Quotation

 The following quotation was a quote that stood out to me: "If your really want to hear about it, the first thing that you'll probably want to know is where I  was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."

     I think this is a great quote and it was clever for the author to open up the book with this sentence. Holden doesn't want to tell his whole life story from beginning to end, like in the book David Copperfield. Instead, he wants to talk about "all the madman stuff," that happened to him around last christmas before he got pretty rundown. That's when he had to come out to Pency to take it easy. This stood out because it shows what kind of personality Holden has and it shows that he doesn't want to be full of himself. He just wants to tell the important stuff.

Why do you think Holden had to take it easy?

Catcher In the Rye

What does it mean to be "phony"? Why are adults better at being phony than children? Share an experience where you remember someone being extremely phony to you.

Phony means fake or fraudulent. If someone is fake, they aren't being genuine. Adults are better at being phony than children because they have more experience. They have probably been around phony people in their lives. I have encountered a few phony people in my life. Their was a girl who was really nice to me when she was with me, but behind my back she would talk badly about me. She was being fake to me and I can't trust her anymore.

Epilogue

Friday, October 17, 2008

Epilogue

Marie Little Soldier:

     Upon reflection, adult David perceives Marie Little Soldier as a close family member. His fondest memory of her was when they were playing football with Ronnie. The three of them had so much fun together and the whole time they had no worries. They all felt completely comfortable around each other and were having a great time just being themselves. That day David felt as if he were part of a family with them. He felt that they accepted him for who he was and not his blood or birthright.

The Deaths of Wesley and Julian Hayden:

     Adult David can't help but to blame what happened in the summer of 1948 with the deaths of Wesley and Julian Hayden. Julian never spoke to Wes, Gail, or David again after the death of Frank. Grandma Hayden was the only one who kept in touch with them. Julian died of a stroke. Adult David believes that the reason Julian died of a stroke was because he kept the secret about Frank. The pressure of holding it in built up and something had to finally blow. In Julian's case, it was the vessel of his brain. Wesley Hayden died of cancer. Again, adult David blamed the incident in 1948 for the death of his dad. He felt that Wes died of the secret he kept and because of his bitterness. After thinking about it, David decided that he shouldn't blame the deaths of his family members on something that happened over forty years ago.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

2. What happens to Frank at the end of part III in Watson's Montana 1948? How does Watson set this up to be an emotional moment for the reader?

     At the end of part III in Watson's Montanta 1948 Frank commited suicide. Wes heard him the night before in the basement making a lot of noise but he didn't go down until the next morning. It was too late and he found his brother dead, with cuts on his wrists.

     Before the readers found out Frank committed suicide by cutting himself, Wes told David a story about when he and Frank were young. The story was that Frank saved Wes from bullies that threatened to scalp(cut) Wes if he didn't give him the golf balls that he found on a golf course. This was an emotional moment for the reader because Frank committed suicide by cutting himself and when they were younger Frank saved Wes from killing himself. If only Wes could have saved Frank from getting cut, the outcome of all of their lives would be different.