Reading Response #2

Catcher in the Rye

Like as a man confined to a diminutive cell,
As am i confined to the unforgiving world.
I'm surrounded by the walls of hypocrisy and ugliness,
Whose concrete soul bombards my mind.

Yet through out my emotional depress,
There Still, in the midst of my suppression,
Shines, shines, a small light through the cracks of hope,
Whose voice radiates in my abominable setting,
Bringing love and understanding.

Thus as a child, the innocence of this world,
Takes away the follies of man kind,
Replacing it with joy and peace,
Breaking down the walls, which stood tall in my mind.

Though I am now free, the stones from the broken walls remains,
As a reminder of my abominable past, and as my motivation,
My motivation into the hardships I'll have to face.

I will climb over these broken walls and into the vast Rye,
Protecting the young from the deceitful world,
Guarding their innocence with my heart,
Catching them, when they fall,
I am, I am, the Catcher in the Rye!


By: Sheldon Whittle

Reading Response #1

Theme

The Cather in the Rye illustrates several themes, however the one that stood out the most is the challenges that teenagers face throughout there lives. This book evolves around the main character Holden Caulfield who tells a narration of a point in his life where he was going through a lot of different problems. Holden had been kicked out of his fourth school a couple days before Christmas holidays, not wanting to go home right away to face his concerned parents he decides to hang around New York. Throughout the novel Holden expressed his depressed feelings towards humanities phonies and imperfections, he constantly mentally criticizes the people he interacts with. The depressed Holden also reminisces about his deseised brother who has a major impact on his life because he felt that his brother was everything he wasn't. The Cather in the Rye highlights the difficulties that teens face, telling the story of a teen whose life was upside down.

Setting

The setting of this book takes place mostly in Manhattan, New York. Holden Caulfield the narrator started his story at Pencey Prep. School in Agerstown, Pennsylvania continuing to his home town of Manhattan. The setting is very important in this novel because the relation to Holdens feelings and the setting is much alike. New York is place that very busy, you'll find that there is a lot going on to the point where it is chaotic. Holden aslo had a lot on his mind and a lot of issues going on through his life, he had been kicked out of school, the death of his brother, and dealin with phonies was enough for his life to also be chaotic. The setting of this book is very important because it foreshadowed what might happen, for example new york is a very busy place and when Holden decided to go home early the reader then knew that his life wa about to hectic.

Novel Overview: Catcher in the Rye

Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is a story narrated by the main character Holden Caulfield. Holden had been kick out of his 5th school Pencey Prep. just before the Christmas holidays, so he decides to go to New York and stay in a hotel to wait out the days before the holidays. As each day goes by you learn more about Holden's depressed feeling toward himself and others. Over the coarse the couple days the novel takes place in, Holden runs into different problems which he blocked out by thinking about his loved ones and the good times he use to have. However Holden reaches a break down when his depressed feelings reached a climax, by the end of the novel we find out that Holden had been in a rest home recovering and gettin his life back on track.