Catcher in the Rye: 5

"...but I can't see anything religious or pretty, for God's sake, about a bunch of actors carrying crucifixes all over the stage."

This quote isn't really one worth analyzing because it basically means what you read but I really like what he's saying. I guess this is one of those moments when I can empathize with Holden instead of just sympathize. He goes on to say that they're all just dying to go out and have a cigarette and they're all just phonies who want their money. Although most religious, Christmas productions aren't just by actors who want their money, I still feel like there is nothing special about watching people reenact something like that. And maybe Sally Hayes would call me a "sacrilegious atheist" too, but at least I'd be in the same boat as Holden. He has the same type of voice or something when he talks about religion before and says how he hates the Disciples but thinks Jesus is kinda nice. He's pretty consistent about how he feels with religion. Even though Holden is inconsistent with pretty much everything else, he seems to know where he stands with this topic. It's probably good for him to be able to rely on how he feels about this, even if it's just one thing out of the eleventy-seven other things he's unsure about.

Catcher in the Rye: 4

Holden Caulfield and Eminem

Coincidence? I think not....

Holden is a very confusing person. He tells himself, and us, that he wants to act older, he tries to order drinks and he likes to be suave. Except for that he doesn't have an older mindset at all. He's like a big huge walking paradox, that Holden. He doesn't understand adult things and he doesn't really want to grow up but yet he pretends to be old enough to buy alcohol! I guess he's not laid back anymore. He always seems like the type of person who is so laid back they don't even care about anything in the first couple chapters but now we can see that he's hyper-sensitive to everything around him. Read this article --> Best Holden Article Ever

The man who wrote that makes some really cool connections and good points. Although it's a little long (I didn't read all of it either), the majority that I *ahem* skimmed was really good. Who knew you could connect Holden Caulfield and Eminem?

Catcher in the Rye: 3

Childhood and Adulthood

I think the bridge between childhood and adulthood comes naturally for most people, but Holden is having an uncommonly hard time accepting maturity. I feel bad for him because he's so upset about loosing his childhood. Maybe he's so stuck on not getting older because he only knew Allie while he was a kid and he doesn't want to loose the possible "bond" he feels is the only one left between him and his brother.That makes me sound like an old phony but that's what I think. It really is. To connect it to real life is easy because why do you think so many teens loved this book when it was first published? Holden can't keep one decision the way it started without changing it or ending up finding it too depressing. He can't make it in school because he doesn't want to graduate, probably. Graduating would mean fending for himself and starting a real man's life, no more girly-man nonsense. Stradlater is a very good example of a girly-man.

Catcher in the Rye: 2

Sympathize, Empathize or Passing Judgment

Before chapter seven I couldn't really empathize with Holden but ever since the beginning or middle of chapter seven I felt like I really knew exactly how he was feeling. When Stradlater punches Holden and he goes into Ackley's room and says "I got feeling so lonesome and rotten I even felt like waking Ackley up" I knew how he was feeling. Then when he can't decide where he wants to be I could empathize. I can empathize with his feelings towards old people and his inability to make up his mind. But I can only pass judgment with Holden when he fails all his classes and I can only empathize when he talks about loosing Allie. I think the book is most interesting to people when you can empathize with the character so I hope I can empathize more during the book.

Catcher in the Rye: 1

Ever since I read this book for the first time a couple months ago my idea of Holden hasn't changed much. I always think of him as a kid who's parents have put too much pressure on him to be more like D.B. and to be more... outstanding. But he isn't at all. He's pretty average and he hasn't anything to separate him from the crowd, really. I think he doesn't care about that, either. He's pretty laid back and wants more than just what Pencey Prep or his parents have to offer. He would be good friends with Sal Paradise. He knows himself really well and he doesn't have anything to prove. I think he would be the type of person who would get mad if he knew a book was written about him. He wouldn't like us blogging about him or reading about him because we're the ones who are psychoanalyzing him. And he's pretty paranoid about that.