We have finally reached the part where Holden gets home. In this chapter, we read about how Holden gets to his parents' apartment. We also get to learn more about the little sister, Phoebe, that Holden is always talking about. Surprisingly, there aren't any depressing moments in this chapter, which makes us wonder if Holden has finally gotten out of the abyss. As I was reading this chapter, I could clearly see how much affection Holden has for his sister. We see her personality, and we also get to see how much she missed her brother. You can also see how much she cares about him. This reminds me of when my brother would go away for UT debate camp. When he could return after a few weeks away, I would be continuously talking to him about my experiences while he was gone.
Similarly, Phoebe tells Holden about the movie (The Doctor) she went to watch at the Lister Foundation, and also about the play she is going to be in (A Christmas Pageant for Americans). I was curious to see what relevance the play and the movie had to the book. So I searched them up on google and found a book. It's called A Reader's Companion to J.D. Salinger's the Catcher in the Rye by Peter G. Beidler. In the book, I found that the refrences to the Doctor and A Christmas Pageant for Americans were completely fake. Why do you think J.D. Salinger made these up? In The Catcher in the Rye Phoebe tells Holden that " it (the movie) was all about this doctor in Kentucky and everything that sticks a blanket over this child's face that's a cripple and can't walk. Then they send him to jail and everything...He fells sorry for it, the doctor. That's why he sticks this blanker over her face and everything and makes her suffocate. Then the make him go to jail for life imprisonment, but this child that he stuck the blanket over its head comes to visit him all the time and thanks him for what he did. He was a mercy killer." What does this segment mean to you? Do you think this is foreshadowing for ahead? If not, why do you think the author specifically explained what the movie was about in the book?
I think J.D. Salinger made these fake allusions because he is trying to reflect Holden's character by describing a man who is willing to kill someone to save them suffering, which I think Holden would do for Phoebe in a different way, by eliminating a threat instead of killing Phoebe to be merciful. This section of the book seems to reflect the instability of Holden and what lengths he would go to to protect someone he loves. This could very well be foreshadowing about an event where Holden has to do something very drastic in order to protect someone he loves and cares about.
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ReplyDeleteI'm not sure Holden has reached his abyss yet. I think it will have something to do with him seeing his parents and them finding out about his expulsion. Phoebe is revealed to be someone he really loves because she understands him. He also seems extremely protective of her. I think that Salinger made the doctor reference to provide very important foreshadowing. In the play, the doctor kills the crippled child, but then the child comes back to thank him. In the same way, I think that Holden's dad will "kill" the troublesome part of him, but Holden will thank him for it later. This goes hand in hand with the fact that Phoebe is constantly saying, "dad's gonna kill you".
ReplyDeleteI think that Holden's relationship with his sister is put in the story to make the reader see a softer side of Holden that makes him more likeable as a character. There might be parts of the books where not all readers can completely sympathize with Holden. However, when we see him have this caring relationship with his younger sister, it makes readers realize that at heart he really is a sweet kid; he's just a little confused and misunderstood. It provides good counterbalance for some Holden's more negative, depressing vibes. I'm not really sure if I think that J.D. Salinger had anything particularly in mind when coming up with the random plays. I'm not sure about that. I do definitely think that it is foreshadowing or just making a statement about Holden's opinion about merciful killing. I'm not sure how that will all play out later on. Maybe Holden will do something wrong but justify it by saying that it'll turn out being for the best.
ReplyDeleteI kind of agree with coleman. I think holden hasn't reached his abyss yet, think we have only had a taste of what is to come. I also agree with coleman when he said that Holden's abyss is probably going to happen when he confronts his parents about how he got expelled from Pency Prep. The passage about the mercy killer means to me that Holden will probably have to be a "mercy killer" kind of person later in the book. I do think this is foreshadowing. Maybe he will have to do it to his sister Phoebe because he loves her so much that he doesn't want her to suffer. Also, if he does this, it will probably be the reason why he is in the mental institution that he is telling his story in.
ReplyDeleteI agree with John Berdon and Coleman as well. I do not think that Holden has reached the abyss. Although there have been some signs suggesting that he is, I feel like there has not been a true descent into the abyss. I think that there is one small event waiting that will plunge him into the abyss. I do not think that this is foreshadowing because I the author was just being descriptive.
ReplyDeleteI am in a 50/50 situation because there are plenty of places that could be Holden's decent into the abyss, however they could also just be steps heading to a bigger abyss later to come that really puts all the steps together into Holden's decent.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with You on the part on Holden coming out of the abysses. just because he has a good time with his sister doesn't mean hes out of the abyssees or more imporantly already hit it. However it was a very happy chapter and proves that things are only going to get worse.
ReplyDeleteI believe that is a very good question and point Noopur. I believe the author might have been drawing are attention to wether the condition of Holden is at a point where commiting suicide will put him out of his misery. I believe the author specifically used this segment to portray what I had stated previously. I think it might be connected to Holden as in will going to rehab put him out of his misery. I don't know.
ReplyDeleteI think that we haven't seen his abysse yet because there will never be one. The book ends too abruptly and there is no defineing series of events. I think his abysse will be a suicide attemp in the future which we don't know about and will never know about.
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