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.