Blog #3

What does it mean to be phony, according to Holden? Is Holden himself guilty of being a phony? Explain.

According to Holden, to be phony means to be different from a "normal human being". If he sees some people crying during a horrible movie he calls them phony because there is nothing to cry about and says that even the actors are phony. Now Holden calls the actors phony because they're being such good actors that they're not even playing the parts right. It really seems that everyone, to Holden, is a phony except for his family and Jane Gallagher.

Now even Holden himself is guilty of being phony! He consistantly thinks about calling Jane but doesnt because he's "not in the mood". He smokes way too much. Holden lies about his age just to get drunk or so he can travel incognito and he just lies his arse off about so many things like telling Mrs. Marrows his real name is Rudolph Schimdt and saying Mrs. Marrows soon is such a polite and charming boy just to get a laugh out of it. Also Holden really doesn't try at all which to me, makes him a phony. Holden has flunked out of 4 schools because of his terrible grades and he hasn't learned that he's going no where with his attitude towards just because he says all the school boys there are phonys.

Blog Entry #2

Is Life A Game?

This question is something asked everywhere and there have been many answers to this but there has never been a true answer. In my opinion, life is not a game because you don't have die that determine where you move or cards that send you to jail. It's all up to you how you live your life. You can choose to be a family man, a doctor, paper boy, robber, etc. The point is... you decide your future, you are in control.

In the book, "The Catcher in the Rye", we find Holden doesn't really know where he is going or what he is doing. This shows Holden doesn't really care about his life and this will give him the idea that life is a game. However, Holden then decides to just leave his school earlier than planned and just hide out in New York for a bit. With this, I think Holden has started taking control of his life and doing what he wants. Now I believe Holden is probably thinking life isn't a game and will now live how he wants.

The Catcher In The Rye Blogger

What Does It Mean To Be True To Yourself?

To be true to yourself, you must do what you feel is right. You shouldn't conform to what others see as cool or correct. Being who you are is more important than being who others want you to be. If you don't agree to something that your friends and/or family are doing, then you should not have to do it. It's important to act as you will, it's not possible to follow in the exact same footsteps as your parents or friends. For example: A few years ago, I was getting into things I personally didn't like because my friends did it to. I later found that this was not what I wanted to do and I found music. Since that time I have been doing what I found interesting and made me who I was.
In the book, "Catcher In The Rye", the protagonist, Holden, isn't really like anyone else because he doesn't try in school, and he's flunked out of 4 schools already. Also Holden has a lot of annoyances like phonies who are people who aren't true to themselves. Now is Holden being true to himself? I'm not completely sure since we're only three chapters into the book. But once we are further through the book, I'm convinced that Holden's character is going to change. However, there is a person in the book that seems to do what he likes to do. His name is Ackley. Ackley seems to really like annoying people by looking through their personal belongings and just being a straight up pest. But the main thing is... he is doing what he loves even though no one else likes it. He is not conforming to others but peoples characters do change and we may see a different Ackley by the end of the book.