Journal # 2 - Animals and Hospitality

There once was a squirrel who went by the name of George. One day, he decided to invite his friends over to his house for a nice lunch. On his list of guests was Rachel the Owl, Emma the Turtle, and Kristina the Beaver. All three animals received George's invitation and were completely excited to come over to the squirrel's house.

Finally the day had come. George made sure all of the final touches were perfect in his house. He set out the tea cups and had a basket of cookies on the table for his guests to munch on. In the kitchen, George had last week's science project sitting on the table. His project consisted of hydrochloric acid, flour, and red food coloring. George figured his guests would stay out of the kitchen, seeing as how all of the delicious food and beautiful decorations were all set up in the living room.

DING-DONG! The first guest had finally arrived. "Hey, how are you!" George said to Rachel the Owl. "I am doing just fine, thanks," Rachel replied. George told Rachel to make herself at home while he waited for the other guests to arrive. Now, Rachel was quite the prowler. She loved to see what was behind closed doors. DING-DONG! The doorbell rang again, and Rachel noticed that George was busy welcoming his other friends. She decided to roam the house to see what interesting things she could find.

Rachel made her way to the kitchen. In surprise, she saw all of George's science materials sitting on the table. She decided she wanted to see what would happen if she added the food coloring to the hydrochloric acid. Soon, Rachel found herself in a mess. The chemical was bubbling over onto the floor and some even splashed on her skin. She could not believe how much it burned! She ran out of the kitchen and told George what had happened.

George was very upset that Rachel had wondered into his kitchen without asking. "Rachel, the kind thing to have done in this situation would have been to ask me if it was okay to go look in the kitchen," George said. Emma and Kristina told Rachel that it was nice to use good manners. Rachel learned her lesson and was glad that George, Emma, and Kristina taught her the right thing to do. She knew from then on that she would ask permission to wonder into places that were not in plain sight.

Journal # 1 - Native American Animal Story

In a time where life was simple and cats did not have eyes, much was pondered about society regarding where animals came from and how they evolved. Harry the cat was lost in life. He was blind. Life to the poor kitty was dark and weary, and he longed to see the thousands of colors before him. One day Harry the Cat wondered upon an Aztec Native American camp site, although at the time he did not know it (because he was blind, remember?). When he arrived at the camp, all of the natives were excited to see such a beautiful and magnificent cat. How could it be that such a precious creature would find itself in such a small and out-of-the-way campsite. The group's leader, Mohogany, introduced himself to the cat. He told him how he was honored to be in his presence, but little did the cat know who exactly he was talking to. After becoming aware of his new surroundings, Harry began to smell, feel, and embrace the new area around him. He stumbled upon the Native American's medicine man. He told the elder about his blindness, and asked if there was anything he could do to cure Harry's flaw. The medicine man, who went by the name of Jose, told the cat there was in fact an old remedy he could try to possibly allow Harry to see again. Harry was told that the medicine man say a magical spell on him that would in fact allows him to see. "Magic, magic in the air, give this cat sight if I so dare!" The words from the medicine man flowed so eloquently. In a matter of seconds, Harry was able to see! After thanking the elder before him, Harry embarked on a journey through the land, curing all cats of their blindness. Before long, every cat in the world knew of the special remedy that cured them. Through time, the cat species evolved. All were born with the ability to see, thanks to Harry the Cat and the magical medicine man.

The Catcher in the Rye - My Final Blog/Thoughts

In this final blog, I would like to talk about the struggle Holden has with accepting adulthood into his life. I think this is a very important theme/struggle in the novel because it is something that I can relate to, along with other students my age. It seems we all are dealt life's card at some point growing up. The Catcher in the Rye is such an exquisite novel because its theme can still be applied in today's society, despite the fact the book was written over fifty years ago. I am not exactly sure if Salinger's novel has been made into a movie or not, but if it has yet to hit the big screen, I know I would thoroughly enjoy watching it.

Like I said before, the fact that Holden has such a hard time grasping reality is not something new in my life. Now that I am getting to be older and forced to manage tasks on my own, I feel the same attitude Holden has in the novel. He feels as if everyone around him is a bunch of phonies. I feel like that at times too, especially now that I am in high school and I see all of my friends changing, some good, others bad. I read a lot of reviews of The Catcher in the Rye regarding it to be a very terrible book. First of all, I am pretty sure the critics reviewing it are like fifty. Why would they want to read about a sixteen year old's struggle with life? They have already dealt with that, so of course reading this book would not be applicable to their own lives. Anyway, stuff like that really irritates me (I sound like Holden. Hmm, maybe another reason why I was so intrigued with the book). Back to the point. I personally felt a connection to Holden Caulfield because I am experiencing similar struggles in my own walk of life. I am glad I sat down and actually read the book, instead of Sparknoting it like a lot of my fellow classmates probably have. If you are reading this and decided to do that, I highly suggest taking the time to read the novel. It is better than what short summary Sparknotes has to offer you.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.

The Catcher in the Rye - Post Ending

I was pretty satisfied with the way The Catcher in the Rye ended. Holden goes kind of goes insane after he spends the night with Mr. Antolini. He writes a letter to Phoebe telling her to meet him at the museum so he can return the Christmas money he borrowed from her (Salinger 200). After Phoebe refuses to let Holden leave, they pretty much walk on opposite sides of the street until they meet up with one another and Holden tells Phoebe to take a ride on the carousel (Salinger 212). In the final chapter, Holden refuses to tell readers what happened after that, which I think is an awesome technique Salinger uses. He does give us some insight about attending another school in the fall, which he may or may not be successful with. In this blog, I want to throw out some ideas as to what I think will happen to Holden after the novel ends.

First off, I think he changes his whole mindset on life. His little episode of an almost mental breakdown probably hit him hard, so hopefully he learned from that. I also believe he decides to forget about attending school and stay with his family in New York, possibly attending a school in the city and getting a job. Holden’s relationship with Phoebe will more than likely grow stronger, seeing as how he had such a imminent bond with her in previous chapters. To back track a little ways, I think Holden’s parents completely destroy his life when they find out he was kicked out of Pencey Prep. More than likely they would yell at him about how he needs to apply himself more and how all the money they spent sending him to a nice school has washed down the drain. Furthermore, Holden’s life will be full of even more adventures like throughout the novel itself. I think the fact that I was completely satisfied with the ending of the book plays a vital role in the successful life I give Holden in predicting what happens to him after the initial ending. I think it would be cool to read a follow up about Holden Caulfield, but that is just me.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.

The Catcher in the Rye - My Hero, Holden Caulfield

Holden Caulfield, also my choice of hero in The Catcher in the Rye, is a very standoffish character. He is about sixteen years old and attends (before he was kicked out for failing grades) Pencey Prep. Holden is known throughout the novel to be a very depressed character that has a hard time grasping reality and growing up. I think his biggest goal in the novel is to hold on to his innocence for as long as he can. He has a hard time doing this when he is seen drinking at bars and meeting up with a prostitute toward the end of the novel.

Holden’s favorite word to use in the novel is “phony”. The rebellious teenager is constantly labeling people as phonies because he feels society is nothing but a bunch of fake hypocrites. In a way, I agree with Holden, in the fact that there are actually a lot of phonies out there. Although I do think he had somewhat of a problem seeing that ultimately anyone he talked to or looked as was a phony in his book. I feel sorry for the little guy because he actually begins to portray some of the traits he says that phonies possess. Steinbeck says it all with his quote regarding Holden. “The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it,” (Original cover of book).

In my opinion, Holden is a very influential character, probably one of the most influential out of all novels I have read. I find him to be a very sarcastic, straightforward individual. It is easy to relate to him because I myself am that way. I like to tell it as it is, and I will admit I too am a little scared of growing up. But aren’t we all? I think Salinger does a magnificent job portraying Caulfield as a character most of us can relate to. He allows readers into the world of a teenage boy struggling to accept adulthood into his life. We all go through that struggle at some point in our lives, so it is nice to know we are not alone (even if the only other person going through the same thing is a fictional sixteen year old boy from New York City).

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.

The Catcher in the Rye - Phoebe

One of my favorite characters in The Catcher in the Rye is Phoebe Caulfield. Not only is she one of my favorite people, but also a favorite of Holden’s too. He absolutely adores her and talks highly of her. She is a very intelligent young girl that seems to be more mature for her age than most ten year olds. In a way, Phoebe’s character is like some kind of blissful therapy for Holden. Readers are always reading about how depressed Holden is, but when he talks about Phoebe, he speaks of nothing but positive things. She realizes that Holden is having a hard time grasping reality, but unlike other “phonies” in his life, she does not stray away from her brother.

I think Phoebe’s character is a symbol in Holden’s life for innocence and childhood. He wants to shield her form the big bad monster known as life, but little does he know she is far beyond her years and perfectly capable of grasping reality. To me, it seems like Phoebe is actually more prepared for life than Holden is. She can see her brother struggle with getting kicked out school, dealing with phonies, and even losing his mind. Phoebe is always worried about Holden, telling him that “daddy’ll kill you” (Salinger 172). When Holden tells her that he is leaving and will not be back for awhile, Phoebe decides she is not going to leave her brother and packs her stuff to come along. “’Why can’t I? Please, Holden! I won’t do anything – I’ll just go with you, that’s all! I won’t even take my clothes with me if you don’t want me to – I’ll just take my, – “ (Salinger 206). This shows true love and dedication on Phoebe’s part. It says a lot about her. She wants the best for her brother and loves him very much, even to the point where she would leave her home and travel with Holden. Overall, she is a very mature ten-year old girl who plays a vital role in Holden finding his place in life.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.

The Catcher in the Rye - Tone

One of my favorite features of The Catcher in the Rye is the tone of the novel. It is very depressing, yet sarcastic at the same time. I am a very sarcastic person myself, so I am capable of relating to Holden in his struggles with society. Holden basically tells reader’s he has a messed up life full of phonies and bad grades. Nothing seems to go right for the young lad, and because he is the narrator, his attitudes and feelings are well expressed throughout the novel. In a way, Holden has somewhat of a bipolar mentality in my opinion. One minute he is talking about his life and how “phonies” are pretty much taking over the world, the next minute he is discussing how awesome his kid sister Phoebe is.

I think that the tone definitely drew me in as a reader. I am sick and tired of novels with happy endings and sappy love stories. I was able to relate to a lot of the things Holden was struggling with in his own life. Holden’s narration of his journeys at Pencey Prep and in New York City makes me feel like I am reading a personal journal of his. I know in most diaries, people do not hold back their feelings and tell it how it is. That is hard to come by in most novels because society seems to knock down authors who chose to use that kind of writing style (i.e. the thousand of critics bashing Salinger for The Catcher in the Rye because of Holden’s depressed mood). I believe Salinger was successful in keeping his novel down to earth and portraying the tone he did.

Basically, if a book fails to draw my attention in the first chapter, I refuse to enjoy it. The first chapter of a book needs to be a strong one. In chapter one of The Cather in the Rye, readers are introduced to Holden, who is sitting on top of a hill watching a football game (Salinger 3). He immediately begins to tell it how it is, introducing the novels depressing and sarcastic tone. This writing technique makes the novel (instead of breaking it like some people believe) hands down, no questions asked.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.