Skip to main content

What are the three major events in The Catcher in the Rye?

Three key scenes from The Catcher in the Rye are the following:


  1. After Holden has been expelled from Pency and his fight with Stradlater 

  2. Holden's date with Sally

  3. At home with Phoebe 

1. This first scene introduces Holden's disdain for phoniness, as well as exemplifying Holden's silent contempt for adults. 


After Holden is expelled, he goes to the house of Mr. Spencer, a teacher who has failed him. Mr. Spencer asks Holden if he does not have any qualms about what he has done and concerns about his future. Further, Mr. Spencer asks Holden if he has a grudge against him for having failed him. Then he lectures Holden about life being but a game that a person must play according to the rules. Holden expresses his contempt for what he perceives as phoniness:



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. (Ch. 2)



2. The second scene is Holden's date with Sally, a scene that reveals the darkness of Holden's state of mind.


Holden is unrealistic in his expectations with Sally. When they go out, Holden thinks "she looked terrific"; however, he is repelled by her as she joins the "phonies" in the lobby. Then he narrates,



I sort of hated old Sally by the time we got in the cab, after listening to that phony Andover bastard for about ten hours. (Ch. 17)



Later, he asks Sally to run away with him and get married. Holden's desperate need for love is in sharp contrast here with Holden's inability to deal with all the complexities of the real world, much as in his encounter with the nuns in Chapter 15, in which his behavior is also inappropriate.


3. The third scene is Holden's visit to Phoebe.


After having lost his brother, Holden cherishes his little sister Phoebe, who shares the intelligence of their dead brother. Phoebe loves Holden, too, and gives him a feeling of security as she sees past his idiosyncrasies.


Holden comes to visit Phoebe as he feels her innocence will refresh him. He tells Phoebe that he wants to be the "catcher in the rye" and catch children if they run too close to the edge of a cliff. This wish is an expression of trying to stop time for Phoebe and keep all children innocent. "...That's the only thing I'd really like to be" (Ch. 22).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more