Chapter 26

chapter 25 audio The catcher in the rye

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Holden ends his story there. He refuses to tell what happened after he went home and how he got sick. He says that people are concerned about whether he will apply himself next year. He tells that D.B. visits often, and he often misses Stradlater, Ackley, and even Maurice. However, he advises not to tell anybody anything, because it is this that causes a person to start missing others.

Analysis:

Salinger leaves the actual events of Holden's presumed suicide attempt and hospitalization ambiguous; Holden only uses euphemisms such as "getting sick" to describe what has happened to him, but the implications are clear. Yet even more ambiguous than what happened to Holden is whether or not Holden will recover from his difficulties. Holden seems to harbor some sense of regret over what has happened; he claims that he even misses Stradlater and Ackley, and has used the telling of his story as a form of penitence for his behavior. Nevertheless, while looking back on his situation Holden still harbors some of the same suspicions and deep cynicism that afflicted him throughout the novel, as shown when he dismisses the question whether or not he will apply himself. Salinger ends the novel inconclusively: he gives no strong indication what Holden has learned from his difficulties, if he has learned at all, and allows for a strong possibility that Holden will continue his self-destructive and suicidal behavior.

Chapter 25

We covered this chapter today. We listened to a
portion of the audio and answered some questions
as part of a class discussion.


HOMEWORK:
-do chapters 25-26 Qs
-start reviewing for final exam

FINAL EXAM ON FRIDAY!

Chapter Twenty-Five:

When Holden gets outside, it is getting light out. He walks over to Lexington to take the subway to Grand Central, where he slept that night. He thinks about how Mr. Antolini will explain Holden's departure to his wife. Holden feels some regret that he didn't come back to the Antolini's apartment. Holden starts reading a magazine at Grand Central; when he reads an article about hormones, he begins to worry about hormones, and worries about cancer when he reads about cancer. As Holden walks down Fifth Avenue, he feels that he will not get to the other side of the street each time he comes to the end of a block. He feels that he would just go down. He makes believe that he is with Allie every time he reaches a curb. Holden decides that he will go away, never go home again and never go to another prep school. He thinks he will pretend to be a deaf-mute so that he won't have to deal with stupid conversations. Holden goes to Phoebe's school to find her and say goodbye. At the school he sees "fuck you" written on the wall, and becomes enraged as he tries to scratch it off. He writes her a note asking her to meet him near the Museum of Art so that he can return her money. While waiting for Phoebe at the Museum, Holden chats with two brothers who talk about mummies. He sees another "fuck you" written on the wall, and is convinced that someone will write that below the name on his tombstone. Holden, suffering from diarrhea, goes to the bathroom, and as he exits the bathroom he passes out. When he regains consciousness, he feels better. Phoebe arrives, wearing Holden's hunting hat and dragging Holden's old suitcase. She tells him that she wants to come with him. She begs, but he refuses and causes her to start crying. She throws the red hunting hat back at Holden and starts to walk away. She follows Holden to the zoo, but refuses to talk to him or get near him. He buys Phoebe a ticket for the carousel there, and watches her go around on it as "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" plays. Afterwards, she takes back the red hunting hat and goes back on the carousel. As it starts to rain, Holden cries while watching Phoebe.

Chapter 24 The catcher in the rye audio

Mr. Antolini

Mr. Antolini is the adult who comes closest to reaching Holden. He manages to avoid alienating Holden, and being labeled a “phony,” because he doesn’t behave conventionally. He doesn’t speak to Holden in the persona of a teacher or authority figure, as Mr. Spencer does. He doesn’t object to Holden’s calling him in the middle of the night or to Holden’s being drunk or smoking. Moreover, by opening his door to Holden on the spur of the moment, he shows no reservations about exposing his private self, with his messy apartment, his older wife with her hair in curlers, and his own heavy drinking.

Mr. Antolini’s advice to Holden about why he should apply himself to his studies is also unconventional. He recognizes that Holden is different from other students, and he validates Holden’s suffering and confusion by suggesting that one day they may be worth writing about. He represents education not as a path of conformity but as a means for Holden to develop his unique voice and to find the ideas that are most appropriate to him.

When Mr. Antolini touches Holden’s forehead as he sleeps, he may overstep a boundary in his display of concern and affection. However, there is little evidence to suggest that he is making a sexual overture, as Holden thinks, and much evidence that Holden misinterprets his action. Holden indicates in Chapter 19 that he is extremely nervous around possible homosexuals and that he worries about suddenly becoming one. We also know that he has been thinking about sex constantly since leaving Pencey. Finally, this is not the only scene in which Holden recoils from a physical approach. He is made very uncomfortable when Sunny pulls off her dress and sits in his lap. Even when his beloved sister puts her arms around him, he remarks that she may be a little too affectionate sometimes.

Holden regrets his hasty judgment of Mr. Antolini, but this mistake is very important to him, because he finally starts to question his own practice of making snap judgments about people. Holden realizes that even if Mr. Antolini is gay, he can’t simply be dismissed as a “flit,” since he has also been kind and generous. Holden begins to acknowledge that Mr. Antolini is complex and that he has feelings.

Chapter 24

We talked about a very important chapter today.
Remember that the advice of how Holden is falling
that Mr. Antolini is taking about is about Holden
falling off the cliff and becoming an adult.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapters 25-26
-do chapter 24 Qs

Chapter Twenty-Four:

Mr. Antolini had married an older woman who shared similar intellectual interests. When he arrives at his apartment, Holden finds Mr. Antolini in a bathrobe and slippers, drinking a highball. Holden and Mr. Antolini discuss Pencey, and Holden tells how he failed Oral Expression (debate). He tells Holden how he had lunch with his father, who told him that Holden was cutting classes and generally unprepared. He warns Holden that he is riding for some kind of terrible fall. He says that it may be the kind where, at the age of thirty, he sits in some bar hating everyone who comes in looking as if he played football in college or hating people who use improper grammar. He tells Holden that the fall that he is riding for is a special and horrible kind, and that he can see Holden dying nobly for some highly unworthy cause. He gives Holden a quote from the psychoanalyst Wilhelm Stekel: "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." He finally tells Holden that once he gets past the things that annoy him, he will be able to find the kind of information that will be dear to his heart. Holden goes to sleep, and wakes up to find Mr. Antolini's hand on his head. He tells Holden that he is "simply sitting here, admiring‹" but Holden interrupts him, gets dressed and leaves, claiming that he has to get his bags from Grand Central Station and he will be back soon.

Chapter 23 the catcher in the rye audio

Chapter 23

We talked about chapter 23 and answered some
questions in a class discussion.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 24
-do chapter 23 Qs
-Study for vocab. test ch 16-20

VOCABULARY TEST THURSDAY

Chapter Twenty-Three:

Holden tells that Mr. Antolini was his English teacher at Elkton Hills and was the person who carried James Castle to the infirmary. Holden and Phoebe dance to the radio, but their parents come home and Holden hides in the closet. When he believes that it is safe, Holden asks Phoebe for money and she gives him eight dollars and change. He starts to cry as he prepares to leave, which frightens Phoebe. He gives Phoebe his hunting hat and tells her that he will give her a call.

Chapter 22 the catcher in the rye

Chapter 22

Today we talked about and listened to a bit of chapter 22.
Chapter 22 is a great chapter because we understand
the title of the book here.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 23
-do chapter 22 Qs
-finish vocabulary puzzles

*VOCABULARY TEST ON THURSDAY 5 min. TEST

Chapter Twenty-Two:

Phoebe tells Holden that she thinks his scheme to go out to Colorado is foolish, and asks why he failed out of yet another school. He claims that Pencey is full of phonies. He tells her about how everyone excluded Robert Ackley as a sign of how phony the students are. Holden admits that there were a couple of nice teachers, including Mr. Spencer, but then complains about the Veterans' Day ceremonies. Phoebe tells Holden that he doesn't like anything that happens. She asks Holden for one thing that he likes a lot. He thinks of two things. The first is the nuns at Grand Central. The second is a boy at Elkton Hills named James Castle, who had a fight with a conceited guy named Phil Stabile. He threatened James, who responded by jumping out the window, killing himself. However, he tells Phoebe that he likes Allie, and he likes talking to Phoebe right now. Holden tells Phoebe that he would like to be a catcher in the rye: he pictures a lot of children playing in a big field of rye around the edge of a cliff. Holden imagines that he would catch them if they started to go over the cliff. Holden decides to call up Mr. Antolini i, a former teacher at Elkton Hills who now teaches English at NYU.

Chapter 21 the catcher in the rye

Chapter 21

We listened to the audio for the chapter and worked in groups
trying to understand the chapter together.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 22
-do chapter 21 Qs
-study for quiz chapters 16-20

TEST PERIOD 1 FRIDAY!

Chapter Twenty-One:

Holden returns home, where he is very quiet as not to awake his parents. Phoebe is asleep in D.B.'s room. He sits down at D.B.'s desk and looks at Phoebe's stuff, such as her math book, where she has the name "Phoebe Weatherfield Caulfield" written on the first page (her middle name is actually Josephine). He wakes up Phoebe and hugs her. She tells about how she is playing Benedict Arnold in her school play. She tells about how she saw a movie called The Doctor, and how their parents are out for the night. Holden shows Phoebe the broken record, and admits that he got kicked out. She tells him that "Daddy's going to kill you," but Holden says that he is going away to a ranch in Colorado. Phoebe places a pillow over her head and refuses to talk to Holden

Chapter 20 audio the catcher in the rye

Chapter 20

We listened to a bit of the chapter and then we worked in groups
and answered some questions.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 21
-do chapter 20 Qs

Chapter Twenty:

Holden remains in the Wicker Bar getting drunk. He continues to pretend that he has been shot. Finally, he calls Sally, but her grandmother answers and asks why he is calling so late. Finally, Sally gets on the phone and realizes that Holden is drunk. In the restroom of the Wicker Bar, he talks to the "flitty-looking" guy, asking if he will see the "Valencia babe" who performs there, but he tells Holden to go home. Holden finally leaves. As he walks home, Holden drops Phoebe's record and nearly starts to cry. He goes to Central Park and sits down on a bench. He thinks that he will get pneumonia and imagines his funeral. He is reassured that his parents won't let Phoebe come to his funeral because he is too young. He thinks about what Phoebe would feel if he got pneumonia and died, and figures that he should sneak home and see her, in case he did die.

Chapter 19 audio

Chapter 19

Last Friday was movie day, we watched Igby goes down.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 20
-do chapter 19 Qs

Chapter Nineteen:

Holden meets Carl Luce at the Wicker Bar. Carl Luce used to gossip about people who were "flits" (homosexuals) and would tell which actors were actually gay. Holden claims that Carl was a bit "flitty" himself. When Carl arrives, he asks Holden when he is going to grow up, and is not amused by Holden's jokes. Carl is annoyed that he is having a "typical Caulfield conversation" about sex. Carl admits that he is seeing an older woman in the Village who is a sculptress from China. Holden asks questions that are too personal about Carl's sex life with his girlfriend until Carl insists that he drop the subject. Carl reminds him that the last time he saw Holden he told him to see his father, a psychiatrist.

Chapter 18 audio the catcher in the rye

Igby Goes Down

"What's this movie about?"

Everyone keeps asking me that question. Whatever happened to the element of surprise? People are so nosy. All right. I'll throw you a bone. But you're going to have to see the movie to find out the rest.

"Igby Goes Down" Story Synopsis:

Meet IGBY SLOCUMB (Kieran Culkin), an iconoclastic young teenager and hapless product of a deplorable upbringing. Igby is the youngest member of the Slocumb family which, in reality, is four individuals reluctantly sharing familial blood ties, existing under one roof. The father, JASON SLOCUMB (Bill Pullman), is in the midst of a sojourn not just from work but from life in general. Igby's mother, MIMI SLOCUMB (Susan Sarandon), is a battle-hardened, icy-cold matriarch with a long-term dependency on friendly sedatives-her "little peppies." Igby's older brother, OLIVER SLOCUMB (Ryan Phillippe), has set his cruise control for Columbia University and is eager to embrace young Republicanism. Oliver personifies everything that Igby is not; and, though the two brothers are separated by three years, Igby has struggled since day one to emerge from Oliver's persistent shadow.

The Slocumb family's self-destructive curse is cemented when Igby's father's bewildering eccentricity evolves into a nervous breakdown. Igby refuses to follow the well-worn path of the brood, particularly Oliver's path. Since Igby was robbed of his childhood, he will certainly not give them the opportunity to suck the remaining years from him. He needs to escape�somehow. Mimi, ever crafty, counters Igby's rebelliousness with institutionalized academia as he bounces from posh East Coast prep schools, to a fascist military academy, finally landing in a leafy suburban drug camp. Igby's options are indeed dwindling.

Following a hotel spending spree made possible by the fraudulent use of his mother's credit card, Mimi hands Igby off to his godfather, D.H. BANES (Jeff Goldblum), until the next school semester. A pompous tycoon with deep pockets, D.H. sees the world as part of his 'plan,' a philosophy to which he credits his success. With pleasure, he takes Igby under his wing, bringing the lad to New York City for some "guidance."

Manhattan dreams initially fade for Igby as he finds himself on the low end of a construction crew. But hope is renewed when, while renovating a loft/dance studio space, Igby is introduced to the sultry RACHEL (Amanda Peet), the loft's fresh occupant. A dancer/choreographer, Rachel also happens to be D.H.'s mistress, offering a sexual respite from his frequently inebriated wife. The wonderful world of D.H.'s empire expands out to the Hamptons, where Igby first meets SOOKIE SAPPERSTEIN (Claire Danes), an earnest Bennington undergrad/existentialist who shares Igby's outsider status but initially rebuffs him.

Nonetheless, with life suddenly full of interesting and delicious possibility, who needs school? Who needs family�especially Oliver? Not Igby. He goes on the lam in New York and succeeds for awhile in falling off his family radar. After brokering a clandestine arrangement to live in Rachel's loft, Igby begins to enjoy all the delights that Manhattan has to offer-most notably Sookie-whom he encounters by chance on the street where he is attempting to pawn his Tiffany brushes for some fast cash. A mere three years older, Sookie ultimately offers the precocious Igby two critical things: first love, and the realization that maybe he's not all alone in the world.

However, Igby soon discovers life's one absolute: you can never permanently escape your family. Oliver oozes into his life, with orders of retrieval, as his family needs Igby-one last time. Igby will soon understand that painful dark truths cannot lie dormant forever, despite best efforts to bury them. Only by confronting the complexity of his past can Igby face his future unencumbered-a future bright with promise, hope, and delicious possibility.

-igby---;)

Chapter 18

Congratulations to our two comic book winners!

We listened to chapter 18 and then we worked in groups
explaining what happened to each other.

HOMEWORK:
-read ch 19
-do chapter 18 Qs

MOVIE DAY ON FRIDAY!!!! DON'T MISS IT!!!

Chapter Eighteen:

Holden once again considers giving Jane a call to invite her to go dancing. He remembers how she danced with Al Pike from Choate. Although Holden thought that he was "all muscles and no brains," Jane claimed that he had an inferiority complex and felt sorry for him. Holden thinks that girls divide guys into two types, no matter what their personality: a girl will justify bad behavior as part of an inferiority complex for those she likes, while claim those that she doesn't like are conceited. Holden calls Carl Luce, a friend from the Whooton School who goes to Columbia, and plans to meet him that night. He then goes to the movies and is annoyed when a woman beside him becomes too emotional. The movie is a war film, which makes Holden think about D.B.'s experience in the war. He hated the army, but had Holden read A Farewell To Arms, which in Holden's view celebrates soldiers. Holden thinks that if there is a war, he is glad that the atomic bomb has been invented, for he would volunteer to sit right on top of it.

What's in a name anyways?

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Chapter 17 catcher in the rye audio

Chapter 17

We listened to a part of the chapter audio and in groups students
answered some questions about the chapter.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 18
-do chapter 17 Qs

Chapter Seventeen:

Holden meets Sally at the Biltmore, and when he sees her he immediately feels like marrying her, even though he doesn't particularly like her. After the play, when Sally keeps mentioning that she thinks she knows people she sees, Holden replies "Why don't you go on over and give him a big soul kiss, if you know him? He'll enjoy it." Finally, Sally does go to talk to the boy she knows, George from Andover. Holden notes how phony the conversation between Sally and George is. Holden and Sally go ice skating at Radio City, then to eat. Sally asks Holden if he is coming over to help her trim the Christmas tree. Holden asks her if she ever gets fed up. He tells her that he hates everything: taxicabs, living in New York, phony guys who call the Lunts angels. Sally tells him not to shout. He tells her that she is the only reason that he is in New York right now. If not for her, he would be in the woods, he claims. He complains about the cliques at boarding schools, and tells her that he's in lousy shape. He suggests that they borrow a car from a friend in Greenwich Village and drive up to New England where they can stay in a cabin camp until their money runs out. They could get married and live in the woods. Sally tells him that the idea is foolish, for they are both practically children who would starve to death. She tells him that they will have a lot of time to do those things after college and marriage, but he claims that there wouldn't be "oodles" of places to go, for it would be entirely different. He calls her a "royal pain in the ass," and she starts to cry. Holden feels somewhat guilty, and realizes that he doesn't even know where he got the idea about going to New England.

Catcher in the rye chapter 16 audio

Chapter 16

We had a double period today. In the first class I showed

a powerpoint slide show about the symbolism in names

of the characters in THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.

In our second class we had a quiz on chapters 11-15.

HOMEWORK:

-read chapter 17

-do chapter 16 Qs

Chapter Sixteen:
Before meeting Sally Hayes, Holden goes to find a record called "Little Shirley Beans" for Phoebe by Estelle Fletcher. As he walks through the city, he hears a poor kid playing with his parents, singing the song "If a body catch a body coming through the rye." Hearing the song makes Holden feel less depressed. Holden buys tickets for I Know My Love, a play starring the Lunts. He knew that Sally would enjoy it, for it was supposed to be very sophisticated. Holden goes to the Mall, where Phoebe usually plays when she is in the park, and sees a couple of kids playing there. He asks if any of them know Phoebe. They do, and claim that she is probably in the Museum of Natural History. He reminisces about going to the Museum when he was in grade school. He remembers how he would go there often with his class, but while the exhibits would be exactly the same, he would be different each time. Holden considers going to the museum to see Phoebe, but instead goes to the Biltmore for his date with Sally.

Catcher in the rye chapter 15 audio

Chapter 15

We listen to part of chapter 15.
Students then worked in groups talking about
the chapter and they worked on some questions.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 16
-do chapter 15 Qs
-Study for chapters 11-15 quiz on Friday

Chapter Fifteen:
Holden calls Sally Hayes, who goes to the Mary A. Woodruff School. According to Holden, Sally seems quite intelligent because she knows a good deal about the theater and literature, but is actually quite stupid. He makes a date to meet Sally for a matinee, but she continues to chat with Holden on the phone despite his lack of interest. Holden tells that his father is a wealthy corporation attorney and his mother has not been healthy since Allie died. At Grand Central Station, where Holden checks in his bags after leaving the hotel, he sees two nuns with cheap suitcases. Holden reminisces about his roommate at Elkton Hills, Dick Slage who had cheap suitcases and would complain about how everything was bourgeois. He chats with the nuns and gives them a donation. He wonders what nuns think about sex when he discussesRomeo and Juliet with them.

Catcher in the rye chapter 14 audio

Chapter 14

In the first period we watched a powerpoint slide
show on 1940's culture. In the second class we listened
to the chapter on audio CD.


HOMEWORK:
-chapter 14 Qs
-read chapter 15
-finish comic books for next class (no late or forgotten comics)

Chapter Fourteen:
After the prostitute leaves, Holden sits in a chair and talks aloud to his brother Allie, which he often does whenever he is depressed. Finally he gets in bed and feels like praying, although he is "sort of an atheist." He claims that he likes Jesus, but the Disciples annoy him. Other than Jesus, the Biblical character he likes best is the lunatic who lived in the tombs and cut himself with stones. Holden tells that his parents disagree on religion and none of his siblings attend church. Maurice and Sunny knock on the door, demanding more money. Holden argues with Maurice and threatens to call the cops, but Maurice says that his parents would find out that he spent the night with a whore. As Holden starts to cry, Sunny takes the money from his wallet. Maurice punches him in the stomach before leaving. After Maurice is gone, Holden imagines that he had taken a bullet and would shoot Maurice in the stomach. Holden feels like committing suicide by jumping out the window, but he wouldn't want people looking at his gory body on the sidewalk.

Catcher in the rye chapter 13 audio

Chapter 13

Students listened to a portion of the chapter and then they were asked

to discuss the chapter from where the audio left off at.

HOMEWORK:

-read chapter 14

-chapter 13 Qs

-start working on those comics

Chapter Thirteen:
Holden walks back to his hotel, although it is forty-one blocks away. He considers how he would confront a person who had stolen his gloves. Although he would not do so aggressively, he wishes that he could threaten the person who stole them. Holden finally concludes that he would yell at the thief but not have the courage to hit him. Holden reminisces about drinking with Raymond Goldfarb at Whooton. While back at the hotel, Maurice the elevator man asks Holden if he is interested in a little tail tonight. He offers a prostitute for five dollars. When she arrives, she does not believe that he is twenty-two, as he claims. Holden finally tells the prostitute, Sunny, that he just had an operation on his clavichord, as an excuse not to have sex. She is angry, but he still pays her, even though they argue over the price. He gives her five dollars, although she demands ten.

Catcher in the rye chapter 12 audio

Chapter 12

We covered chapter 12 today. We also worked in groups and

explained to each other about what went on.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 13
-Do chapter 12 Qs


Chapter Twelve:
In the cab to Ernie's, Holden chats with Horowitz, the cab driver. He asks what happens to the ducks in Central Park during the winter, but the two get into an argument when Horwitz thinks that Holden's questions are stupid. Ernie's is filled with prep school and college jerks, as Holden calls them. Holden notices a Joe Yale-looking guy with a beautiful girl; he is telling the girl how a guy in his dorm nearly committed suicide. A former girlfriend of Holden's brother, D.B., recognizes him. The girl, Lillian Simmons, asks about D.B. and introduces Holden to a Navy commander she is dating. Holden notices how she blocks the aisle in the place as she drones on about how handsome Holden has become. Rather than spend time with Lillian Simmons, Holden leaves.

Catcher in the rye chapter 11 audio

Chapter 11

We listened to chapter 11 today and then students came up with

the top 3 events from the chapter. We covered some allusions for

the chapter as well.

In our second period we had a chapters 6-10 quiz.

HOMEWORK:

-read chapter 12

-do chapter 11 Qs

-start working or thinking about the comics

Chapter Eleven:
Upon leaving the Lavender Room, Holden begins to think of Jane Gallagher and worries that Stradlater seduced her. Holden met Jane when his mother became irritated that the Gallagher's Doberman pinscher relieved itself on their lawn. Several days later, he introduced himself to her, but it took some time before he could convince her that he didn't care what their dog did. Holden reminisces about Jane's smile, and admits that she is the only person whom he showed Allie's baseball mitt. The one time that he and Jane did anything sexual together was after she had a fight with Mr. Cudahy, her stepfather. Holden suspected that he had tried to "get wise with" Jane. Holden decides to go to Ernie's, a nightclub in Greenwich village that D.B. used to frequent before he went to Hollywood.

Catcher in the rye audio chapter 10

The Catcher in the Rye vocabulary Chapters 6-10:

linoleum,

hospitality,

fiend,

corridor,

Canasta,

janitor,

conscientious,

phony,

lagoon,

incognito,

brassiere,

burlesque,

psychic,

brassy,

intoxicating,

Chapter 10

We listened to chapter 10 audio and worked in groups in explaining what happened.
I gave you some allusions for chapter 10 and a word search for the vocabulary.

HOMEWORK:
-read chapter 11
-do chapter 10 Qs
-review for chapters 6-10 Quiz and vocab.

Quiz period 2 Friday!!!

Chapter Ten:
Holden describes more about his family in this chapter. His sister Phoebe is the smartest little kid that he has ever met, and Holden himself is the only dumb one. Phoebe reminds Holden of Allie in physical appearance, but she is very emotional. She writes books about Hazle Weatherfield, a girl detective. Holden goes down to the Lavender Room, a nightclub in the hotel. The band there is putrid and the people are mostly old. When he attempts to order a drink, the waiter asks for identification, but since he does not have proof of his age, he begs the waiter to put rum in his Coke. Holden "gives the eye" to three women at another table, in particular a blonde one. He asks the blonde one to dance, and Holden judges her to be an excellent dancer, but a moron. Holden is offended when the woman, Bernice Krebs, asks his age and when he uses profanity in front of her. He tells these women, who are visiting from Seattle, that his name is Jim Steele. Since they keep mentioning how they saw Peter Lorre that day, Holden claims that he just saw Gary Cooper, who just left the Lavender Room. Holden thinks that the women are sad for wanting to go to the first show at Radio City Music Hall.

Catcher in the rye chapter 9 audio

Chapter 9

We covered chapter 9 in class and listened to the first part of it on audio.

HOMEWORK:

-Read chapter 10

-Finish chapter 9 Qs

-Finish vocabulary definition sheet

Chapter Nine:
When Holden reaches New York, he does not know whom to call. He considers calling his kid sister, Phoebe, but she would be asleep and his parents would overhear. He also considers calling Jane Gallagher or Sally Hayes, another friend, but finally does not call anybody. He gets into a cab and absentmindedly gives the driver his home address, but soon realizes that he does not want to get home. He goes to the Edmond Hotel instead, where he stays in a shabby room. He looks out of the window and could see the other side of the hotel. From this view he can see other rooms; in one of them, a man takes off his clothes and puts on ladies' clothing, while in another a man and a woman spit their drinks at one another. Holden thinks that he's the "biggest sex maniac you ever saw," but then claims that he does not understand sex at all. He then thinks of calling Jane Gallagher but again decides against it, and instead considers calling a woman named Faith Cavendish, who was formerly a burlesque stripper and is not quite a prostitute. When he calls her, he continues to ask whether or not they could get a drink together, but she turns him down at every opportunity.

Catcher in the rye chapter 8 audio

Rebel without a cause movie

Today we watched the movie "Rebel without a cause".

About the movie:

Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 film directed by Nicholas Ray that tellsthe story of a rebellious teenager who comes to a new town, meets a girl, defies his parents, and faces the local high school bullies. It sought toportray the existing decay of youth in middle America, critique parental style, and expose the rift between two generations. The title is taken from psychiatrist Robert Lindner's 1944 book, Rebel Without A Cause: The Hypnoanalysis of a Criminal Psychopath but has no other relationship to the book.

HOMEWORK:

-read chapter 9

-do chapter 8 QS

-think about your comic books

Chapter Eight:

Since it is too late to call a cab, Holden walks to the train station. On the train, a woman gets on at Trenton and sits right beside him, even though the train is nearly empty. She strikes up a conversation with him, noticing the Pencey sticker on his suitcase, and says that her son, Ernest Morrow, goes to Pencey as well. Holden remembers him as "the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey." Holden tells her that his name is Rudolf Schmidt, the name of the Pencey janitor. Holden lies to Mrs. Morrow, pretending that he likes Pencey and that he is good friends with Ernest. She thinks that her son is insensitive,' an idea that Holden finds laughable, but Holden continues to tell lies about Ernest, such as that he would have been elected class president, but he was too modest to accept the nomination. Holden asks if she would like to join him for a cocktail in the club car. Finally, he tells her that he is leaving Pencey early because he has to have an operation; he claims he has a tumor on his brain. When she invites Holden to visit during the summer, he says that he will be spending the summer in South America with his grandmother.

Chapter 7 The Catcher in the rye audio

Chapter 7

We listened to chapter 7 audio and then talked about the top plot events of the chapter in pairs.

I later introduced to you the mid term comic book project which you will be doing shortly.

HOMEWORK:

-Read chapter 8

-Chapter 7 Qs

Chapter Seven:
Ackley, who was awakened by the fight, comes in Holden's room to ask what happened. He tells Holden that he is still bleeding and should put something on his wounds. Holden asks if he can sleep in Ackley's room that night, since his roommate is away for the weekend, but Ackley says that he can't give him permission. Holden feels so lonesome that he wishes he were dead. Holden worries that Stradlater had sex with Jane during their date, because he knew that Stradlater was capable of seducing girls quickly. Holden asks Ackley whether or not one has to be Catholic to join a monastery. He then decides to leave Pencey immediately. He decides to take a room in a hotel in New York and take it easy until Wednesday. He packs ice skates that his mother had just sent him. The skates make him sad, because they are not the kind that he wanted. According to Holden, his mother has a way of making him sad whenever he receives a present. Holden wakes up Woodruff, a wealthy student, and sells him his typewriter for twenty bucks. Before he leaves, he yells "Sleep tight, ya morons."

Catcher in the rye chapter 6 audio

Chapter 6

We listened to a portion of chapter 6 in class and then we covered some allusions found in the chapter.

HOMEWORK:

-Read chapter 7

-Do chapter 6 Qs

Chapter Six:
Stradlater returned late that night, thanked Holden for the jacket and asked if he did the composition for him. When Stradlater reads it, he gets upset at Holden, for it is simply about a baseball glove. Since Stradlater is upset, Holden tears up the composition. Holden starts smoking, just to annoy Stradlater. Holden asks about the date, but Stradlater doesn't give very much information, only that they spent most of the time in Ed Banky's car. Finally he asks if Stradlater "gave her the time" there. Stradlater says that the answer is a "professional secret," and Holden responds by trying to punch Stradlater. Stradlater pushes him down and sits with his knees on Holden's chest. He only lets Holden go when he agrees to say nothing more about Stradlater's date. When he calls Stradlater a moron, he knocks Holden out. Holden then goes to the bathroom to wash the blood off his face. Even though he claims to be a pacifist, Holden enjoys the look of blood on his face.

Catcher in the rye chapter 5 audio

Chapter 5

We listened to chapter 5 today and talked about some allusions in the chapter.

In the second period we had a chapters 1-5 quiz.

HOMEWORK:

-Finish chapter 5 questions

-Write a journal about the day that Mr. Spencer had Holden over to his home.

Write as if Mr. Spencer is -YOU.

What advice did Mr. Spencer give Holden?? What did Holden think of this advice??

1/2-1 page

Chapter Five:
On Saturday nights at Pencey the students are served steak; Holden believes this occurs because parents visit on Sunday and students can thus tell them that they had steak for dinner the previous night, as if it were a common occurrence. Holden goes with Ackley and Mal Brossard into New York City to see a movie, but since Ackley and Brossard had both seen that particular Cary Grant comedy, they play pinball and get hamburgers instead. When they return, Ackley remains in Holden's room, telling about a girl he had sex with, but Holden knows that he is lying, for whenever he tells that same story, the details always change. Holden tells him to leave so that he can write Stradlater's composition. He writes about his brother Allie's baseball mitt. Allie, born two years after Holden, died of leukemia in 1946. The night that Allie died, Holden broke all of the windows in his garage with his fist.

Chapter 4

We listened to a part of chapter 4 today and then students had to remember what happened in the following scenes in the book with their partners.

HOMEWORK:

-Chapter 5 reading

-Vocab sheet

-Chapter 4 Qs

Chapter Four:
Since he has nothing else to do, Holden goes down to the bathroom to chat with Stradlater as he shaves. Stradlater, in comparison to Ackley, is a "secret" slob, who would always shave with a rusty razor that he would never clean. Stradlater is a "Yearbook" kind of handsome guy. He asks Holden to write a composition for him for English. Holden realizes the irony that he is flunking out of Pencey, yet is still asked to do work for others. Stradlater insists, however, that Holden not write it too well, for Hartzell knows that Holden is a hot-shot in English. On an impulse, Holden gives Stradlater a half nelson, which greatly annoys Stradlater. Stradlater talks about his date that night with Jane Gallagher. Although he cannot even get her name correct, Holden knows her well, for she lived next door to him several summers ago and they would play checkers together. Stradlater barely listens as he fixes his hair with Holden's gel. Holden asks Stradlater not to tell Jane that he got kicked out. He then borrows Holden's hound's-tooth jacket and leaves. Ackley returns, and Holden is actually glad to see him, for he takes his mind off of other matters.

STUDY FOR THE TEST OF CH. 1-5 and VOCABULARY FRIDAY

Catcher in the rye audio chapter 4

Catcher in the rye audio chapter 3

Catcher in the rye audio chapter 2

Catcher in the rye audio chapter 1

Chapter 3

We discussed chapter 3 today.

HOMEWORK:

-Read chapter 4

-Finish chapter questions

-Start on vocabulary sheet (due Friday)

Chapter Three:
Holden claims that he is the most terrific liar one could meet. He admits that he lied to Spencer by telling him that he had to go to the gym. At Pencey,Holden lives in the OssenburgerMemorial Wing of the new dorms. Ossenburger is a wealthy undertaker who graduated from the school; Holden tells how false Ossenburger seemed when he gave a speech exalting faith in Jesus and how another student farted during the ceremony. Holden returns to his room, where he puts on a red hunting hat they he bought in New York. Holden discusses the books that he likes to read: he prefers Ring Lardner, but is now reading Dinesen's Out of Africa. Ackley, a student whose room is connected to Holden's, barges in on Holden. Holden describes Ackley as having a terrible personality and an even worse complexion. Holden tries to ignore him, then pretends that he is blind to annoy Ackley. Ackley cuts his nails right in front of Holden, and asks about Ward Stradlater, Holden's roommate. Ackley claims that he hates Stradlater, that "goddamn sonuvabitch," but Holden tells Ackley that he hates Stradlater for the simple reason that Stradlater told him that he should actually brush his teeth. Holden defends Stradlater, claiming that he is conceited, but still generous. Stradlater arrives, and is friendly to Holden (in a phony sort of way), and asks to borrow a jacket from Holden. Stradlater walks around shirtless to show off his build.

Chapter 2

We talked about Chapter 2 and I gave you a handout sheet
with Chapters 1&2 allusions.


Summary: Chapter 2
“Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.”

Holden greets Mr. Spencer and his wife in a manner that suggests he is close to them. He is put off by his
teacher’s rather decrepit condition but seems otherwise to respect him. In his sickroom, Spencer tries to lec-
ture Holden about his academic failures. He confirms Pencey’s headmaster’s assertion that “[l]ife is a game”
and tells Holden that he must learn to play by the rules. Although Spencer clearly feels affection for Holden,
he bluntly reminds the boy that he flunked him, and even forces him to listen to the terrible essay he handed in
about the ancient Egyptians. Finally, Spencer tries to convince Holden to think about his future. Not wanting
to be lectured, Holden interrupts Spencer and leaves, returning to his dorm room before dinner.

HOMEWORK:
-Finish Chapter 2 questions
-Read chapters 3-5 before next class
-Quiz on chapters 1-5 September 28th

Chapter 1

We had a quiz on J.D Salinger today.

We then talked about chapter 1

Summary: Chapter 1

Holden Caulfield writes his story from a rest home to which he has been sent for therapy. He refuses to talk
about his early life, mentioning only that his brother D. B. is a Hollywood writer. He hints that he is bitter
because D. B. has sold out to Hollywood, forsaking a career in serious literature for the wealth and fame of the
movies. He then begins to tell the story of his breakdown, beginning with his departure from Pencey Prep, a
famous school he attended in Agerstown, Pennsylvania.
Holden’s career at Pencey Prep has been marred by his refusal to apply himself, and after failing four of his
five subjects—he passed only English—he has been forbidden to return to the school after the fall term. The
Saturday before Christmas vacation begins, Holden stands on Thomsen Hill overlooking the football field,
where Pencey plays its annual grudge match against Saxon Hall. Holden has no interest in the game and
hadn’t planned to watch it at all. He is the manager of the school’s fencing team and is supposed to be in New
York for a meet, but he lost the team’s equipment on the subway, forcing everyone to return early.
Holden is full of contempt for the prep school, but he looks for a way to “say goodbye” to it. He fondly
remembers throwing a football with friends even after it grew dark outside. Holden walks away from the
game to go say goodbye to Mr. Spencer, a former history teacher who is very old and ill with the flu. He sprints
to Spencer’s house, but since he is a heavy smoker, he has to stop to catch his breath at the main gate. At the
door, Spencer’s wife greets Holden warmly, and he goes in to see his teacher.

HOMEWORK:
-Read chapter2
-Finish chapter 1 questions 1-10

Welcome back!

Great that you all did so well on the summer fables!

Wonderful fables thus far!!!!

We watched a power point slide show on J.D Salinger today.

Please read over the Biography of Salinger for next day.

HOMEWORK:

-Read chapter 1

-Read about Salinger

-Quiz on J.D next class!

About The Catcher In The Rye

The novel opens with the narrator, Holden Caulfield, a seventeen-year-old boy from New York City, telling the story of three days in his life. The whole narrative is a coming to terms with the past, since Holden tells it from a psychiatric institution.

It is the adult world that has driven him insane. He just cannot relate to anyone except for his kid sister Phoebe. Everything and all other people seem "phony" to him. Holden is unable to accept life. Since Holden is becoming an adult himself, he is unhappy with what he will represent. He flunks out of three boarding schools in a row, the latest of them Pencey Prep, which is also where the first part of the story takes place.

One Saturday night, after an unpleasant experience with his history teacher "Old Spencer," his roommate Stradlater and the boy next door, Robert Ackley, Holden decides to leave Pencey four days early for Christmas break. He knows that he cannot return to his parents because they are not aware that he has been expelled again. Holden spends the next three days wandering aimlessly around New York City. He stays at a cheap hotel for one night, goes to two night clubs, dances with older women, often talks and thinks about sex, even has a prostitute come up to his room.

The next day, he talks with some nuns about literature and has a date with his former girlfriend Sally Woodruff. They go to the theater and also go ice-skating. When he asks her to run away with him, she gets mad and they part. He is "depressed," at this time Holden thinks and even talks to his deceased brother Allie. To Holden, Allie represented innocence. With nobody else around, Holden turns to the only person he can relate to, his sister Phoebe. He sneaks into his parent's apartment at night to talk to his sister. He tells her about his dream to be a "catcher in the rye," and that he wants to run away.

He then leaves to meet his former teacher, Mr. Antolini. They have a good talk, but Holden leaves in a hurry when he thinks his host makes a sexual advance on him. He spends the night in a train station, then runs around town.

Finally, he meets his sister, who tells him she wants to run away with him and that she will never go back to school. Holden sees himself in her, finally changes his mind and decides to go back to his parents. We are able to conclude that Holden then is sent to a mental hospital for treatment.

Final Exams

I was able to check your Final exams!

Please pickup your tests in the Teacher's
room pickup box.

Everyone did pretty good!

Chapter 10

We played a study game in class.

Chapter 10 was later discussed in

your groups.

HOMEWORK:

-Complete The Animal Farm/

Russian Revolution events page

-Study for Friday's final exam

-Complete chapter 10 questions for Friday.

Try these sites to help you study

Matching game:

http://www.quia.com/servlets/quia.activities.common.ActivityPlayer?AP_rand=983491331&AP_activityType=14&AP_urlId=13229&AP_continuePlay=true&id=13229

Theme information:

http://www.novelguide.com/animalfarm/themeanalysis.html

Animal Farm movie and Chapter 9

We watched the ANIMAL FARM animation today.

In the second class we worked on chapter 9 in

groups. To end the class we had a Question &

Answer game.

HOMEWORK:

-Read chapter 10 for next class

-Do chapter 9 questions

-Work on the Russia Animal Farm

events sheet due on Thursday.

FINAL EXAM

ON THE

WHOLE BOOK
ON FRIDAY!!!

Chapters 7-8 Quiz

We had a quiz for chapters 7-8 today.

HOMEWORK:

-Read chapter 9 tonite

-Work on your Russian Revolution/

Animal Farm events sheet

The EVENTS SHEET is due

next week THURSDAY!

UPCOMING NEXT CLASS...........................

We will watch the ANIMAL FARM ANIMATION MOVIE
ON FRIDAY!

THEMES,MOTIFS, & SYMBOLS

Today we watched a slide show about:
Themes, motifs, and symbols of
ANIMAL FARM.

HOMEWORK:
-Do chapter 8 questions
-Study for quiz on Chapters 7-8
-NO READING TONITE!

Here is some of the stuff you should know:

THEMES

1. The Corruption of Socialist Ideals in the Soviet Union

• Retelling the story of the emergence and development of Soviet communism in the form of an animal fable, Animal Farm allegorizes the rise to power of the dictator Joseph Stalin.

• In novella, the overthrow of the human oppressor Mr. Jones by a democratic coalition of animals quickly gives way to the consolidation of power among the pigs.

• Much like the Soviet intelligentsia, the pigs establish themselves as the ruling class in the new society.

Snowball vs. Napoleon

•The struggle for a leadership position between Leon Trotsky and Stalin emerges in the rivalry between the pigs Snowball and Napoleon.

•In both the historical and fictional cases, the idealistic but politically less powerful figure (Trotsky and Snowball) is expelled from the revolutionary state by the malicious and violent overtaker of power (Stalin and Napoleon).

•The purges and show trials with which Stalin eliminated his enemies and solidified his political base find expression in Animal Farm as the false confessions and executions of animals whom Napoleon distrusts following the collapse of the windmill.

•Stalin’s tyrannical rule and eventual abandonment of the founding principles of the Russian Revolution are represented by the pigs’ turn to violent government and the adoption of human traits and behaviors, the trappings of their original oppressors.

FROM PIGS TO MEN

•The pigs have become more human day by day.

*By the end of the story, the pigs are walking upright on their hind legs, drinking alcohol, and carrying whips.

•Napoleon entertains his human neighbors and it is impossible to tell the pigs from the men.


WHAT ORWELL THOUGHT

•Although Orwell believed strongly in socialist ideals, he felt that the Soviet Union realized these ideals in a terribly perverse form.

•His novella creates its most powerful ironies in the moments in which Orwell depicts the corruption of Animalist ideals by those in power.

•For Animal Farm serves not so much to condemn tyranny the use of absolute power as to indict the horrifying hypocrisy of tyrannies that base themselves on, and owe their initial power to, ideologies of liberation and equality.

•The gradual changing and perversion of the Seven Commandments illustrates this hypocrisy with vivid force, as do Squealer’s elaborate philosophical justifications for the pigs’ blatantly unprincipled actions.

•Thus, the novella critiques the violence of the Stalinist regime against the human beings it ruled, and also points to Soviet communism’s violence against human logic, language, and ideals.

2. The Societal Tendency Toward Class Levels

•Animal Farm offers commentary on the development of class tyranny and the human tendency to maintain and reestablish class structures even in societies that allegedly stand for total equality.

•The novella illustrates how classes that are initially unified in the face of a common enemy, as the animals are against the humans, may become internally divided when that enemy is eliminated.

•The expulsion of Mr. Jones creates a power vacuum, and it is only so long before the next oppressor assumes totalitarian control. The natural division between intellectual and physical labor quickly comes to express itself as a new set of class divisions, with the “brainworkers” (as the pigs claim to be) using their superior intelligence to manipulate society to their own benefit.


3. The Danger of a Naïve Working Class

•One of the novella’s most impressive accomplishments is its portrayal not just of the figures in power but also of the oppressed people themselves.

•Animal Farm is not told from the perspective of any particular character, though occasionally it does slip into Clover’s consciousness. Rather, the story is told from the perspective of the common animals as a whole.

•Gullible, loyal, and hardworking, these animals give Orwell a chance to sketch how situations of oppression arise not only from the motives and tactics of the oppressors but also from the naïveté of the oppressed, who are not necessarily in a position to be better educated or informed.

•When presented with a dilemma, Boxer prefers not to puzzle out the implications of various possible actions but instead to repeat to himself, “Napoleon is always right.” Animal Farm demonstrates how the inability or unwillingness to question authority condemns the working class to suffer the full extent of the ruling class’s oppression.

4. The Abuse of Language as Instrumental to the Abuse of Power

•One of Orwell’s central concerns, in Animal Farm, is the way in which language can be manipulated as an instrument of control.

•In Animal Farm, the pigs gradually twist and distort rhetoric of socialist revolution to justify their behavior and to keep the other animals in the dark.

•The animals heartily embrace Major’s visionary ideal of socialism, but after Major dies, the pigs gradually twist the meaning of his words.

•As a result, the other animals seem unable to oppose the pigs without also opposing the ideals of the Rebellion.

•By the end of the novella, after Squealer’s repeated reconfigurations of the Seven Commandments in order to decriminalize the pigs’ treacheries, the main principle of the farm can be openly stated as “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

•This outrageous abuse of the word “equal” and of the ideal of equality in general typifies the pigs’ method, which becomes increasingly audacious as the novel progresses.

•Orwell’s sophisticated exposure of this abuse of language remains one of the most compelling and enduring features of Animal Farm, worthy of close study even after we have decoded its allegorical characters and events.

MOTIFS

Songs

•Animal Farm is filled with songs, poems, and slogans, including Major’s stirring “Beasts of England,” Minimus’s ode to Napoleon, the sheep’s chants, and Minimus’s revised anthem, “Animal Farm, Animal Farm.”

•All of these songs serve as propaganda, one of the major conduits of social control.

•By making the working-class animals speak the same words at the same time, the pigs evoke an atmosphere of grandeur and nobility associated with the recited text’s subject matter.

•The songs also erode the animals’ sense of individuality and keep them focused on the tasks by which they will purportedly achieve freedom.

State Ritual

•As Animal Farm shifts gears from its early revolutionary fervor to a phase of consolidation of power in the hands of the few, national rituals become an ever more common part of the farm’s social life.

•Military awards, large parades, and new songs all increase as the state attempts to reinforce the loyalty of the animals.

•The increasing frequency of the rituals bespeaks the extent to which the working class in the novella becomes ever more reliant on the ruling class to define their group identity and values.

SYMBOLS

Animal Farm

•Animal Farm, known at the beginning and the end of the novel as the Manor Farm, symbolizes Russia and the Soviet Union under Communist Party rule.

•But more generally, Animal Farm stands for any human society be it capitalist, socialist, fascist, or communist.

•It possesses the internal structure of a nation, with a government (the pigs), a police force or army (the dogs), a working class (the other animals), and state holidays and rituals. Its location amid a number of hostile neighboring farms supports its symbolism as a political entity with diplomatic concerns.

The Barn

•The barn at Animal Farm, on whose outside walls the pigs paint the Seven Commandments and, later, their revisions, represents the collective memory of a modern nation.

•The many scenes in which the ruling-class pigs alter the principles of Animalism and in which the working-class animals puzzle over but accept these changes represent the way an institution in power can revise a community’s concept of history to bolster its control.

•If the working class believes history to lie on the side of their oppressors, they are less likely to question oppressive practices. Moreover, the oppressors, by revising their nation’s conception of its origins and development, gain control of the nation’s very identity, and the oppressed soon come to depend upon the authorities for their communal sense of self.

The Windmill

•The great windmill symbolizes the pigs’ manipulation of the other animals for their own gain.

•Despite the immediacy of the need for food and warmth, the pigs exploit Boxer and the other common animals by making them undertake backbreaking labor to build the windmill, which will ultimately earn the pigs more money and thus increase their power.

•The pigs’ declaration that Snowball is responsible for the windmill’s first collapse constitutes psychological manipulation, as it prevents the common animals from doubting the pigs’ abilities and unites them against a supposed enemy.

•The ultimate conversion of the windmill to commercial use is one more sign of the pigs’ betrayal of their fellow animals.
•
From an allegorical point of view, the windmill represents the enormous modernization projects undertaken in Soviet Russia after the Russian Revolution.