Blog 11: Poetry

To be honest, I have a hard time interpreting the original poem. It sounds good and it rhymes and has the feel of a song, but I'm unsure of the intent. I realize that this is written by a Scot and therefore contains slang unfamiliar to me. What I'm able to understand is that it is sexual in nature and probably similar to the loss of innocence faced by Holden. Poetry tells a story. It uses language to express emotions and ideas in a condensed format. An example of good poetry is Haunted By: Shel Silverstein.

I dare you all to go into

The Haunted House on Howlin' Hill,

Where squiggly things with yellow eyes

Peek past the wormy window sill.

We'll creep in to the moonlit yard,

Where weeds each out like fingers,

And through the rotted old front door

A-squeakin' on its hinges,

Down the dark and whisperin' hall,

Past the musty study,

Up the windin' staircase-

Don't step on the step that's bloody-

Through the secret panel

To the bedroom where we'll slide in

To the ragged cobweb dusty bed

Ten people must have died in.

And the bats will screech,

And the spirits will scream,

And the thunder will crash

Like a horrible dream,

And we'll sing with the zombies

And dance with the dead,

And howl at the ghost

With the axe in his head,

And- come to think of it what do you say

We go get some ice cream instead?

Blog 10: Call to the Author

If I were to call J.D Salinger and ask him a question, I would want to know what inspired him to write The Catcher in the Rye. Did he personally experience depression at any time in his life? After reading the book, I still found myself thinking about Holden, and what would become of him. I would like to ask J.D. Salinger how he envisions Holden in his twenties and thirties, and the rest of his adult life. Does Holden find some peace and happiness? Does Holden see Jane Gallagher again and what becomes the the relationship? Why weren't Holden's parents alerted to the fact that he left school early? How does J.D. Salinger see the turn of events differently if they were able to locate Holden Sunday or Monday? Would he have only suffered through the same depth of depression later with different circumstances and settings? Does J.D. Salinger view Mr. Antolini as a pedophile? He was a question mark for me. I would like Mr. Salinger to know how much I enjoyed reading the book, and how taken I was with Holden. I could not put the book down until I knew he was getting help. I think the book was ahead of its time.

Blog 9: Holden's Internal Conflicts

The two health issues that Holden imagines are a bullet wound in his guts, and later on having caught an pneumonia. Holden is obviously depressed, and has thoughts of dying. He wonders how people might feel if he dies, for instance, "I started thinking how old Phoebe would feel if I got pneumonia and died." He really thought he might die of an pneumonia, or maybe he wanted to die of an pneumonia. Holden has lost sense of reality and is lost.

Chapter 19: Catcher, The Wicker Bar

Luce amused Holden. Holden found him interesting and he enjoyed talking to him even though there was a lot he didn't like about him. I think Holden liked him intellectually. But above all, Holden was lonely and didn't want him to leave because he would then be alone again. At this point, Holden didn't have plans with anything else.

Blog 7: Ch. 12, Catcher: Conversation with Horowitz

Holden is seeking conversation again. This time, the cab driver Horowitz seems less patient with Holden's questions. Holden brings up the ducks in Central Park again. "Hey Horowitz, "You ever pass by the lagoon in Central Park? Down by Central Park South?" "The what?" "The lagoon. That little lake, like there. Where the ducks are. You know." "Yeah what about it?" "Well, you know the ducks that swim around in it? In the springtime and all? Do you happen to know where they go in the wintertime, by any chance? "Where who goes?" "The ducks. Do you know, by any chance? I mean does somebody come around in a truck or something and take them away, or do they fly away by themselves- go south or something?" "How the hell should I know?" "How the hell should I know a stupid thing like that?" (Salinger 81-82). Horowitz keeps bringing up the fish in the winter, they are not talking about the same thing. Holden should just end the conversation with Horowitz since he sees how impatient he is. Holden found it all amusing however. He even asked him to go have a drink with him.