Journal Entry #1
Page 4
"What I was realling hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of good-by. I mean I've left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them. I hate that. 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. If you don't, you feel even worse." I relate to this quote because I've had that feeling before. The feeling where you need to just sit back and stare at the place and remember all the memories that had happened there and just let it all soak in. I feel corny while doing it, but afterwards I feel complete. I suppose part of the reason why J.D. Salinger put this quote in the book because many people think it but never say it outloud to anyone else. The author puts out odd and all over the place thoughts because firstly there probably aren't many authors who write similar to his. Secondly because that's just how his mind works, or better yet, how Holden's mind works.
21 September 2007
Journal Entry #2
Page 1
"Besides, I'm not going to tell you my whole goddamn autobiography or anything. I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Chirstmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy."
This quote sounds totally like a teenager, the words that point that out are goddamn, anything, stuff, and take it easy. Just the way that the author put this quote together is so simple but if you look at it deeply you'll understand that Holden had to go away to a hospital on account of his depression and events that happened in his life. The author might have chosen to place Holden in a hospital because no one truly wants to talk about those kinds of things. Sometimes life gets a little out of control and we can't help it and Holden is the prime example of that.
22 September 2007
Journal Entry #3
Page 9
"People never notice anything."
Holden is so judgemental of the whole human race, it's amazing expecially since he's only been around 17 years and yet he acts like he's been around forever and has met everyone. He is sort of stereotypical too, since he implies that no one knows anything. It's debatable because as a teenager people tend to feel like no one really cares and no one listens to them. Although Holden is so set on the fact that everyone is a phony it seems like he will never let his guard down and truly see if anyone is not a phony.
23 September 2007
Journal Entry #4
Page 8
"Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it's a game, all right-I'll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren't any hot-shots, then what's a game about it? Nothing. No game."
Hot-shots must be the successful old men that run important businesses or schools in general. Holden is saying that life is a game only if you are wealthy and know important people and have the way to success already paved for you, but if you are a normal person life isn't a game. So he must be saying that life has two sides to it.
24 September 2007
Journal Entry #5
Page 3
"I'm the most teriffic liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful."
I find this quote so funny, but I suppose it all depends on how you read it. The first thought that came to mind was is Holden a pathological liar or does he just know how to make up lies on the spot? That might be one of the reasons why he is in a hospital, he lies too much and it got him into trouble. What I don't get is how can someone just always lie about what they are doing or where they are going, I know it's a mental sickness but still, it's hard to imagine. If Holden is a teriffic liar then how does the audience know if all that he is telling us is a lie? I don't think the author is doing that though, it seems all too complicated. Maybe he means by saying he's a teriffic liar is that he can keep a straight face while telling the lie.
24 September 2007
Journal Entry #6
Page 21
"Then I started horsing around a little bit. Sometimes I horse around quite a lot, just to keep from getting bored."
Holden has such an imagination, he can act so young but act so mature at different times, it's a wonder how diverse he is. A lot of people get like that though, when they are tired, they start joking around or just get in a different mood. Why though, does Holden choose to be blind as a joke? It's not too much of a mystery for him to play a questionable character since he thinks so much all the time. Salinger must have Holden think so much all the time because he is trying to give us the sense that Holden is a complicated person and insights into future problems.
25 September 2007
Journal Entry #7
Page 31
"Jane Gallagher," I said. I couldn't get over it. "Jesus H. Christ."
Holden is really surprised by the fact that Stradlater is taking this girl out on a date. He knew her when he was younger, so they must both know a lot about each other. She will probably play an important role in the book since she most likely knows Holden's weaknesses and strengths. They must have liked each other or something, or else he wouldn't have gotten so excited and started telling Stradlater little details about her.
25 September 2007
Journal Entry #8
Page 29
"I got bored sitting on that washbowl after a while, so I backed up a few feet and started doing this tap dance, just for the hell of it. I was just amusing myself. I can't really tap-dance or anything, but it was a stone floor in the can, and it was good for tap-dancing."
I think that this whole part where Holden keeps going on about tap-dancing and how he's the Governor's son is so funny, yet you have to wonder, is he fooling or is he slightly crazy? The fact that he is bored and doing something to entertain yourself is completely understandable, but he goes so into detail and really gets into the story. Maybe underneath he truly wants to be someone else, in a different place instead of where everyone else wants him.
26 September 2007
Journal Entry #9
Page 38-39
"I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage. I don't blame them. I really don't. I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all he goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it."
That part of the story was pretty intense, it's really hard for kids to lose family members at a young age. Especially a very close family member, like Holden's brother Allie. This part of the story is important because it links to the reason why he is in the hospital, the tragic events have to start somewhere and they just start building and at one point Holden must have not been able to deal with it any longer. He seems so over it though, like he doesn't care that he can't make a tight fist with his right hand anymore, since he broke it. The breaking of the garage windows gives us a clue to the fact that Holden has a slight anger problem.
26 September 2007
Journal Entry #10
Page 36
"While he was doing it, I went over to my window and opened it and packed a snowball with my bare hands. The snow was very good for packing. I didn't throw it at anything, though. I started to throw it. At a car that was parked across the street. But I changed my mind. The car looked so nice and white. Then I started to throw it at a hydrant, but that looked too nice and white, too. Finally I didn't throw it at anything."
Holden wanted to throw the snow ball at the car but decided not to because it was nice and white, white is always connected to purity, so maybe the fact that he is about to vandalize a pure car makes him stop. Along with the white hyrdrant, which I've never seen a white fire hyrdrant but maybe they were different colors back then or maybe they're different colors back east. Although, wouldn't it be hard to see a white hydrant in the snow? You would think that the city planners who picked the color for the hydrant would consider that.
26 September 2007
Journal Entry #11
Page 43
"This next part I don't remember so hot. All I know is I got up from the bed, like I was going down to the can or something, and then I tried to sock him, with all my might, right smack in the toothbrush, so it would split his goddam throat open."
Holden is quite a violent and angry person, it always involves other people too. Although, the reader would have to consider the fact that Holden was apparently in love or liked Jane very much to get this mad at Stradlater. What amazes me is the fact that he's so sinister about fighting with Stradlater, it's understandable to want to hit him but to imagine shoving a toothbrush down his throat is a disturbing thought. This is another example to support the theory that Holden has a very strong temper.
26 September 2007
Journal Entry #12
Page 45-46
"You never saw such gore in your life. I had blood all over my mouth and chin and even on my pajamas and bathrobe. It partly scared me and it partly fascinated me. All the blood and all sort of made me look tough. I'd only been in two fights in my life, and I lost both of them. I'm not too tough. I'm a pacifist, if you want to know the truth."
Holden is such a hypocrite it is unbelievable, I'm sure the auther must have intentionally done this. If Holden was a pacifist he would have never tried to beat up Stradlater or gotten into the two fights that he had mentioned. With the denial of being a violent person, which he does not exactly admit to, but he does say that he is a pacifist, this also adds to the question of whether Holden is really crazy or not. Denial is always one of the first steps into a breakdown, not admitting to whatever you are suffering from just makes the problem worse.
30 September 2007
Journal Entry #13
Page 55
"Mothers are all slightly insane."
I absolutely love this quote because it is so true. It makes you wonder though because how would the author know this without experiencing an insane mother himself. Maybe the auther is translating some of his life experiences into Holden's, which makes the story interesting because everyone has a somewhat messed up childhood. The readers can relate to this quote because just as it says all mothers are slightly insane.
30 September 2007
Journal Entry #14
Page 87
"I'm always saying "Glad to've met you" to someone I'm not at all glad to have met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say stuff like that, though."
Holden is so politically correct, he makes me laugh. He says he doesn't like to say that expression because he doesn't not feel that way, but in order to stay alive, or just to be polite, you have to. Society tells us that people should be courteous to others because it is polite, but in reality we just do it because we have to and if we don't we are looked at as hoodlums or rude people.
2 October 2007
Journal Entry #15
Page 92
"If you want to know the truth, I'm a virgin."
Holden implied earlier in the book that he had already has sex, especially when he was telling us that Ackley was a virgin, and he did this so distainfully that the reader just had to imagine that Holden wasn't. What I'm wondering is if Holden is willing to lose his virginity to a prostitute, then why couldn't he lose it to someone he actually liked? And why is it so uncomfortable for him to be around her, even if they are just talking? I think the author had Holden do and say all these things because underneath Holden is confused about life.
2 October 2007
Journal Entry #16
Page 103
"All of a sudden I started to cry. I'd give anything if I hadn't, but I did."
I think Holden might be having a small meltdown here, he is in such a rough spot between getting beat up and his stubborness he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to give Maurice the five because he feels that he doesn't owe it to him and because he is hard headed, which isn't a smart trait to have when you are about to be beat up by a man that is twice your size. Maybe the author is trying to illustrate how Holden is sensitive and has break downs a lot.
2 October 2007
Journal Entry #17
Page 115
"He had a pretty little voice, too. He was just singing for the hell of it, you could tell. The cars zoomed by, brakes screeched all over the place, his parents paid no attention to him, and he kept on walking next to the curb and singing "If a body catch a body coming through the rye." It made me feel better. It made me feel not so depressed any more."
This part of the song is apparently where the author got the title of the book from. This song apparently soothes Holden from his depression, maybe the song reminds him of good times with his family. The little boy might remind Holden of himself or maybe Allie when they were younger. The boy symbolizes peace in a world of choas, the cars, parents, and noises all symbolize the hardships that we as people have to go through in life.
2 October 2007
Journal Entry #18
Page 116
"Your really have to be in the mood for that stuff."
Holden always says this, throughout the book about many different situations he finds himself in. I've come to a few conclusions: either he is bipolar and has many mood swings or a manic depressive. Both have mood swings, but are different too. Holden gets more depressed than angry most of the time and he always has to be in the right mood to do something, even if it's a little thing like calling someone. By having Holden always say this line as an excuse for not doing something and all the numerous actions, words, and people that make him depressed, the author is hinting to the fact that Holden does have problems and that they occur frequently.
3 October 2007
Journal Entry #19
Page 124
"So I don't know about bores. Maybe you shouldn't feel too sorry if you see some swell girl getting married to them. They don't hurt abybody, most of them, and maybe they're secretly all terrific whistlers or something. Who the hell knows? Not me."
Holden is very judgemental towards people and stereotypes people all the time. He always pinpoints people's odd habits and analyizes them. Like out of all the characteristics that Holden's old roomate had, all he could talk about was how he was a bore and he was the best whistler he ever heard. Another thing is why is Holden thinking about bores and how you should feel sorry for them, who cares? How does their boring life affect him, other than the fact that people always make him "depressed." He's depressing me all the time so I don't know what he is ranting about.
3 October 2007
Journal Entry #20
Page 121-122
"Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you. Not that you'd be so much older or anything. It wouldn't be that, exactly. You'd just be different, that's all. You'd have an overcoat on this time. Or the kid that was your partner in line the last time had got scarlet fever and you'd have a new partner. Or you'd have a substitute talking the class, instead of Miss Aigletinger. Or you'd heard your mother and father having a terrific fight in the bathroom. Or you'd just passed by one of those puddles in the street with gasoline rainbows in them. I mean you'd be different in some way-I can't explain what I mean. And even if I could, I'm not sure I'd feel like it."
Holden keeps ranting on about how people change everyday, everyday you are someone different, not entirely, but something changes about you all the time. And that the museum never changes, the mannequins stay the same, never move. This contrast between the two different worlds shows Holden's attention to detail because most people would think that the museum is boring, since it never changes, but Holden has a respect for it, ever since he was a child.
4 October 2007
Journal Entry #21
Page 125
"Then, just to show you how crazy I am, when we were coming out of this big clinch, I told her I loved her and all. It was a lie, of course, but the thing is, I meant it when I said it. I'm crazy. I swear to God I am."
Holden admits that he is crazy and a madman a lot, but I don't think he actually knows he needs help. He always does such outrageous things, like telling Sally Hayes that he loves her when he really does not mean it, he is very spontaneous. If Holden is telling her that he loves her but admits that it's a lie, then that makes him a phony, and a hypocrite. Also, I don't understand how you can lie about something but mean it at the same time. If you like about something then you aren't admitting that you actually agree or like it and meaning something is the complete opposite.
4 October 2007
Journal Entry #22
Page 132
"Look," I said. "Here's my idea. How would you like to get the hell out of here? Here's my idea. I know this guy down in Greenwich Village that we can borrow his car for a couple of weeks. He used to go the same school I did and he still owes me ten bucks. What we could do is, tomorrow morning we could drive up to Massachusetts and Vermont, and all around there, see."
Holden is definately crazy and has a wild imagination, he also has a very short attention span, since he is always jumping from one thought to another. This quote is striking because in the 50's a wealthy boy and girl could not just leave whenever they pleased, especially the girl since she would shame her family for running away with a boy she wasn't married to. So for Holden to suggest this is outlandish because he is trying to convince a girl that he doesn't even like very much and who he has no plans on marrying.
5 October 2007
Journal Entry #23
Page 137
"I had quite a lot of time to kill till ten o'clock, so what I did, I went to the movies at Radio City. It was probably the worst thing I could've done, but it was near, and I couldn't think of anything else."
Holden always emphasizes how the movies are boring and phony, but if you truly do not like something then you should in no way promote or support it. Holden did though, like the hypocrite that he is he decided to go to the movies even though he always criticizes his brother for writing for the movies. But I suppose if you're bored and have nothing else to do then go to the movies then you should go to the movies.
5 October 2007
Journal Entry #24
Page 140
"I remember Allie once asked him wasn't it sort of good that he was in the war because he was a writer and it gave him a lot to write about and all. He made Allie do get his baseball mitt and then asked him who was the best was poet, Rupert Brooke or Emily Dickinson. Allie said Emily Dickinson. "
D.B. made Allie go get his baseball mitt and to choose who was a better writer to prove that you don't necessarily have to experience something first hand to write about it. He used Rupert Brooke and Emily Dickinson as examples because Brooke was actually in the war and going throught the hardships and all. But Dickinson wasn't, she was a woman and stayed in her house for most of her life but wrote better than Brooke. This quote shows that you can't just stereotype someone because they have experienced something, even if you don't know what it's like to feel or do that particular thing doesn't mean that you don't know anything about it.
6 October 2007
Journal Entry #25
Page 148
"Naturally it does, for God's sake. I told you the last time I saw you what you need."
"You mean to go to a psychoanalyst and all?" I said. That's what he'd told me I ought to do. His father was a psychoanalyst and all."
That is twice in Holden's life that we know of that a psychoanalyst has been suggested for him, but he continues to think that he doesn't need one. Although in this specific conversation it seems as though he is considering it, but that could be the alcohol running through his system. As we get closer to the end Holden seems to be realizing more that he needs help, only slightly though, from his point of view. As the readers we can tell that Holden is slowly breaking down throught this short period of time. Especially when he keeps bringing up people form the past and tryting to relive old memories. The author might be doing this to show how long Holden has been in this state and so the readers can compare how Holden acted in the past and present.
6 October 2007
Journal Entry #26
Page 150
"But when I got inside this phone booth, I wasn't much in the mood any more to give old Jane a buzz. I was too drunk, I guess. So what I did, I gave old Sally Hayes a buzz."
By Holden callinth Sally instead of Jane it shows how much Holden likes or did like Jane and how he uses Sally. Which is a phony thing to do because he is just using Sally as a rebound to get over his feelings for Jane. Also, Holden keeps deciding not to call Jane a lot, he called her once but that was it, the number of times he thought about calling her out numbers the times he actually has. His decision making on a lot of subjects is very impulsive and shows his confused state of mind. The auther portrays this frequently and jumps from subject to subject to illustrate this point.
9 October 2007
Journal Entry #27
Page 188
"Here's what he said: 'the mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.'"
Salinger, I believe, put this quote, out of the thousands of other quotes that are out in the world, in the book because one, it is quoted by a psychoanalyst and the readers as well as the characters know that Holden needs help, maybe except for Holden. Secondly, I think that Mr. Antolini is trying to tell Holden that he needs to find out what he wants to live for because he certainly is not living for any particular thing at the moment. He's telling Holden that he is immature but is mature deep down and that will only show if he starts living the way that society says that he has to. He is not living up to the standards of the time and it scares everyone around him.
10 October 2007
Journal Entry #28
Page 202
"If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn't rub out even half the 'Fuck you' signs in the world. It's impossible."
The author must have had Holden think this because it ties in with Holden's feelings at the time. It is obvious to the readers that everything is slowly go down hill for Holden, in just a couple of days. The "Fuck you" signs are just a small blimp on the radar screen for the bigger picture that the auther is trying to imply; that no matter how hard you try at life that something is always going to go wrong and there is nothing you can do about it.
10 October 2007
Journal Entry #29
Page 211
"There were only about five or six other kids on the ride, and the song the carrousel was playing was "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." It was playing it very jazzy and funny. All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she'd fall off the goddam horse, but I didn't say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them."
I think that the title of the songs ties into what Holden is trying to tell the readers. He's telling us that if someone, especially a kid, wants to do something, let them. It's their decision and they will only learn what is right and wrong if they do it. If you tell them something then they will never learn how to cope with different situations and confilcts in their life. The title ties into Holden's thoughts because everyone gets some smoke in their eyes that blinds them from getting to where they are destined, in this case grabbing the gold ring, and if someone stops you, then you'll never know what it would have been like to experience it.
11 October 2007
Journal Entry #30
Page 214
"It's funny. Don't ever tell anyone anything. If you do, you start missing everybody."
Even though Holden is in a hospital and is getting help, this line implies that he still has not changed, he is as contradictory and arbitrary as ever. The author is showing that no matter how hard you try to change someone and try to control them, they will always have some of the characteristics that they aquired from before. Holden acts like it is such a burden to miss everyone that has been apart of his life, but he apparently realizes that without those people he would never be where he was and for that he is thankful because sometimes you just have to let a person do what they want so they can learn.
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