Q.#1 What is your opinion of Holden so far?

[bendover]

holdon has been kicked out of many schools so he has a troubled past
i agree with ashley that he needs more boundries and his parents should be more involved in his life
nobody believed in him so he thinks he can sit back and do nothing with his life because he believes he has no special talents

[paige14]

I agree with what everyone else is saying. He doesn't really care about his life. He is flunking out of school and doesn't care. But he does want some people not to know that he's getting kicked out. Like Jane and his parents.

[alexandra22]

So far in this book Holden seems to be the type of guy that irritates the heck out of me. He doesn't care about life at all. He got kicked out of school and seems to not want to get an education. He's the sort of guy who would end up working at a job with minimum wage. But hopefully he'll change.

[jasperthebear]

I think Holden has a distorted view of society and the people around him. He is very negative and doesn't like many other people. I think him calling people phony is because he is a hateful person and seems to hate life itself. He is not a typical teenager and seems a little bit disturbed. He most likely feels like no one understands him and he likes to feel like he can see through people and analyzes the way they act as something else. For example, he is always saying things like "so and so said this but i know he was just saying this because.....". Holden is cynical about other people's intentions, and thinks everyone is a fake.

[puzapalooza]

tcollins: I think he is jealous of Stradlater a little bit because he keeps mentioning how Stradlater has a nice body. I also think he was a little bit jealous that Stradlater had a date with Jane since all Holden talked to him about was her, and how he felt nervous.

[christa]

I think that Holden even with his habit for not applying himself, is trully a pretty cool person. He seems to excessively analyze everyone around him. And usually he finds something to be annoyed about for reasons i can't exactly say. But once in a while he will apply himself and it usually turns out pretty good from what i have seen/read. He has also many experiences that many people he knows can't say they have. He seems like a complicated guy who just needs to find his place and meaning.

[christa]

Oct 29, 2008 20:28:42 GMT -5 @lagrimas said:

i think Holden is kind of like a "whatever" type of guy. He doesn't really take things too seriously in that he doesn't freak out about the things other people would make such a big deal of. He likes to keep a lot of things to himself, but he doesn't mind some company now and then. He has a lot of opinions, but doesn't completely express them to what people he does talk to. Holden also has an emotional side which he expresses or explores when he reads books. He seems like a regular person with issues like the rest of us, apart from the fact that he's been expelled from so many schools.

i really like your view on him. i would have never thought of him that way. But why do you think he is being expelled all the time?

[bigkitty7]

no tim, i think thats just his personality and he is who he is

[bigkitty7]

holden is a guy whos parents dont give a flying hoot about and he has been trying different methods of dealing with his problems

[maddiepie]

I think Holden is just a teenager that is going through a stage. He doesn't really care about his school work and doesn't really care what his future is going to be. He probably doesn't really see anybody as a phony but just likes to pick on their bad habits and bad qualities.

[Steve Gibbs]

Ms Puza: I like how you described Holden as being jealous of those who had goals, so he seeks out a flaw in them so he can call them phony and make himself feel better.

Ms Lagrimas: You said, "I think Holden is kind of like a "whatever" type of guy. He doesn't really take things too seriously in that he doesn't freak out about the things other people would make such a big deal of." Good point. That is the way he is introduced. However, watch how he changes during the story. His situation does grow serious.

Dante: You said, "He calls everyone a phony because they do as they're told and are kind of 'fake people' because they follow society and have no feelings or emotions." So, these phonies are the ones who are playing the game of life by the rules? I agree, but it is ironic to think that breaking the rules makes one authentic, and following them makes us fake. Imagine if everyone broke the rules all the time. I guess we'd have Real Chaos.

Ashleyh: You think he's flunking out to punish his parents for dumping him in private schools and not letting him grow up at home with his family. I think that is a powerful and profound observation. Of course, many thousands of children have gone off to live at boarding schools away from home, and they didn't all turn out like Holden. I believe his distant relationship with his parents is a central problem, but not the entire cause for his breakdown. What else is going on with him?

Everyone else: I can't individually respond to each of you, so let me say to all of you that you've, as a group, pegged Holden Caulfield well.

He is a tragic figure. Recall in discussing Julius Caesar we described Brutus as a tragic figure because the same traits that made him great brought about his downfall. Holden has traits that make him interesting and unique, but that also turn friends and lovers away. Perhaps Holden is even an anti-hero, like Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse 5 for those of you who have read it.

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OK. This first Posting Thread will soon close. I you have not posted or responded yet, hop to it.

-- Mr. Gibbs

[ciaranissexy]

i personaly think hes just going through a rebellius stage in his life. im pretty sure everyone in this class has had an exdperience like that.
as for his mannerisms, i think its just like teenagers of today who say "like" all the time. it can somtimes not make sense to someone who only reads/speaks "oxford english", but to us, the average teen, it makes perfect sense

[reyes92]

i think Holden is just a regular rebellious teenasger. he isn't fond of his parents and is interested in school the only difference is his rebellion is a little more extreme. i think that Holden is a very colorful character and his mannerisms and how he talks makes him all the more interesting and makes the book easier and more fun to read

[torilovesmaddie]

Holden is confused and has many many interesting stories! I want him to tell his parents he got kicked out again but i'll just have to read further! he's very entertaining and i can't wait to read more too!

[benbo]

I think Holden is going through a phase which he thinks he is right all the time, and others who are different are phonies, as opposed to him being the one is different. He is reaching an age which he wants to be independent and separate from the general masses, becoming an individual. He seems to care about some school subjects he cares about, like English, but he doesn't do the others because they don't seem important to him. Holden needs to learn that being different does not mean that one has to abandon help from anyone else, and acknowledge other people and how they act. Just because somebody looks, talks, or thinks differently does not make them "phony".