Catcher in the Rye Litblog Ch. 11-12

Mary Ann MacDonald
Period 5
4/24/13

Chapters 11-12

 

Summary: Holden sits in the lobby and starts thinking about Jane. He admits that he likes her and once they were close to kissing. Then Holden went to Ernie's- a night club in Greenwich Village. Ernie, the pianist was showing off for the crowd and Holden got a drink and listened to couples. Later, Holden's brother's ex-girlfriend showed up with her date and Holden found an excuse to leave after talking to them for a few minutes.

Quotation: "You never even worried, with Jane, whether your hand was sweaty or not. All you knew was, you were happy. You really were" (79).

Quotation Significance: It is starting to become more evident that Holden loves Jane and this is why he got into the fight with Stradlater and was always worrying about Jane being with Stradlater.

Reflection: Holden is still hanging out in New York until he has to go home and face his parents once they know he was kicked out of Pencey. We find out that Holden also loves Jane. He talks about how they almost kissed, how they always held hands, and how Holden thought she was beautiful. This is why Holden was fighting Stradlater and why he was so worried about them being together. It might still just be the fact that Stradlater is a womanizer, but some of it is jealously. Holden wishes that Jane was his girlfriend and that he could be with her. He knows what Stradlater can do and he doesn't want this for Jane. Holden also runs into D.B's ex and she starts to ask questions about D.B. and he makes up an excuse to leave.

Discussion Question: How does Holden feel about having to talk to his parents about getting expelled from Pencey?





Catcher in the Rye Litblog Ch. 9-10

Mary Ann MacDonald
Period 5
4-22-13

 

Chapters 9-10

 

Summary: Holden arrives in New York and talks about wanting to call his sister, Phoebe. He decides to stay at the Edmont Hotel. Later that night he calls Faith Cavendish, a girl he had met at a party a year ago. He wanted to meet her for a cocktail but it didn't work out. Then Holden goes down the club in the hotel called the Lavender Room. He dances with a pretty blonde and talks with her and her "ugly friends". After this Holden returns to his room.

Quotation: "There isn't any night club in the world you can sit in for a long time unless you can at least buy some liquor and get drunk. Or unless you're with some girl that really knocks you out"(76).

Quotation Significance: Holden is at the night club and he is saying that bars aren't fun unless you can drink or dance with a pretty girl. Honestly, this shows that Holden values only girls and alcohol.

Reflection: In these two chapters, Holden is all by himself in New York staying at the Edmont Hotel. We learn that he has a sister named Phoebe, who he speaks very highly of. We also learn that inside his mind he is a sex maniac and is always thinking about women. We also find out that he does have some experience with women. Holden also believes that everyone is phony. This makes no sense to me because Holden is one of the phoniest characters in the book. He enjoys lying to people and making up fake identities for himself. Holden seems very hypocritical. Holden also dances with some girls from the night club in the hotel, even though he thinks that they are dumb and two of them are ugly. It seems insane to me that Holden hangs out with people he doesn't like and he constantly pretends to fit in with them and like them. Holden should instead be around smart girls and boys that he likes. So far, this book is good but it's hard for me to understand Holden's way of life.

Discussion Question: Why does Holden go to New York? Why does Holden feel the need to drink and party with women?





Catcher in the Rye Litblog Ch. 3-4

Mary Ann MacDonald
Period 5
4/17/13

 

Chapters 3-4

 

Summary: Holden heads back to his dorm room and reads his book until Ackley- the kid in the next dorm comes in to bug him like he always does. Ackley hates Stradlater (Holden's roommate) and only came when he wasn't around. Ackley is s a rude, dirty, and an annoying senior and he continues to bug Holden until Stradlater arrives. In chapter 4, Holden goes with Stradlater to the bathroom. Stradlater is handsome, a secret slob, and is experienced with sex and women. Stradlater asks him to do a paper for him and tells him about his date and his date tonight is a girl that Holden used to live next to named Jane. Holden becomes worried for Jane when he finds out that she is Stradlater's date and wants to go see her. Then later Ackley barges in again.

Quotation: "I kept thinking about Jane, and about Stradlater having a date with her and all. It made me so nervous I nearly went crazy. I already told you what a sexy bastard Stradlater was"(34).

Quotation Significance: Holden is worried about Jane because he knows that Stradlater just wants to have sex with her and he doesn't want Jane to be pressured to do anything she doesn't want to do and he likes Jane and he thinks that she deserves better.

Reflection: In these chapters we get to know how Holden's life is at school. We learn about his roommate, Stradlater. He is a womanizer, strong, fit, conceited, handsome, and a secret slob. He is always going on dates with girls and he is angry because his date is only allowed to be out until 9:30. Stradlater only wants to have sex and he is mad that he wont have time to do this if she goes home at 9:30. Holden then finds out his date is Jane and he talks about how she loves to dance, checkers, and her family situation. It seems that it is possible that Holden is in love with Jane. He is concerned when he finds out that Stradlater is going on a date with her and he doesn't want Jane to be pressured to do something she doesn't want to do and he thinks that she deserves better than Stradlater. He might also be upset because she isn't going out with him. I think that Holden thinks that he has no chance because Stradlater is handsome and strong and he abandons his plans to say hello to her and heads to his room. Holden is also constantly bombarded by Ackley. Ackley hates Stradlater and he is always picking up Holden's things, not listening to Holden, and is also treating Holden like a kid. It seems like Ackley just wants to have a friend and be the boss of someone.

Discussion Question: Do you think that Holden is in love with Jane?





Catcher in the Rye Litblog Ch. 1-2

Mary Ann MacDonald
Period 5
4-15-13

 

Chapters 1-2

 

Summary: The narrator of this story is named Holden Caulfield who is seventeen years old and he tells us about being at Pencey Prep in Pennsylvania when he was sixteen. He was the captain of the fencing team and he was kicked out of school for flunking four of his classes. He goes over to his history teacher's house, Mr. Spencer, to say goodbye to him before leaving the next week. He talks with Mr. Spencer who lectures and interrogates him on flunking his classes and his future. Holden eventually makes up a lie and leaves Mr. Spencer's house.

Quotation: "I don't think I'll ever forgive him for reading me that crap out loud. I wouldn't've read it out loud to him if he'd written it- I really wouldn't"(12).

Quotation Significance: Holden becomes angry when Mr. Spencer reads the note that Holden left him on his paper about flunking the class. He feels that teachers are always treating him unfairly and that he wouldn't have read the humiliating note out loud.

Reflection: So far this book seems to be well written and I think it will be a good read. Holden has been to four schools and he obviously isn't focused on his future and doesn't care about the consequences about not taking advantage of his education and all that it can bring him. Holden is annoyed with teachers and he feels that even though he tries to be nice they also don't like him because he doesn't put in any effort. And now because of this he was kicked out of Pencey Prep and he has to go home and face his parents. Holden is narrating this story from when he is seventeen years old and he doesn't tell us where he is just that he is away from his parents in a place he doesn't like. I'm thinking that he is probably at a new school. Although Holden is flunking out of school and not thinking about his future it is easy to see that he is a good kid deep down.

Discussion Question: Why does Holden not try in school and why does he not care about his future?





A Seperate Peace Litblog Ch. 13

Mary Ann MacDonald
Period 5
4-4-13

Chapter 13



Summary: The military arrives at Devon to stay the summer and train. Brinker's dad came and Gene, Brinker, and his dad had a talk in the butt room and Brinker tells his father wants to be in the coast guard and Gene says that he wants to be in the navy. Gene watchs the platoons doing calisthenics and imagines himself in their place in the next few years. Gene comes back as his older self from the war and tells how he never killed anyone and that the words of Finny helped him through rough times in the military.

Quotation: "I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there"(196).

Quotation Significance: This is Gene when he comes back as himself at the end of the book after the war. He is saying that being in the school was like being the war, he had killed his enemy. This enemy is inside himself. This enemy is not Finny like he had orginally thought, Finny had supported Gene and only tried to help him. This enemy inside Gene was the one who pushed Finny off the tree and tried to compete with him and after the war Gene has conquered this enemy.

Reflection: This is the final chapter of the book. Gene talks with Brinker and his dad and Gene knows that he wants to be in the navy and Brinker knows that he wants to be on the coast guard. Gene imagines himself in the military and he sees a future where he is part of it and joining the fight. Then Gene comes back from after the war and tells us that he killed no one in the war except his enemy at school, because that was when he was on active duty. This enemy is inside himself. This enemy is not Finny like he had orginally thought, Finny had supported Gene and only tried to help him. This enemy was conquered when he was at school,and this enemy is not Finny. This enemy is inside Gene is the one who pushed Finny off the tree and tried to compete with him and after the war Gene has conquered this enemy. Gene had to conqueror this jealously and envy feelings he was having for Finny and his feeling for competiviness. Gene had kill the enmy inside him that tricked him into believing that Finny was his real enemy. Overall, this was a great book but it didn't have the greatest ending. The ending felt very predictable and the reader could predict it was coming. But other than that, this book is a great read.

Discussion Question: How did Gene conqueror the enemy within himself?

A Seperate Peace Litblog Chapter 12

Mary Ann MacDonald
Period 5
4-3-13

 

Chapter 12

 

Summary: After finding out the Gene jounced the limb, Finny broke his leg again after falling down the stairs but this time the break was clean. Finny gets taken to the Infirmary and Gene sneaks in through his window after the doctor was gone and Finny tries to attack him but is unsuccessful due to his condition. Gene then leaves Finny's room and comes back the next day with Finny's suitcase and Finny believes that Gene acted on a blind and crazy impulse. Gene comes back the next day to find out that Finny is dead from the marrow of his blood flowing to his heart.

Quotation: I did not cry then or ever about Finny... I could not escape a feeling that this was my own funeral, and you do not cry in that case"(186).

Quotation Significance: This quote is saying that Gene could not cry about Finny's death because Gene felt like that Finny's death was like he himself dying and dead people don't cry at their own funerals.

Reflection: In this chapter, Finny is in shock because he knows that Gene was the one who jounced the limb and Finny even tries to attack Gene because of it and Gene feels immensely guilty that his best friend is suffering because of him. When Gene comes back later and Finny is dead Gene feels extremely sad but cant cry. Gene can't cry because he feels like Finny dying is almost like both of them dying. Gene knows that in Finny's death he is losing his other half and part of himself. So Gene knows that he can't possibly cry at his own funeral. Finny could almost barely believe that Gene had actually jounced the limb on purpose and told Gene that he believed that Gene was only having an uncontrollable blind impulse. Gene agrees and the boys become friends again and the next day is when Finny dies by accident from blood marrow getting to his heart.

Discussion Question: Why does Finny refuse to believe that Gene jouncing the limb wasn't a crazy impulse?