Richard Doan Mrs. Wecht Gifted 1 17 October 2014 Chapters 1-4 1. Holden references to the story of David Copperfield to explain that he is not going to give the reader the details of his life. Holden states that, “. . . the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born . . . and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it . . .” (Salinger 1). This quote shows that Holden is alluding to this character from a Dickens’ novel and although Holden says he is not going to tell the reader his life story, he goes on with his biography. This adds a sense of irony and that Holden is hypocritical. 2. Holden has “forgotten” to mention his dismissal from Pencey likely because he simply is trying to pretend he is indifferent and that it does not matter. Holden explains that the school kicked him out, “. . . on account of . . . flunking four subjects and not applying (himself) at all” (Salinger 4). This quote means that Holden was “given the axe” because he was failing four out of his five subjects only passing English and was not getting involved in the school. Holden says that getting kicked out of school again is no big deal as it is the fourth time, but he uses this as a defense mechanism to downplay his failure. 3. The significance in Holden’s remark about Mrs. Spencer opening the door herself is that it …show more content…
Holden characterizes himself as a liar because he is opposed to face any of the truths in the world around him that make him uncomfortable. For instance, when Holden was talking to Mr. Spencer, “I told old Spencer I had to go to the gym to get my equipment and stuff, that was a sheer lie, I don’t even keep my equipment in the gym” (Salinger 16). In this scene, the conversation Holden was having with Mr. Spencer made him feel uncomfortable and as a result, he lied to get away from it. Furthermore, by putting himself in the category of something false, he is not compelled to accept any kind of truth about