ipl-logo

Why Does Holden Is Not Going To Tell Readers His Life Story

809 Words4 Pages

1. Based on the first sentence of the novel, do you think Holden Caulfield will be providing every single detail of his story? Why or why not?

No, telling on the first sentence of the novel, it is unlikely that Holden Caulfield will provide every single detail of his story.

2. Holden is not going to tell readers his life story. What IS he going to tell them?

Instead of sharing his life story, Holden Caulfield expresses his intention to recount a specific period of his life, spanning a few days leading up to his expulsion from Pencey Prep, a boarding school.

3. The way Holden talks about the Pencey Prep advertisements gets us started with Holden’s personality. How does he feel about the advertisements? Why does he feel this way? …show more content…

What’s important about the day the story starts? What is going on with Holden and Pencey Prep? Why is this happening?

The day the story starts is significant because it marks Holden Caulfield's expulsion from Pencey Prep, a school he has been attending. Holden got notice that he has failed four out of his five subjects and will be leaving the school.

5. After telling the story of the cancelled fencing tournament due to Holden’s actions, he says,
“It was pretty funny, in a way.” Is this a funny story? Do we really think Holden finds it funny? Or is he playing it off? What do you think?

Holden might be employing a form of self-hurting humor. By finding humor in his own actions leading to the cancellation of the tournament, he could be showin the consequences and trying to lighten the situation.

6. In this chapter, Holden is trying to say goodbye. What does he say about leaving places? Is it better to know when you are leaving or not? What’s his reasoning?

Holden expresses a strong dislike for goodbyes and the idea of leaving places. He mentions that he is the type of person who likes to stay at places for a while and become comfortable before moving on. He finds it difficult to say goodbye because it makes him feel …show more content…

What Holden says…

b. What Holden thinks…

c. Explain how they conflict and what it says about Holden’s character…

What Holden says: "I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot."

What Holden thinks: "I mean I've read a lot of classics, like all of them or something. I know that's a lot, but I swear to God, I've read all of them."

These quotes show a contradiction between what Holden outwardly claims and what he genuinely believes. In the first quote, Holden openly admits that he is "illiterate," suggesting that he lacks literary knowledge and thinks he is not smart.

2. During his conversation with Mr. Spencer, Holden gets distracted thinking about ducks in Central Park in New York City. What are some things he wonders about them? What are some solutions that he comes up with while thinking?

Where the ducks go in winter, Whether the ducks have a permanent home

Whether the ducks return to the park. Holden wonders if the ducks actually live like other beings and care for each other like some humans do.

3. When talking with Mr. Spencer, Holden reflects on a few reasons he hates growing old and old people. What are these reasons?

Hypocrisy, lack of spontaneity and

Show More
Related
697 Words | 3 Pages

In Chapter 9-14 Holden Caulfield leaves Penecy Prep and heads to New York City. Where he will stay for a couple days before winter vacation starts and he will head home. Delaying breaking the news to his family he got kicked out of school for as long as possible. These chapters are where Holden’s loneliness becomes abundantly clear. The reader is subjected to many long rants by Holden about the company he wants, though he attempts to settle several times.

Read More
945 Words | 4 Pages

(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.

Read More
828 Words | 4 Pages

As the book starts Holden describes his childhood and how he has been kicked out of several school and once more again from his currently school, giving a sense of irresponsibility and no care in the world. Holden later on mentioned slowly the loss of his brother due to leukemia and how he reacted outrageously by breaking the windows of his garage home. As a reader one would view that behavior as abnormal, but Peter Shaw descried it as a normal behavior for a fictional character in the 1950s and by mentioning that Holden, “is presenting in a somewhat different manner than are the sentimentalized young people in other novels if his period” (par. 3), admitting that Holden was somewhat of an outcast of a character even for its time he is still considered normal. Shaw also challenged the reader’s view of Holden by emphasizing that Holden is not a real person, but a fiction character developed in the 1950s and in fact a mad psychological character is normal and made the reading rather more interesting and acceptable during that time. As readers someone may come across as understanding Holden’s behavior due to a loss and everyone mourns differently and as Shaw said, “ the one period of life in which abnormal behavior is common rather than exceptional” (par.

Read More
873 Words | 4 Pages

Holden for a short period of time attends a boarding school called Pencey Prep, but then states, “They kicked me out. I wasn’t supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself at all” (4). Pencey is the third school Holden gets kicked out of, however it is something that could have been avoided had Holden wanted it to. Since Allie’s death however, Holden seems to stop caring about his life progression as he struggles to face the idea of growing up and conforming to adult society.  

Read More
1050 Words | 5 Pages

He thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he's a kid until he realizes it doesn't last forever. Another instance of this is when Holden explains to the reader where he says “You take a really smart girl, and half the time she's trying to lead you around the dance floor, or else she's such a lousy dancer, the best thing to do is stay at the table and just get drunk with her. ”(Salinger PDF 44). Holden messes around in things he shouldn't do or even care for but it affects him.

Read More
656 Words | 3 Pages

Although others may say that Holden was successful on his journey, saying that he grew up he. Holden showed lots of immaturity throughout the novel and was the biggest phony of all.. Holden’s attitude throughout the novel was very immature and made constant poor decisions. While he was still at Pencey he put in no effort and had the attitude that nothing mattered. As he moves on from Pencey and goes to New York, he shows no care for anything as he blows lots of his money and doesn’t even take care of himself. He doesn’t clean himself up or get any sleep because of his attitude towards life.

Read More
1664 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout the first half of the book Holden is upset by people who do not have the same morals as him. When Holden perceives that someone has done something wrong, he resents that person. For example, Holden resented his previous headmaster and considered him a phony. Holden thought the headmaster was snubbing other parents, by acting charming to them, but only spending his time on the attractive parents. Holden states “I can’t stand that stuff.

Read More
714 Words | 3 Pages

He is constantly in denial and thinks that everything else is to blame for his own problems. Holden always has an excuse to justify his action. When he left his old school he said, “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That’s all” (17). Holden is basically saying here that he left his old school not because he is not smart but it was because he could not stand the people there.

Read More
935 Words | 4 Pages

The three episodes shows his lack of insight in his life, ignorance of himself, and his inaccurate observations which clearly demonstrates why Holden is a unreliable narrator. During his time at New York, as a teenage boy, Holden is unaware and lack the insight in his life so as he narrates, he

Read More
1077 Words | 5 Pages

Holden is a very judgemental and immature character and often has vulgar language. Holden often criticizes everyone he comes in contact with and does not try to comprehend the mindset they may have. His childish nature and vocabulary are what make most of his comments laughable. “It was funny. You could tell the waiter didn’t like her much, you could tell even the Navy guy didn’t like her much, even though he was dating her.

Read More
1436 Words | 6 Pages

What a deal that was. You never saw so many phonies in all your life, everybody smoking their ears off and talking about the play so that everybody could hear and know how sharp they were (Salinger 98). Instead of talking about the play and appreciating the play, Holden judges the people who surrounded him outside the theater. This suggests his immaturity by making fun of people who are just trying to live

Read More
668 Words | 3 Pages

Holden has a “Me vs the World” mentality against anyone that succeeds causing him to push people out of his

Read More
837 Words | 4 Pages

Holden struggles with growing up and facing reality. There are many examples of Holden’s immaturity that are displayed in many forms such as facing responsibilities, his speech, his actions, and etc. Holden’s outlook on adult life is that it is superficial and brimming with phonies, but childhood was all about looking pleasing and innocent. He wants everything to stay the same and for time to stop. As Holden progresses in age, he will discover more about becoming mature in the

Read More
532 Words | 3 Pages

I don’t care if it’s a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it.”. Holden is feeling sad that he wants to feel sad and regret of leaving Pencey Prep but he can’t feel anything. In chapter 2 page 11 Holden says “I had to sit there and listen to that crap. It certainly was a dirty trick.”. Holden is feeling annoyed that Spencer is reading his essay out loud to him, you can tell Holden is feeling annoyed by saying “crap”.

Read More
693 Words | 3 Pages

Although Holden is a very intelligent character he finds the hypocrisy and ugliness in the world around him and quickly associates it with the adult world. Holden is a very introverted character who hesitates throughout the book to share information about his life . J.D Salinger makes sure to portray Holden that way to

Read More

More about Why Does Holden Is Not Going To Tell Readers His Life Story

Related Topics

Open Document