Journal

Holden has a disorder and that disorder is that he’s really judgmental and he labels everyone. He loves to be an ass and point things out to people and about people even if he doesn’t know them. He knows that people are normal but he’ll still find little things that really bug him about a person and give these great big speeches about that person in his head, talking about how much he hates them or how stupid and phonies they are. He is a really good two face and doesn’t realize that he is the phonies that acts friendly but hates everyone “it makes me sick”

In my opinion I think that he just does everything he does because he is a depressed young man and that is the only thing that can actually make him feel better about that sorry ass excuse that he calls his life. I also noticed that in the book he is only happy when he is talking crap on some one in his head because he is not man in off to say it to your face or sitting back laughing at others. He is very shady and he is good at being shady so I honestly would not know if he was being real with me or not or if he hated me. I would most likely just stay away from him because he sounds like he is just an eemo type kid. He is not my type of person I would never hang out with someone like that at all to begin with but now that i’m furthering to the book I agree with my class when they say I HATE HOLDEN! I’m sure a lot of people do and I don’t blame him I just find it funny how you can call the world phonies and be the phonies at the same time

The Mark of a Man

When Mr. Antoloni says, “The mark of an immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause…” I think he means that the man is immature because dyeing for a cause is good and all but what are actually doing for that cause if you are dead? That’s right nothing! When a man is dead, that man is of no use to the cause any more. You might have done a lot of good things, but you are not doing them anymore. The man may have even had a great success for the cause, and that is great, but his success ended when he died. He is even more immature because he wants to die for that cause. It means that the man is selfish. He is only thinking of how he can be glorified and praised. If the man cannot realize that he is no good dead, then in my opinion he is very immature. In my mind he only wants to be remembered.

Mr. Antoloni also says “…while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.” I think what he is saying is that the man that is the most mature and wants to live for his cause. He knows that while he lives he can be assured that the cause is the most important thing, and that it is accomplished. The man is humble because he knows that the cause is much greater than him. He realizes that he is just a pawn to the cause, and he is accepting of that. He is humbled by the fact that he is a part of such a huge cause. All in all, I think he is saying that you should try to live for a good cause and be humbled by that cause. You are no good when you are dead, so live and do all you can for it.

Holden's Negativity

Holden definitely points out all the negativity he see’s. For the most part, the words he says are true. He chooses to look for negativity in the world and then he chooses to dwell on it. He spends so much time seeking negativity that he doesn’t spend enough time on looking for it in him. He is so worried about what others are doing wrong and pointing out their mistakes, which doesn’t allow enough time to worry about himself. I think that Holden gets too caught up in making others things right rather than himself. Holden really needs to grasp the concept that he is only in control of himself, and now one has the control over him or any other person. He can’t change how people act, but he can change how he deals with their actions. The Serenity Prayer would really help him out in this situation. He needs the serenity to accept that he can’t change others, he needs the courage to change himself, and he most definitely needs the wisdom to know the difference between these two laws of life.

I think that if Holden knew about the Law of the Harvest his life may go differently. You reap what you sow. What he puts out in life will be what he gets. Holden consistently puts out negativity into the world, and he is consistently feeling down and depressed. It is proven that if you put out good things, nurture it and care for it, then it will come back good. You can’t plant an apple seed and expect for it to produce peaches. You can’t milk a cow and expect chocolate milk. Holden plants seeds of negativity, yet he expects positivity to develop from them. That is factually impossible.

Holden is far from perfect, but he wants everyone else to be. He wants so much people to stop being phony, yet he is phony himself. Holden just needs to chill out, take some time to himself and figure himself out. I find it kind of funny how he is so judgmental of everyone else, but he does the exact same thing he tells others not to do. He is so caught up in the drama of the world, when he really needs to take time for himself. Holden is one of the most oxymoronic people that I have ever heard of. He is ridiculously hypocritical in everything he does. If Holden were to slow down, he would find better ways of going about doing things. He really has good intentions, or he wouldn’t care so much about everyone doing stupid things.

I think that Holden needs to be medically stabilized in order for him to be emotionally healthy. He has a lot of diagnosis, but I think that his most severe problem is depression. I think that if depression was eliminated then his other problems would become very insignificant and small. Holden is a good person, but he has a lot of problems. Hearing his thoughts just brings the reader more aware of his problems. I think that everyone is just like he is. I think that theoretically if I were in anyone else’s head they would have thoughts along the same lines as Holden. We all experience negative and positive thoughts, it’s part of being human. Most people just aren’t aware of their problems because, just like Holden, they are too worried about other people.

Holden and His Problems

There are many times in the book where Holden thinks that he is a saint and all of the things that are happening to him are somebody's fault other than himself. Holden likes to view himself as perfect person however, in order to do that he must point out everyone's flaws to make himself look good and cover up all of his other mistakes that he has done in the past. He can't accept the fact that it is okay to be wrong every once in a while or to make mistakes because that is a part of growing up and being human. Because of this Holden can be very hard on himself and gets mad that he isn't as perfect as he would like to be.

In the beginning of the book Holden gets into a fight with his roommate Stradlater because he was talking down about this girl Holden likes and just being flat out disrespectful about her. Holden does the same thing and thinks so horrible things right along with it. He may not do it to that girl in particular but he does it to random people like the hooker he picked up.

Holden calls everyone around him a phony and cruel but he is the same way at times. He may not see it at times but he does it often. Holden doesn't like it when people aren't real around him but yet when he talks to his authorities He either acts like he cares and feeds them lies about his life or anything that they want to hear. He will also just be rude and brush them to the side like he is better than them even if he is younger than them. Holden treats people with disrespect but makes an attitude when they do it to him. As you read the book you find out that the more he sort of breaks down that the less he is able to handle it. However I do think that he starts to realize as time goes on that he is very hypocritical and not only hard on himself but also expects more out of others than really necessary.

Holden is a good person at heart overall but at the same time he can be very rude toward people. All people can be that way though. Everyone does judge one another and have bad days where they come across rude or disrespectful. It is about how you go about it though. You can spread roomers, go insane, fly off the wall on some random person at the store, or become isolated and try to end your life because you are having a hard time or you can keep your opinions to yourself, try to work it out with someone, or do what you can to handle things in an appropriate manner. Either way it must come from you and I believe that Holden is beginning to recognize that.

Oh, Lord!

Holden Caulfield. He truly thinks he is superior to all around him. He picks out who’s the horn dogs, who the sleaze, who just fake, but I don’t think he ever looks at himself. He is trying to numb himself with all this crap so he can see himself as perfect. He’s the one who is phony; he is on max with hypocrisy. Does he need a shrink?

He is so worried about pointing out all the people around him that have these problems, but who is he to do that. I’m sure that others look at him the way he does for them and he’d be appalled is he knew. He’s in denial of himself having issues. Or he may just be drinking to numb his true feelings or so he may view himself differently. He wants to be known by his parents for something, I honestly don’t believe that he is doing it the right way. He is hiding from reality and won’t face it.

He mainly is just lost and confused. Holden is extremely pessimistic and critical of others. Any flaw that he himself possesses will be pushed onto another person and criticized by him. We are not certain whether or not he really sees that these are his faults. Holden is especially angered by the way that he sees people as being "phonies", yet he himself often becomes what is expected, to the extent that he is able, smothering anything that he thinks is not socially acceptable. I don’t think he knows who he really is, and for many teens, that is true. He does, inside, have a huge heart for girls, but then goes back on what he says when he talks about fooling around with girls. He hates truly when people swear, but he says goddamn every other word. Is he just doing it for a show? Who knows? He manipulates people with his little lies, which truly only proves him to be phony. So, in a way he is and a way he isn’t.

He reveals in the story that he has depression. He numbs him self by drinking. He has “middle child disorder” it seems to have left him feeling invisible and constantly craving attention, both positive and negative. This also leads to him not having any understanding of the affect his actions can have on others. He has gone through several traumatic events that appear to have been left undealt with. First off beginning, with the death of his brother Allie, whom he was beyond close to. Caulfield also saw a schoolmate die after being teased mercilessly by the other boys. The young man backed up and out through a window, falling to his death. When he is staying in a hotel, he sees a cross-dresser and two lovers spitting in each others' faces through his window and is at once disgusted and aroused. Holden hates this part of himself that he doesn't understand. His self-loathing is evident.

Results are In

                        Luce suggests that Holden needs psychoanalysis because he has deep issue that he is in denial about. Luce repeatedly says that Holden needs to grow up.

                        He has obvious depression. He has deep anxiety. He labels everyone and everything. He shows major bi-polar signs. He doesn’t trust anyone’s instincts. He likes to control everything. He gets angry when things don’t go the way he wants them to go. He has misperception of the world and wants it to go the way he wants it to go. He thinks that everyone is out to get him. He has and addiction to numbing his problems with alcohol, at 16 it’s sad to already be an alcoholic. He’s a helpless, immature boy that has confusion and a misunderstanding about women and their needs.

                        He doesn’t like to look at himself for having a problem with things or with the basic expectation of life. He doesn’t ever talk about his family or what’s happened with them. He doesn’t like to think of himself of having problems. So, that’s why he points out everyone else’s flaws. He is hypocritical and an inane BOY.

                        He can’t figure out his own problems in life because he’s putting up walls and running from reality. He doesn’t talk to his family. He calls old friends and acts like he’s older so he doesn’t have to face his family and his deep psychological problems.

                        He needs help before it’s too late. He needs to be honest with himself and his family before it’s too late. He may die from alcohol poisoning or trying to hit on a taken woman. He is too young for reality; he needs to think about his life and live life as a teen before he really is living on his own. He is living his life in pain, abandonment, regret, disappointment and loneliness. He does care about his family but is too ashamed to face them.

I think a therapist is needed for this one

            I think that Luce is right when he tells Holden he needs to get a psychoanalysis done. At the very least I think that he should talk to a therapist. I think it would help him with his depression and oppositional defiance. If Holden were to talk to a therapist then it would help him acknowledge his problems and to learn more skills in order to help him be successful later on. I’m not sure if he is being the way he is because of something that has happened in his childhood or if this is just a really bad case of normal teenage rebellion.

             Holden has a hard time seeing that he has many problems ranging from attitude and cause trouble with adults to being very belligerent and breaking the law. When he sees that he is getting into trouble he just passes it off as people don’t understand him so nothing is ever really his fault.  He can’t see that his life would go by easier if he would just acknowledge that he is wrong sometimes and that people aren’t always being phony around him. People are just trying to help him and he keeps on pushing them away by being rude or hostile at times. Holden has a hard time admitting that he is the only making his life miserable.

            Holden can’t see his own problems because he is too busy criticizing everyone around him in order to make himself look or feel superior around them. He is worrying about everyone else before he is taking care of himself. He needs to learn to mind his own business I think because that is what tends to get him into trouble in the first place. That is also why he is getting upset or depressed all of the time which brings on all of the negative thinking causing him to be arrogant to everyone. If he would learn to overcome these things he would be kinder to people and learn happiness.  

Holden and Stability

            Holden likes the museum so much because it is the only consistent thing in his life right now. It was one of the only stable things in his childhood; one of the only things he could count on. He could always depend on it to always be there, and he wouldn’t be let down by it. The museum was always the same, and it will always stay the same, unlike everything else in his life. The concept of consistency is what I mean to make clear, it’s not necessarily the material in the museum, or even the museum itself, but what it means to Holden. It is the feeling of dependency and stability in his life that he hasn’t ever had. It’s the idea and the consequence he receives when he confides in the museum, because, in theory, anything could take the place of the museum in his life. If the object can be depended on, Holden could put his trust into it. Holden puts his confidence in cigarettes, alcohol, his sister, and himself, because he believe he won’t be betrayed by those things. He believes that he can’t possibly be betrayed by the museum, so he puts stock into it.

            Holden has had a very inconsistent life. He has changed to multiple different schools, which is a very drastic change in a child’s life. At first, he probably put trust into people in his first people, and into the school itself. But the he consequentially was betrayed, in a sense, by the school because he was taken from it. When something like this happens over and over again he begins to put less and less trust into things. I think that is what fuels the hate of school, because he has had to leave so many different ones, which result in the feeling of betrayal towards any school. He makes a generalization based on his past experiences, and refuses to trust anything anymore. When his little brother died, his family life drastically changed, creating inconsistency. At one moment everything was the same, he was in his comfort zone, and the next moment he was ripped from everything he knew, being forced into leaving his comfort zone. Holden has had a hard life, not in the sense of physical abuse, but emotional inconsistency, which I think he perceived as emotional abuse. This contributes to his trust issues, and why he likes the museum so much.

            Like the Indians in the glass boxes in the museum, I think Holden would want to be thrown in a glass box also. He wouldn’t have to deal with the world anymore, and would be taking the easy way out of life. He hates people in general, and is very antisocial. I don’t think that he would mind being left alone. I personally think it would do him some good, because he would only have himself, so he could get to know himself. Holden is lost, and doesn’t have the slightest clue of who he is. In addition, I think that Holden would throw all the people he dislikes in to a glass box, if he had the chance. Again, he would be taking the easy way out of life, which he tends to do.

            Holden decides to not go into the museum because he is scared. I think he is scared that the museum has changed. This would lead to more feelings of betrayal in his life, and he would lose something yet again. I think he is also scared to trust something again, or go back to something he once trusted, because he has lived his life without any trust for a while now. If he went into the museum, it could bring back happiness, which Holden hates. He is in such a negative state in his life that being happy would force him to change. Depression is his comfort zone, so he shuts out everything positive, because he is comfortable. Realizing that there may be something good out there in the world would challenge the way he is living right now, which would take him out of his comfort zone.

Catcher in the Rye

I think that, in general, Holden disrespects women. Throughout the book, Holden has consistently looked at women as objects. He dehumanizes them, and doesn’t see them as a person. He devalues their personality, only judging them on their looks. This is all a generalization because Holden does value, respect and humanize certain women such as: Jane, his mother and his sister. He loves these three women more than he loves any other man. I don’t think Holden is sexist, he is just judgmental. He dislikes more males than females, but he has a lower opinion of women in general. Holden doesn’t treat anyone very well, not matter what the gender is, but I think he has less negativity toward women. I think that he dislikes men a lot more and he treats them with less respect. He would fight a man, but wouldn’t hit a woman. He cares about women more than man and empathizes for them. When Holden was faced with the choice to have sex with a prostitute he felt bad for her, and refused. He isn’t a bad person, just a fake person. He has a heart. Although he tries to hide it, it comes out once in a while.

Holden respects his little sister, his mother and girls that he has real, intimate feelings toward. I think that he has the most respect towards his little sister, and he shows it through his words. He describes her with words that express genuine love and care. He thinks more of her than he probably does of himself. He cares about her very much and he values her more that most women, if not all women. The way that he talks about her allows the reader to actually feel the strong emotions Holden feels for his sister. Holden loves his mother because she is his mother. We all have a very strong connection with our mother, because we all came from them. We love them very much because they are the person that gave us life; the person that took care of us and loved us unconditionally, no matter what the circumstance.

I think that Holden devalues everyone, so his opinion of women fits his personality perfectly. I personally think that he has a better chance of respecting women more than men. His still has a negative paradigm towards everyone, but it becomes slightly more positive when he is faced with women. I think that girls bring out the best in him and they allow him the opportunity to show his good heart. Holden has good intentions, but he his ego gets in the way of his true self revealing itself.

Holden’s feelings towards his family

I think that there are times when Holden loves his family but there are other times when he just wants to strangle them. It is a common occurrence among families especially in siblings. He misses them at times though he may not want to admit it except if it is his sister. Holden may not agree with his family but they are still his family and nothing can change that no matter how hard he wishes otherwise. Holden feels like he is the family screw up but I don’t think he is because he just learned differently from his siblings like I was with mine. I had to make so many mistakes before I got something. My siblings just learned from my parents mistakes or just did what they were told because they were afraid of the consequences.

            Hold used to idolize his brother. I believe he still does deep down but wont accept that reality yet. His brother is Hollywood and being successful Holden wishes he was and was acknowledged for what he does well instead of always being corrected. It seems to me like Holden is always secretly jealous of his brother and gets down on himself for not being more like him. He thinks if he was more like him them he would stay out of trouble more.

            Holden loves his sister and is probably the closest to her out of all her family members. He enjoys her company and feels like he can be himself around her. They hardly ever fight and it’s like he understands her just as she understands him. Holden doesn’t get into fights around he and fells like he can talk to her about anything and he won’t be judged by it from he.

            I get the feeling just as he despises his brother for being so successful he despises his parents for not noticing him or showing that they care for him. He thinks that his parents whish he was his brother if he ever crosses their minds. He loves them though as much as he hates to admit it or wants to act like it. His parents are trying to do what they can for him even if it is hard Holden just can’t see it yet. It will pay off in the end though I think.

            Holden is sarcastic and rude and hates showing he cares for any family member s but his little sister. He doesn’t want to admit they are helping him out in the long run because it would hurt to think that they do really care for him. When it comes to his family it’s like one big love hate relationship that he doesn’t really he actually cares about.

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Holden makes me want to punch someone. He’s beyond hypocritical. He lies to Mrs. Morrow by his name, some janitor at Pencey. He then, later, feels bad that he had lied to her after. He tells her that he loves the school, but truthfully was getting kicked out and hated it. HELLO, he left because he had gotten into a fight with his roommate. He say’s all these things about her son that makes her see her son in a totally different way. He despises her son; in all actuality he’s completely jealous. We all know deep in him he wants to laugh at what he himself is saying because he cannot stand the sight of her son. Why in the heck would you go into this HUGE prevarication? Tiny tumor on the brain, come on now, lets get real. Needless to say you have to remember that this book is based from the 1940. So, a tiny tumor on the brain isn’t just some flyspeck. Holden, dude, lets be literal. If you don’t like someone tell them, yeah the truth hurts, so do scrapped knees. Don’t say your going to go to South America with your Grandma, which he said himself doesn’t ever leave her house. In my opinion I think why he does this is because he’s insecure with himself. He is pissed off at the world because he can’t pull his cards the way he wants. Any teen would hate this. He is just jealous that everyone has the high life; he’s just an immature punk-ass BOY. He has a lot of growing up to do, and needs a serious wake up call. It’s despicable that he has to say goddamn and helluva every other word, because he honestly HATES it when people swear, why should he?

Being Phony

            Being phony is very similar to being fake. It is showing a fake face, putting on a mask, not showing your true self or colors and not being real. When you are being phony you are putting up a front, not being who you really are which is practically lying by assent to everyone you come in contact with. You make up certain aspects of a personality that you think others like and you show it to them. You try to implement many different and contradicting personality traits into your own personality, but they’re not who you really are. The person you are with will determine what mask or persona you want to portray to the world. Being phony will limit yourself in behaving certain ways because you become indecisive, questioning what others will want you to do, not knowing which way to behave because you don’t know how others will react. You don’t know who you are and you have no sense of self. You may become phony because you dislike certain characteristics of your personality, so you try to hide them, showing only the positive; showing what others want. If you dislike yourself you try to find yourself in others. You may become a perfectionist due to low self-esteem, and trying to do only right, seeking acceptance from others so you can accept yourself. Being phony will enable you to run and hide from your problems; hide from who you really are.

            I think Holden see’s through people’s faces and their masks; seeing who they really are, and he dislike it. He dislikes people being fake, because he himself is fake. We tend to clash more with people who are more like us, especially if we have a strong, dominate personality. Holden clashes with most people because he feels insecure of himself, and people intimidate him. I assume that he has lots of anxiety and depression, and I assume that he feels threatened by most people. I also think he envies a lot of people, so he becomes fake; he becomes the people he envies because people like them. Holden also has a gift for seeing through people’s lies and their fronts, which results in harsh judgment. I think Holden dislike phony people because he sees himself in them and it scares him. He dislikes them because he dislikes himself.

            Holden is a hypocrite. He doesn’t like people being fake and phony, yet he acts the exact same way. He tells people what they want to hear, but he thinks the exact opposite of them. He has learned to kiss up to others, (brown-nosing) and make them believe that he is something he is really not. If others like him and see positive attributes in him, he thinks he will begin to like himself more. He puts on masks, fronts and faces which is the exact same thing he judges other people on.

Should we really be expelled from schools?

            I think that it would be okay for a Principal/Headmaster to expel a student from a school if they are continuously fighting, selling test answers to another student, or if they are selling drugs to another person.  All of these reasons are in someway or another influencing other kids to engage in a very negative manner. Bringing other people down is probably my biggest irritation in schools. For me school should be a safe place, one where a student shouldn't have to worry about getting hurt or being peer pressured into some situation where their success in life becomes endangered. Some facility members in schools I’ve been in aren't paying enough attention to what's going on exactly and two of my best friends have died due to that neglect. I've even suffered because of that as well. I would rather have a kid expelled from a school then have one of my siblings fall into cheating, fighting, or drugs. If I was doing these things I would expect to be expelled because I know that I was raised a whole lot better than that.

            I believe that Houlden has been expelled from so many schools because he just doesn't care. He also has this “I’m so bad-ass and no one can top that” kind of thing that he puts out to the other people around him so no one wants to even help him through anything. Houlden just feeds people the crap they want to hear so he can leave and do whatever he wants to do. It almost seems to me like he is trying to prove everyone right that he can't do it so people will get off his back. Those that know better are trying to help him but he is deluding himself so hard into believing he isn't worth it so he doesn't have to see or accept the reality that he is only hurting himself in the end. I don't think he realizes that he is affecting other people around him and their success. I don't even think he realizes that if he keeps it up he is gonna fail so badly that he won't ever have the chance at a wonderful life. It almost seems to me like he likes to get into trouble as well. Intended or not that is what he is doing.

            Holding has a lot of things going on in his life right now. Some he brought upon himself I believe. His sarcasm his getting him into trouble, He uses a lot of thinking errors, and I think he doesn't know how to get attention in an appropriate manner so he causes trouble to get that. Holding is also very lazy in a way. I mean you really have to try to fail if you think about it. I’m not too sure on his home life but I’d bet that his parents are like those rick stuck up don't notice you and or have time for you kind of parents you read about in books or see in movies. Don't get me wrong I think that he is a very bright, intelligent person he just acts stupid so he won't have to work as hard. I honestly believe that if knew how to get the attention in which he is seeking in a positive manner without having to work hard he'd do it. Unless it's writing, which isn't very hard to do, he half-asses everything.

Expelled

       Why should someone be expelled from school? In my opinion, I think that violence and extreme violence is the number one reason to expel, especially if they keep doing bad things and making more violence, even if they get in trouble and they still do it. I think that violence is a big problem in our schools. We need to give them hooligans who are looking for trouble, some consequences because the best thing to do in a situation that is affecting many people, and its not stopping, is get them out of the school so we don’t have to deal with them.

Of course there are a lot of things to get in trouble and expelled for. I think the next best reason to expel someone is for carrying and/or selling drugs or weapons. Even suspicion of people having or selling drugs, alcohol or weapons is a good reason to talk and discuss it. I think repeat offenders should start getting the right punishments so they won’t think that they will “not get in a lot of trouble” because they already did it and know the consequences. Like with Holden, he was expelled from around four schools just because his grades are bad. I think this is not a good reason at all for kicking someone out of a school.

       I think that one of the most reasons kids get expelled is for behavior problems and even though they get in trouble, they still are acting up and being defiant. I don’t know how you could expel someone because of their grades when there are people who are repeat offenders and sell drugs or fight. I think that if they expelled more people for good reasons, I think there would be less of the drugs, violence, and people who keep acting up.