About the Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye is called so because of a conversation between Phoebe and Holden.  Holden has this idea of being the catcher in the rye because of an old poem which he remembers incorrectly, he thinks that the poem goes 'when a body catch a body coming through the rye' but it was actually "when a body meet a body coming through the rye".  He wants to save children from falling over a cliff that is near a field of rye as they kids a running around.  He wants to save people, and not just save them, he wants to free them from the burdens of adulthood, he wants children to never forget how to be a child.

Marriage Poem

Marriage
Why does marriage seem like such a bad thing?
Isn't it supposed to be beautiful?
Two people becoming one

But for me it's like a nightmare
For I haven't had any small gifts
Or sweet nothings whispered in my ear

Some people call it a lack of commitment
But it is more of a lack of something to commit to
I cannot find anyone to love

For when you are trained to to see a perfect diamond
How would you not pass over
A diamond  in the rough?

After a while it feels like
I am the rough diamond
Left behind, unwanted

"Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone. I know that's impossible, but it's too bad anyway." 


I really like this quote because it shows us how Holden thinks.  He likes remembering the nostalgia of when he was younger and how he wants that for his sister as well.  Everyone like remembering some part of their childhood and I think its says a lot about Holden to see that he liked how he grew and changed but their were some things that never change and that you wouldn't want them to because they were such a part of you by that time.  

I think that the quote from the Bhagavad-Gita really fits Holden because he has his way of life that he follows that wouldn't necessarily work for other people.  I think we saw how much Holden really values his way of life when he goes through the patch of depression and almost to suicide when he goes against what he believes and hires a prostitute.  A lot of what Holden believes is rooted in the deaths and traumatic experiences he has had.

I found a quote when I was watching Criminal Minds, they have a famous/not so famous quote at the beginning and end of their episodes.  "A belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses. It is an idea that possesses the mind.".  I feel like this quote very much suits Holden because  he is very much immersed in his perspective view of reality.  There are many views of reality, all of them unique to each person that has them, all of them true.  Yet people still try to get others to see their view, not understanding that just as they have their point of view, so does the other.  

In the chapters six-twelve we find out a lot about Holden.  He is a very suave lair, it is very natural for him, but he is also considerate.  I believe that he actually cares about a lot of people but he also greatly dislikes many people and their are few people in between.  I know that he cares about people because of the way he talks to people, like the lady on the train whose son he knew.  He lied about he son not because he liked her son but because he wanted her to not feel bad about the way her son really was.  He also cares about Jane and we find this out when he is telling us the story about how they met and became friends.  He is both a good person and a bad person, but there are few of us who aren't. 

In the fifth chapter we find out about Allie who was Holden's brother.  This story shows us much of why Holden is the way he is.  Allie was a few years younger than Holden and Holden really liked him, so when Allie died Holden was very upset.  He went into the garage and broke all the windows and his hand. Holden is very extroverted in his grief, when his brother died he was angry and he showed it.  I am much more introverted in my emotions in general, Holden is aggressive whereas I am passive aggressive.

When reading the catcher in the rye I both pass judgement on Holden and sympathize with him. I feel as though he has a lot of potential to be kind. He also sees a lot of problems with the world but he goes about making a difference the wrong way. I do not like how he does not seem to care about a lot of things though there are a few that he does, I do not like the fact that he swears so much, that's he smokes or his way of portraying himself.  I feel like when he makes himself seem older than he is  like when he says "I'm a pretty heavy smoker" and  the way he acted around the teachers wife showed me that he had seen many people act like this most likely at his house, but I feel as though he is a bit of a hypocrite  because he continually talks about how he hates "Phonies" yet isn't true to himself.