-year-old sister, Phoebe, is a symbol of his value. Once he entered his house, he went to Phoebe’s room directly, not care about his parents. He does not like the phony part of adults’ life. He truly loves Phoebe. He cares about her and want to protect her.
Chalmers: directly, without caring about...
Chapter 22-23 Jim
1.Why is Holden able to be so honest with Phoebe? Why does he choose to be honest with her?
Holden choose to be honest to Phoebe because Phoebe is his sister who can let him feel the warnth of family, whom Holden finally can stop pretending to. Also, Phoebe is nice to Holden, and she will keep Holden's secrets tight. Therefore, Holden doesn't want to lie to Phoebe.
2.How is Phoebe able to be so insightful?
I don't think Phoebe is very insightful. In this chapter, she seems to be very insightful about Holden's problems because she has known Holden since she was born, and therefore she knows what Holden is really thinking about. As a result, we shouldn't see her understanding of Holden as insightful.
3.Why does Holden get angry when Phoebe tells him he can't like someone who's dead?
This is because the word "dead" remind Holden about his dead brother, and therefore when Phoebe says we can't like dead people, Holden will be very angry.
Chalmers: good answers
Chapters 24 Alfred Chen
1. How does Mr. Antolini represent Holden's feelings and experiences with adults?
Mr.Antolini is deceptive to Holden. At first Holden thought he was a very good teacher but Holden's feeling was wrong. As a teacher Mr.Antolini made Holden have this feeling. When Holden found out that his teacher actually was a homosexuality, Holden felt that the adults were phoniness.
2.Why does Holden feel comfortable in Mr.Antolini's home?
Holden thinks Mr. Antolini is not a hypocrite. Mr. Antolini is Holeden's favourite teacher who has similar age to Holden's brother. Mr. Antolini is so knowledgable and he can understand others. Moreover, he is a good friend to Holden's family. Holden thinks Mr. Antolini is a hoyalty person
3.How are the events at the end of the Chapter symbolic and indicative of Holden's inability to find a peaceful and comfortable place?
At the end of the chapter, Holden finds Mr. Antolini stroke Holden's head during Holden is sleeping. You know that means Mr. Antolini is a homosexual. It scares Holden because in Holden's mind, Mr. Antolini is the only one prefect guy in the world. However, everything is brocken at that time.
4. How can Mr Antolini be seen as a "catcher in the rey"?
\personally, I like Mr. Antolini because he does not like to teach as other adults. He can listen to teenagers' opinion and understand them. He can help teenagers' to find right way in their life roads. Like a latcher to protect children. In our lives, guide is more useful than teaching.
Catcher in the Rye Discussion Questions and AnswersContribution Instructions
Remember to put your chapter title in "heading 1" font. Include your name.Write the question in "Heading 2" font
Put your contribution in the proper order.
Chapter 1. C.Chalmers
1. How are observations of our surroundings an important way to understand our place in the world?
Our observations are important because 80% of the information we receive about the world comes through our eyes. In fact, it is said that what we say is far less important than how we say it. Body language and facial expressions, therefore, can be considered more important than the actual words used.
In society, our roles are determined by our relationships to others, and our ability to be successful depends on knowing about others and being able to adjust our behaviour in light of that knowledge. Therefore, it is extremely important that we observe others in order to understand, and change, our place in the world.
Chapter 5. Jake Hong
1.why is Holden unable to write the composition about a place and instead chooses to write about Allie's mitt?
According to the text, there is a word " I couldn't think a room or a house or anything to describe the way Stradlater said he had to have. I'm not too crazy about describing rooms and houses anyway. So what I did, I wrote about my brother Allie's baseball mitt, and it is very descriptive subject.Chalmers: Where does this quote end?
2. How is Allie's Mitt symbolic?
The Allie's Mitt is very symbolic in catcher in the rye, because it left numerous perfect and pure memories to Holden about Allie with green-inked poems which shows the purity of Allie,for instance, Allie won't be mad at anybody, which symbolize a innocence from the adults' phonny world and all.Chalmers:
Underline title.
delete "and all"
3.How is Allie's death symbolic?
Allie represent the prefection of Holden, He had spend a nice childhood with perfect score, moreover he was a guy who spread from "matruity". Maybe this is the result that Holden wants, because he couldn't stand the phonny adults' world with full of lying hypocrites.Chalmers:
replace "with" with "which is"
4.Why does Holden react so violently to Allie's death? Do you Sympathize with him?
First of all, losing one of family membership must hurt Holden's feeling, because Allie is such a good guy to appritiateand enjoy themselves with him, but Allie only left memories to Holden.
I do sympathize with Holden, when he break the windows, he just want to forget about Allie's impact.
5.why does Holden chooses to write the composition for Stradlater? What does this say about Holden.
Holden is bored, and this is the last day of school, which makes him desire to be a good man, on the other hand he isdecent to his friend, and the other reason is he is caring about Jane
Chapter 6-7. Tony Huang
1.What does Holden's altercation with Stradlater say about him?
What we obserced was the best evidence to illustrate the world because our eyes will never lie to us. We can not say that one is a violent person if we see one is fighting with others, but he/she is a guy who are not good at expressing his/her own feeling by words when he/she is mad.The altercation between Holden and Stradlater shows that Holden was a kind of impulsive boy; his impulsion reflects his immaturity because he never realized the consequence of the fight. On the other hand, the altercation tells us that Holden loves Jane because he wants to konw what Stradlater and Jane did in the date.
Chalmers:impulsiveness
2.Why does Holden attack him?
"[Holden] tried to sock [Stradlater], with all his might, right smack in the toothbtush". Holden hits Stradlater for various reasons. Personally, he was unsatisfied with Stradlater's altitude. At first, Stradlater keep complaining about the O.C which he asked Holden to write for him. Secondly, Holden keep asking Stradlater about waht he did with Jane in the date because Jane was also a friend of Holden, and Holden was sort of falling love with Jane. Whereas, Stradlater said that "That's a professinal secret, buddy" insteas of telling the truth. The anwer rose Holden's anger and leads Holden to believe that" [Stradlater] give [Jane] thetime in Ed Banky's goddamcar". Moreover, Stradlater did not want to discuss any thing with Holden.I believe that I will punch Stradlater if he does not want to tell me what he did in the date with my girlfriend.
Chalmers:
I would punch Holden if..
3. Who or what was Holden actually defending?
Everything happens for reasons, Holden was actually fighting for Jane. In the Chaper7, Holden told Alkley that he fight with Stradlater because "[Holden] was defending [Ackley]'s goddam honor". In fact, the fight has nothing about Ackley, but Jane; Holden was actually defending Jane's reputation because he did not want to believe that Stradlater gave the time to Jane in the car.Chalmers:
gave the time should be in quotation marks
Chapter 8-- Shylock answers:
Why does Holden lie so much?
The truth is those things he can not be satisfied with, so he did not want to talk about them, He felt good about the woman and he knows waht a mother likes to hear about her son. Also, his experiences are not great, he avoides to share them.
Is Holden a hypocrite? Is Holden the type of person he despises? What makes him so different?
No, he is just an immature boy, and he is different from those he desises? He acts differently because he is dealing with a different kind of person- akind woman. As well, he wants to be a good man deep inside.
Does leaving Pencey early help or hinder Holden?
Both, it enriches his experience, but hinders hin from the academic work he should do.
Chalmers: The truth is that there are things that he...
Is Holden a hypocrite?
Chapter 9 Leroy Shi
1.Where does Holden fit in?
In my opinion, Holden should fit in an activated, health environment just like school. Teachers would teach Holden how to be and how to do. He should run away from “bad place” such as “Edmont hotel”. Why? These places would aggravate his wicked emotion. Holden is a teenager, and he does not have enough preparation to face the adult society directly. For example, after he watched “a man and a woman squirting water out of their mouths at each other”, Holden “was feeling pretty horny.” He could not control his desire. Moreover, Holden used his eyes to tell people that there was another “gray-haired, very distinguished-looking guy” who “took out all women’s clothes, and put them on.” In Holden’s words, “the hotel was lousy with perverts.” To live in this environment for a long time, even a normal person would go so far as to become an insane one.Chalmers:
healthy environment
2.Why does he go to the Edmont Hotel? How does this new environment affect him?
Holden went to Edmont Hotel because he would not go home until Wednesday and “ he don’t want to stay at any hotels on the East side where he might run into some acquaintances of his.” The environment of the hotel made Holden want to have sex. For example, “It was the address of this girl that wasn’t exactly a whore or anything but that didn’t mind doing it once.” Holden’s behaviors and thoughts are dangerous for a teenager.good answers
Chapter 10-12 Tom.Zhang
1) what type of people does Holden really like? ( using present tense in each question)
Holden likes people who are candid without phoniness. Moreover, he also likes his sister Phoebe, his female friend Jane and so on. In the page 67, '' you never saw a little kid so pretty and smart in your whole life. she's really smart'' Holden says, it means he likes his sister Phoebe extremely and in his mind, Phoebe is full of merits. Additionally, he also mentions about Jane, who is quite intimate with Holden.'' she was a funny girl, old Jane, I wouldn't exactly describe her as strictly beautiful '' and '' she is always reading and she reads very good books, she reads a lot of poetry and all.'' Holden describes her. It displays Jane is not only beautiful and knowledgeable. From chapter10-12, he likes his sister Phoebe and Jane most while he hates those people who entertain in the lavender room and his brother D.B who prosistutes himself because he is phony and corny in Holden's mind. Additionally, he likes beautiful girls such as one of three girls who dances with him.2) why does Holden visit places he doesn't really like?
In the beginning of chapter 10, Holden stays in a hotel of New York city and he felt very solitary and nothing to do through his actions in the room.'' the one thing i hate to do is go to the bed when i am not even tired...... i thought i had go downstairs and see what the hell was going in the lavender room'' it shows he knows that place is a night club he can not go and he hates to go due to his age. From my point of view, i think Holden goes to there because he feels lonely and solitary so he probably wants to chat with others and make friends with them. About the second guess, he wants to experience the life of adulthood earlier.Chalmers:
stays in a New York hotel
felt solitary and had nothing to do
3) why are we polite? why do we adhere to social norms?
We should be polite due to the following reasons: first, we have our civilizations and accept education so that we can show our good manners for others spontaneously. Moreover, we will be easily accepted by others if we have politeness and good manners and we also respect anyone when we meet them. About the narrator Holden in the novel, he thinks the Adult World is full of phoniness and expresses rudely so that his language and behavior are impolite according to the content of the novel. He is extremely anti-social and pursues a simple lifestyle- the catcher in the rye. on the other hand, we also observe social regulations. If we ignore the rules, our society will be unstable and paralyzed so that we will maintain stability of our society through social norms and adapt the current society. In the novel, Holden appeas against his society so that he feels lonely and disconnected with most people .Therefore, obeying social norms will allow us connect with the people who live in the same community.Chalmers: Good revision Tom
Chapter 13-14 Ralegh Zhang
1. Why is Holden depressed?
Holden was depressed by his yellowness. He was so scared of others “I can’t stand looking at the other guy’s face, is my trouble.” Also in Chapter 14, his yellowness makes him lost his desire to ML with the girl.Chalmers: make love, not ML
2. How does Holden view himself?
He views himself as a turkey, a yellowness guy. (See question 1)Chalmers: coward
3. Why does Holden cry in this chapter?
Holden cry because he feels grievance. He paid the whore with 5 bucks but the old Maurice came back to ask for 5 bucks more. He even does not have one throw with the girl and he paid the girl 5 bucks, then the old Maurice came back treat him as a bad guy who give a throw and don’t give money.Chalmers: give a throw = have sex
Chapter 15 Gordon Sun
1.Is Holden Caulfield a hypocrite?
Holden is not a hypocrite. The meaning of the word hypocrite is the person who pretends to be what he or she is not. Within Ch 15 I could not find any clue that shows Holden pretending to be something. Whereas, I find some details that show Holden as a non-hypocrite person, such like he gives money to the two nuns who he has never met before. A hypocrite, in my opinion, will not give strangers some money just for charity reason.Chalmers: a hypocrite professes values which s/he does not uphold.
2. How does Holden gauge intelligence?
The first standard that Holden uses to gauge intellegence is whether you are honest and kind or not. In Holden's opinion, if a person is phony and selfish no matter how smart he is, that just make him a smart "basterd" but not intelligent. Then Holden would see if you are knowldgeble, have read alot of books and have a deep understanding about things. In a word, Holden prefers a honest fool rather than a phony genies, but if you are fundamentally a good person the more intelligent the better.Chalmers: genius
3. How does experience affect one's observation?
Experience sometimes acts like a colored glass in our lives. Acturally, everything has many aspects either good or bad. When you look at it from different direction you will have different judgement. People who undergoes lots of hardships in life tend to think about things in negative direction, while for those people who live in happiness and prosperity al the time, why would they even care about how the negative aspect of the society looks.Chalmers: colored glass=good analogy
Chapter 16 Wesley Qi
1. How does Salinger use symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye?
Salinger uses duck, snow and cliff to show the powerful mainstream society culture from Pensy Prep school and Holden is too weak to resist it alone, so he just can leave by hiself and travel. The author also takes advantage of red hunting hat to represent the empty of Holden's inner world. And when Holden went to the museum, the scene what he saw reflect the difficulties to find his ideal world. However, In Chapter 16, I think there are the most important symbolism what is Old Sally who is Holden's girlfriend. As we know, Holden mostly hates to watch drama, but he still wastes time in the cinema with boredom. Although he does not like his girlfriend's vanity and lack of will, he also is attracted by her beauty. All the things are described as "pseudo-mode pseudo-type", maybe that is what like in that period of American!Chalmers: no strong minded=lack of will
2. How is the title symbolic?
The Catcher in the Rye this title has two mean words, "Catcher" and "Rye". Indubitably, the Catcher is appointed to Holden who is the books' protagonist. In Chapter 23 "I thought it was 'If a body catch a body,'" and "I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all." From this sentence, that has already shown Holden want to become the "Catcher" in the "Rye". This catcher protects the "Rye" where is full of the children's happiness, pure and innocent. In conclusion, the sentense what is written full of the disappointment and the anger of the life. He could only hoping to prevent the youngs goes down from the dark society.
Chalmers: indubitabililitillity? C'mon everyone, check your spelling!3. Why does hearing the poor man sing the line "If a body could catch a body coming through the rye" make Holden feel better?
First, Holden does not hear the poor man sing, the song is sung by the man's son. Then the boy's pure and innocent touches the deep of Holden's heart because Holden hates the society but boy's cute and pure let him know the world still has the hope. In fact, the boy also sings very well, his voice also sweet. A good song will change a person's mood.Chapter 17 Randolph Zhao
Chapter 17 Randolph Zhao
Even though Holden’s dreams are possible to be achieved by himself, I still deem that his dreams are unrealistic. Firstly, I think it is too hard for youth to live by themselves in nowhere. Without helping from others, Holden cannot face the oncoming difficulties. For instance, “when the dough runs out, I could get a job somewhere and we could live somewhere with a brook and all” (132). Holden images that he can find the job which can offer him enough money for living and not need to communicate with phony people. Hence, the dreams are grounded on the job being perfect but not easy to get. Secondly, finding a partner is also a problem for Holden. According to the social background of the book, there is impossible to find a girl that has the same idea and fall in love with Holden because she must trust Holden and take the risk of losing everything including her family.
Chalmers:
Although Holden can achieve his dreams himself...
2. Why does Holden engage with people he does not like, people he considers to be below him?
Holden has to engage with people he does not like because he belongs to a unique group which merely himself can fit in. Almost everybody and everything is not fit his personal value in New York City. Hence, He has to stay with “phony people” such as “George something” from “Andover” (127).
3. Was Holden’s date with Sally doomed to fail?
Yes, Holden’s date with Sally is given to fail because they obtain distinct attitudes of society, people and marriage. For example, Holden would like to go to a place that nobody knows, but Sally wants him to get into college and find a job in office, which Holden is disgust at all.Chalmers: obtain>have
4. Why does Holden get so incensed when Sally does not support his dreams?
“’Maybe I don’t. Maybe you don’t, either.’ Old Sally said” (133). And Holden also think that “there wasn’t any sense trying to have an intelligent conversation (with Sally)”. Obviously, Holden and Sally have two opposite idea about the dreams. And the dreams that Sally rejected are exactly from Holden’s real mind. Holden feels so depressed when he notices that Sally doesn’t understand him at all. Furthermore, Sally may think Holden is a crazy and irresponsible person because his dreams. That Holden, while nobody understanding his ideas and personal value, feels so afflicted is the reason of why Holden getting so incensed.C: nobody understands
Chapter 18 Clement Zhou
1.Why is Holden lonely? Is he ever able to feel less lonely? How?
Holden was lonely because he had a quarrel with old Sally and Holden went away and leave her alone. Therefore, Holden can't find a friend who can spend time with him at that lonely night because there were only three people in his address book. So Holden didn't know what should he do next.Sometimes, Holden feel less lonely. Obviously, Holden imagined about the personalities of other people a lot. It is not hard to see there are lots of unfounded calumnies about others from Holden. In my opinion, when Holden think about theses kinds of stuffs, he will feel less lonely and get lots of fun from it.
Chalmers: went and left
2.What is Holden's view of human nature?
In Holden's mind, there are lots of trouble with girls. For example, "if they like a boy, no matter how big a bastard he is, they'll say he has an inferiority complex, and if they don't like him, no matter how nice a guy he is, or how big an inferiority compex he has, they'll say he's conceited." That's the way which Holden think about how girls think about a boy. Moreover, there was a lady sat next to Holden and she cried more when the movie was phonier. But Holden didn't think she was kindhearted because she didn't kind to the kid which she took. Furthermore, Holden thought that the person who cries their my eyes out over phony stuff in the movies,and nine times out of ten they're mean bastards at heart.C; a lady who sat next to...
3.In the movie, what happens to Alec that causes him to regain his memory?
One day Alec was walking on a lawn and there were some kids playing playing cricket on it. Moreover, he got smacked in the hear with a cricket ball. Then he got his memory back.chapter 19 Gary zhu
1. what are Holden's values?
Holden values a sexual intercourse which is based on love. He would like to have sex with the one he like, otherwise he would lose his disire.Chalmers: are there no more values? please be comprehensive.
2. what dose Luce illuminate about Holden?
Holden, when comparing with Luce, considers sex a very serious thing. Holden would not have sex with any girl unless he really get into her. Luce thinks sex is simple and enjoys sex life the same way as he would enjoy shoping, trying out new stuff if he can. Luce calls Holden immature. But i do think Holden's attitude is healthier.Chapter 21 Harry Yu
1. Is Holden comfortable in his own home?
Holden feels uncomfortable in his own room because he sneaked into the house. Perhaps he sneaked into his house because of his early arrival, but it still shows that he does not like his house. Though he “certainly knew [he] was at home”, but he “had to be very careful not to bump into anything and make a racket”. Also, “[he] even held my breath, for God’s sake” when he passes through his parents’ room.
Chalmers: good answer
2. How does being with Phoebe affect Holden?
Phoebe makes Holden feel peeved at her because of the excitement of meeting Holden. When Holden was eager to know if their parents are at home, Phoebe just keeps talking about the school, the play, D.B’s new script, and so on. However, when she realizes that Holden comes back home two days early, she got angry and refused to keep the conversation. It makes Holden doleful.
3. How does Holden’s relationship with Phoebe embody his value?
Holden values childhood and innocence. His 10-year-old sister, Phoebe, is a symbol of his value. Once he entered his house, he went to Phoebe’s room directly, not care about his parents. He does not like the phony part of adults’ life. He truly loves Phoebe. He cares about her and want to protect her.
Chalmers: directly, without caring about...
Chapter 22-23 Jim
1.Why is Holden able to be so honest with Phoebe? Why does he choose to be honest with her?
Holden choose to be honest to Phoebe because Phoebe is his sister who can let him feel the warnth of family, whom Holden finally can stop pretending to. Also, Phoebe is nice to Holden, and she will keep Holden's secrets tight. Therefore, Holden doesn't want to lie to Phoebe.
2.How is Phoebe able to be so insightful?
I don't think Phoebe is very insightful. In this chapter, she seems to be very insightful about Holden's problems because she has known Holden since she was born, and therefore she knows what Holden is really thinking about. As a result, we shouldn't see her understanding of Holden as insightful.
3.Why does Holden get angry when Phoebe tells him he can't like someone who's dead?
This is because the word "dead" remind Holden about his dead brother, and therefore when Phoebe says we can't like dead people, Holden will be very angry.
Chalmers: good answers
Chapters 24 Alfred Chen
1. How does Mr. Antolini represent Holden's feelings and experiences with adults?
Mr.Antolini is deceptive to Holden. At first Holden thought he was a very good teacher but Holden's feeling was wrong. As a teacher Mr.Antolini made Holden have this feeling. When Holden found out that his teacher actually was a homosexuality, Holden felt that the adults were phoniness.
Chalmers: homosexuality>homosexualphoniness>phony
2.Why does Holden feel comfortable in Mr.Antolini's home?
Holden thinks Mr. Antolini is not a hypocrite. Mr. Antolini is Holeden's favourite teacher who has similar age to Holden's brother. Mr. Antolini is so knowledgable and he can understand others. Moreover, he is a good friend to Holden's family. Holden thinks Mr. Antolini is a hoyalty person
3.How are the events at the end of the Chapter symbolic and indicative of Holden's inability to find a peaceful and comfortable place?At the end of the chapter, Holden finds Mr. Antolini stroke Holden's head during Holden is sleeping. You know that means Mr. Antolini is a homosexual. It scares Holden because in Holden's mind, Mr. Antolini is the only one prefect guy in the world. However, everything is brocken at that time.
4. How can Mr Antolini be seen as a "catcher in the rey"?
\personally, I like Mr. Antolini because he does not like to teach as other adults. He can listen to teenagers' opinion and understand them. He can help teenagers' to find right way in their life roads. Like a latcher to protect children. In our lives, guide is more useful than teaching.