The Catcher in the Rye was definitely a type of book that I do not read often. Some may feel the book has no point or meaning, since it is just about a young man’s experiences. If you look deeper you will see so much more of the purpose of this book. Throughout the whole book we see life through the eyes of Holden Caulfield, a young man who has just been kicked out of his school, Pency Prep. The teenage years are most confusing and filled with different experiences. I think the author did a great job while writing in truly becoming the character and being able to write in a teenagers mindset.
What I enjoyed best about the book was the way the author had Holden go off into his own thoughts about certain things. For example every story was in his point of view, so all we ever got was his perspective on things. Another thing I also caught onto was at times in the story he repeated his words quite a bit when he wanted to emphasize something. I really enjoyed that because I was able to tell when he really felt strongly about a certain matter.
Holden seems to go through life not worrying about the future or his present actions. His attitude is pretty much an “I don’t care” one. When he got kicked out of Pency he pretty much did not worry. He thinks that no matter what happens to him in life he will wind up perfectly fine. This on the other hand is not always the best way to live. He seems to worry about none of his actions and doesn’t think much of the consequences. For example, after he left Pency he traveled to New York with only a little money to last him a few weeks. He did not think ahead on what would happen after his money ran out, but only on the present situation. When he finally ran out of cash, he relied on his sister to help him out until he figured out what he was going to do. This is not always the best mindset as you can see.
For some reason I feel that Holden somewhat wanted attention. He seemed to be a smart boy, therefore his own choices made him become expelled from all his schools. In a way I feel he was sort of jealous of his brother D.B and wanted his family to appreciate him as much as they did his brother. He was a successful writer and in a way that may have made Holden quite jealous. So, his actions of always getting in trouble set off why I came to this conclusion.
Something else I enjoyed about the book was how at some points Holden would tell a little story about things that did necessarily pertain to what was actually going on. For example he talks about a story of when he was at one of his schools of a boy who committed suicide. Now this actually didn’t necessarily pertain to what was going on but none the less it was very interesting. Also, getting a bit of background of all the people he encounters makes me as a reader feel as if I know them as well.


I'd like to be graded on how good my description of the book is. Also my ideas and how well I gave details should be considered. Grammer should also be included but not to big of a percent.

Over the past week or so the eleventh grade has read a short play called “Death of a Salesman.” This play was one that held my attention and gave me great interest. I think what I liked about it so much was that it wasn’t far fetched or imaginary. It was a story about a normal, middle class family and the problems they face. What I liked was that these problems are ones that families in real life also face despite the time period. For example, Willy Loman suffers from all timers. This is a realistic disease that many senior citizens live with everyday. Another example is that Willy had a few issues with his sons. No family is perfect, and not all problems are resolved. The author ended the play without a happy ending, which in my opinions was the best way since not many problems in real life always get resolved.
Willy was always trying to make his life a bigger success then it already was. Willy had big plans for his remaining future. Those dreams were unrealistic to everyone but him. This is my opinion is something that many people are faced with in real life also. We let our minds get ahead of ourselves and believe in things that are not always possible to obtain. This man did not want to face his reality, and instead his mind controlled him with old memories that he wished to relive.
I think the author wanted his readers to realize that even though the times periods are different and things have changed, certain things will always remain the same no matter how many decades pass. Clothing and style may change but the way families grow, and problems they face, and what happens with age will always remain the same.