La Fin :)

Summary:
When we last left Holden he was on his way to his old teacher, Mr. Antolini's house. Mr Antolini tells Holden how he is worried about him and that he is not going to be happy in life if he keeps on with this attitude. In Holden's defense he tries to say that he didn't like the rules given in Pencey. This strikes up an argument between the two about how their will be rules at every place he goes and that rules are often made for the better. When Holden leaves Mr.Antolini's house, he starts to plead to Allie so that he can make it. At this point I believe that Holden is becoming delusional because he is calling to his dead brother to let him make it to the other side. Holden then ends up in Phoebe's school where she wants him to let her go with him. He refuses but offers her a trip to the zoo. After the zoo they end up in a park and that is the end of the story. Holden doesn't want to tell us what happens at the park with Phoebe but he does say that he went home, and he got sick. When Holden got sick he got sent to a resting home where he now shares his story with us. 

Pages 234 - 277

Quote:

"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody."

(Salinger 277)

Reaction:

I think this was an important quote because this was an interesting way to end the story. As I read the book, I thought the ending would've been more strong. Strong in the sense of word choice or in such a way that it ended with Holden saying how his life sucks and he wished he could go back and change it all. However, he changes completely; we actually start to see the soft side of Holden in the last  couple of chapters. In the lines before this quote he says that he misses everyone he mentioned even the people he didn't get along with. Holden changes into a person who now instead of just giving you a story is actually trying to teach you a lesson. The ending was a surprise and actually leaves people thinking. If you never think about someone did they ever mean anything to you? I also thought to myself: "If I never miss anyone does that mean I'm heartless?" I thought Catcher in the Rye was an awesome book! 

Depressed?

Summary: 
When we last left Holden, he was leaving the ice skating rink from his failed attempt of a date with Sally. He ended chapter 17 saying that he was a madman for meaning what he said to Sally about her coming with him. Salinger starts chapter 18 with Holden talking about Jane and how he wanted to call her to meet up with her. Then he goes on to say that he doesn't understand why she dated Al Pike, a complete showoff. Holden decides to call Carl Luce to have dinner with him and "catch up". Holden badgers Carl with questions about sex to try and have an intellectual conversations but his attempts were immature and causes Carl to leave. Holden then gets completely drunk and breaks down crying. Holden then decides to walk home. Holden is finally reunited with his sister and she has so much to say to him; part of which is telling him that their father i going to "kill" him. Phoebe gives Holden her Christmas money she had been saving up and he leaves.

Pages 175 - 234

Quote:

"Then, all of a sudden, I started to cry." (Salinger 233)

Reaction:

I felt that this quote was important because we now get to feel sympathy for Holden. Since the beginning of this novel Holden says he doesn't want us to hear the "sappy" part of his story. Within these chapters, you see Holden break down in front of his sister and he himself is confused. He doesn't know why he is crying, he doesn't know why he cant't stop, and he doesn't know what to do anymore. I believe that this may be the turning point in Holden's madman story. I think that from now on he's going to make an effort to change.  

Emotional Roller Coaster

Summary:
When we last left Holden he was in the Lavender room trying to find something to do. He starts to flirt with these 3 women and they seem amused but uninterested in this young guy who tries to appear older. After a while, they start to laugh at him; they also depress him by only talking about movie stars. This is depressing to him because he always felt that his brother (a movie star) got all the attention.  Holden then takes a cab to Greenwich Village nightclub called Ernie’s, a spot he used to frequent with D. B. Holden tries to make a friend with the taxi driver and ends up angering him. While at the nightclub Holden encounter's D.B's ex girlfriend and is so annoyed by her, he leaves the club. When Holden goes back to the hotel, the elevator operator offers to send a prostitute to Holden's room. Holden is unable to loose his virginity to a prostitute so he gives her 5 dollars and sends her on her way.  Holden asks Sally out on a date and that also turns out for the worst and the date ends with an argument.

Pages 80 - 174

Quote:

"Then a funny thing happened. When I got to the museum, all of a sudden I wouldn't have gone inside for a million bucks. It just didn't appeal to me - " (Salinger 159) 

Reaction:

I thought this was an important quote because no matter how much he used to love the museum he didn't want to step foot in it. I feel as if Holden is confused and he doesn't know who he is anymore. In chapter 16 he speaks of how much the museum meant to him and how he went there almost every Saturday with a teacher by the name of Miss Aigletinger. Holden says this long and elaborate description of the museum then ends the chapter saying he had no reason to go in except to check if his sister was there. This left me confused because I wonder if something happened to him to make him so bitter in life, to make him so careless.

Crazy?

Summary:
When I last stopped reading Holden was finishing Stradlater's composition and was listening to Ackley snore in the next room. Well when Stradlater comes home from his date everything goes wrong; Holden's good day finishes bad. Holden hands Stradlater the composition he wrote for him. Angrily, Stradlater looks at him with disappointment says "You always do everything backasswards." (Salinger 41) Holden then starts to ask about his date with Jane and Stradlater decided to be difficult and not tell him any details. This got him so mad to the point where he got up and starting fighting Stradlater. They wrestled to the floor and Holden got a bloody nose; Stradlater gets insulted and then Holden barges out. He then packs his bags (don't forget his hunting hat) and starts to cry. He yells out to the boys on his floor to sleep tight before stepping outside to leave Pencey forever. On his way back to New York he runs into one of his classmates' mother and when he reaches Penn station he realizes that he has no one to run to. He takes a cab to the Edmont hotel and stays the night.  It is revealed to us that the reason why Holden wrote about the glove was because Jane was the only person to whom Holden ever showed Allie’s baseball glove. 

Pages 40 - 80

Quote:

"While I was changing my shirt, I damn near gave my kid sister Phoebe a buzz, though. (Salinger 66)

Reaction:
I thought this was an important quote because I believe it shows foreshadowing. I think that his little smart sister is going to be of great importance to him later on in the novel. Also this quote shows the change in Salinger's writing style. Earlier on  that same page there was a lot of dialog and it was starting to sound more like a story. Then when chapter 10 gets introduced the narrative distance starts to gets smaller as Holden is starting to talk to us again about what is going on. Also I believe that Holden is going to use clubbing and partying as a way to escape his problems but is going to soon figure out that it is quite impossible to run from your problems (eg: running away from Pencey).

Typical . . .

Summary: 
For term two, I'm reading the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger. The novel starts off the story with the typical sob story of a "bad boy". However, Holden Caulfield is not the typical bad boy. Holden starts his story off by telling the reader that his past life will not be talked about. Holden starts off his story by talking about his career/years in Pency Prep. Holden tells us how he is getting kicked out for his grades and that he only passed his English class and failed all of his other five subjects. Houlden is the outsider; he doesn't have much friends but for some reason or another he has grown foundly of his school and doesn't seem to know how to say bye to it. Holden is asked by his history teacher, Mr.Spencer, to visit him before he leaves. He has a lot of respect for Mr.Spencer and feels bad that Mr.Spencer is sick and in bed. Mr. Spencer tries to lecture Holden about his academic future while he's there visiting him. Holden tries to fit in but is often taken advantage of. For example, he was asked to write an English Composition for his roommate while he goes out with the girl Holden likes!

Pages 1 - 40

Quote:

"I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy." (Salinger 1)

Reaction:

This quote is very important to the story plot as a whole. This quote establishes the setting; he makes sure it is known to us that he is no longer in the place where he was (to say the least) most comfortable at. Salinger also established a very small narrative distance between the protagonist and the reader. This quote shows Holden talking straight at us (the reader) with not a care in the world. Also before this quote, Holden is telling us personally that the time before now in his life is not that important and that his parents would have "two hemorrhages apiece" (Salinger 1) This quote is most important because so much is being said on only the first page of the novel which leads to believe that the novel and Holden will have a lot to tell.   

Cherry Girl

Summary:
So, Wyatt's wife discovers about the affair between Susy and him and says it to Susy's face. In these past 69 pages I have read there has been a growth in Susy's unhealthy relationship with her teacher. Wyatt had fallen in love with her and she fell in love with him. Now in comparison, she comes home to her mom telling her she had been raped. Something highly unbelievable since her mom had been a pathological lier since day one. Susy leaves for college soon and she moves to Boston; which means that her relationship with Wyatt was over. With a new college experience underway Susy met many guys, more like men, that made her grow up. I have definitely reached the "bulidungsroman" section in the book. Susy is not a little girl anymore; she was a senior at college who's mother was still trying to take over her life. A life that had been slowly molded on the foundation of the mother's pure craziness and abruptness.

Pages 135 - 204

Quote:

"Not speaking to her was how I had protected my fresh romance (she had left me no choice, I told friends), but when I sank into her neck I felt crippled and empty for having made thing that way." (Sonnenberg 184)

Reaction:

Sonnenberg conveys all of Susy's emotions with every word she writes. "Not speaking to her" showed the pain inside of Susy towards her mom, "how I protected my fresh romance" shows how Susy isn't a little girl anymore but a grown woman", and "I felt crippled and empty for having made things that way" show the love she still has for her mother. Susy does get frustrated with her mother and they both say and do things to each other they don't necessarily mean. No matter how annoying mothers may get they are mothers in the end; no matter how bad they are they are till your only true best friend. Susy's mom knows how to lie and cheat and steal; but she still has that sense of motherhood in which shows a soft side to Susy. 

A lot of Reading :)

Summary:
After Susy finds out her mom is in a coma she starts to reminisce on her past. She remembers her parents divorce, moving to New Mexico, then moving back, and then going to Boarding School. She also found out that her dad had MS and was predicted to die. 
Susy moves, gets accepted to boarding school, kisses her English teacher, and looses her virginity to a married man. In these few pages Susy transitions from this sweet innocent little girl, to a girl that realizes that ever since she was little shes been exposed to sex and drugs. She never knew her mom to stay with one guy; her mom had fiancés, lovers, boyfriends, and the typical "friends". Her mom wasn't the average mom and in turn Susy wasn't the most normal girl. She was far from it; she had to live with a mother who made everything possible about her and had to be the mother for her younger sister. Everyone she met loved her mom; every guy she had a crush on her mom ended up in bed with.   

Pages 41 - 134 

Quote:

"As far as I knew, she would sleep, cut coke, drink, do coke, meet friends for drinks and fight with men." (Sonnenberg 111).

Reaction:

Sonnenberg reveals the hurt that lives within Susy. In the beginning of the memoir Susy has a blind eye towards her mother. She would see her mom doing drugs, fighting with men, she even caught her mom having sex but she didn't see anything of it. Now as I kept reading you can see the shame and hurt in Susy. She doesn't understand why her mother does what she does or why she is how she is. Sonnenberg conveys her feelings as thoughts, she doesn't say anything to her mother until about 130 where they get into a huge argument and say awful things to each other. How could Susy have lived with all that going on at home? How could she handle getting called a b***h or a c**t by her own mother?

Her Last Death: A Quick Turn Around

Summary:

The phone rings and Susanna receives a phone call that shocks her. Her mother is in a coma and is dying. To Susanna, this doesn't mean a lot. Her mother and her never had much of a relationship and had been distant ever since she left. Susanna calls her sister and her sister is going crazy saying shes going to loose her mother; she is frantic. Susanna has to make a decision; to stay or to go. In the process of making her decision she is reminiscing on the fun " adventures " that her mom, Penelope, and her would take. She doesn't go and Penelope simply asks if she thinks that this whole situation is about her and listens no longer.

Pages 1 - 41

Quote:

"It was very sunny, and the hot leaves smelled better than anything I'd smelled before. Everyone was always so happy around my mother, always doing things she suggested" (Sonnenberg, pg 25)

Reaction:

You can feel the hurt in Sonnenberg's words. You are right there next to Susanna and Penelope. Sonnenberg leaves bread crumbs throughout the pages just making you want to read more and more. The author's writing style is so vivid and the word choices are so descriptive you can honestly feel her pain. The quote shows how there is this false representation of Susanna's mom. Everyone was always so happy with her; but Penelope and her were always so confused. They never understood why her mom would date different guys all the time. They never fully got the "why" they were always broke; or why her mom had to steal or why she would lie to get her way. Susanna had to be there for Penelope as the adult figure because her mom never got to be a teenager; Susanna was her support.