Symbolism in One flew over the cuckoos nest.

Throughout the first chapters we learned that chief broom was treated very unfairly. The big nurse forced him to sweep the floor and I thought it was very cruel. The symbolism I found in this book was when Broom talked about the "combine". When you first hear this word you think of a machine that harvests objects. In this story the combine is a figment of Broom's imagination. The combine is the hospital and it is harvesting the individuality of the mental patience. This is a very important part in this book because of how this is affecting the patience. During the book McMurphy comes to the hospital to get out of labor at the work farm. This symbolizes the change in this machine because McMurphy doesn’t act like everyone else, he acts like an individual. The patience start acting different too when he arrives they break from their own habbits and start into new ones. This book can bring on many diffent predictions. Fell free to post any that you have.

-Mason T Hartley

In the book The Things They Carried there is a lot of irony. One example of Irony is how Ted Lavender was shot while he was coming back from using the restroom on a mission. This is ironic because they were on a mission where they had to choose one person to go and investigate Vietnamese war tunnels, so while one person was in the tunnel and Ted Lavender was in a supposedly ‘safe’ area, he was the one that was killed. All the troops were expecting Lee Strunk (the man who was sent into the tunnel) to be the one to die, but no. The one person out of the entire group that was actually in ‘real danger’ was perfectly fine, while his fellow troop was murdered on his way back from the bathroom. No one expected this to happen. The very moment that Ted Lavender was shot, his fellow troops were laughing, making “ghost[ly] sound[s] and talking about how Lee made it out safely (O’Brien, 12). In this book, there is also some symbolism. One example of symbolism is Martha. Throughout the book, Lieutenant Cross fantasizes about a girl from back home who he is head over heels in love with. Even though Martha is specifically tied to Lieutenant Cross, she represents what every person at war has left behind. Whether it is a family, a pet or even just a favorite reading spot, they are all significant to the people at war.

O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. United States of America: Broadway Books, 1990. Print.

The Things They Carried

So far in the book The Things They Carried there have been many forms of symbolism and even irony. I believe that Canada represents his perception of a better life. Right now, Tim does not believe in the war and does not want to be fighting in it. He believes that if he were to run away off to Canada he would be able to escape his fears and be able to live the life he wanted. The ironic part is, when O’Brien is given the chance to swim across the river and go to Canada, all he “could do was cry” (O’Brein 57). He feels like a coward and a failure for trying to skip out on his duties. By trying to decide whether or not to go to Canada, he was faced with the decision whether or not to “swim away from [his] hometown and [his] country and [his] life” (O’Brein 57). He is given the chance to escape his fear of going to war and dying for a cause he doesn’t believe in, but he doesn’t take this opportunity because he is afraid of what others back home will think of him. I also think that Martha is another subject that symbolizes each of the soldier’s lives back home. Even though Martha is specific to the Lieutenant’s heart and mind, she is able to represent the lives of each of the soldiers left back home. Even though she wasn’t much apart of his life before the war, “he still loved her” and she has always been apart of his heart and she is always on his mind (O’Brein 28).

O'Brein, Tim. The Things They Carried. United States of America: Broadway Books, 1990. Print

The Things They Carried

As I have been progressing in my read, The Things They Carried, I have noticed many forms of irony. One form of irony that I have noticed is when Ted Lavender came back from the restroom and was "zapped while zipping" instead of being killed in the tunnel like all of the soldiers expected (O'Brien 17). Another form of irony I encountered was when O'Brien is given the opportunity to skip out on his duties and go to Canada. He is on the little metal boat and he has the choice to swim away from everything that ever meant anything to him but all he "could do is cry" (O'Brien 57). I believe he starts to cry because he feels as if he were a coward not to serve his duty and die for a cause that he didn't believe in, but he was also afraid of what others, in his hometown, would think of him. The last form of irony I saw in this book so far, was in the chapter Friends. In order to see this irony you have to recognize the chapter previous to this one, Enemies. In the chapter Enemies Lee Struck and Dave Jensen get into a fist fight and are labeled enemies. But in the chapter Friends Lee Struck dies and Dave Jensen "went over and kneeled at Struck's side" and put all their differences aside (O'Brien 66). Jensen is relieved that Struck has died but at the same time he still seems to care about him. I'm not sure if Jensen is relieved because he doesn't have to kill Struck or if he is relieved because he doesn't have to deal with their relationship anymore, which I think is a love-hate relationship. Either way the titles explain the irony. One minuet they are enemies and the next they are friends. Apparently, during a huge war, the soldiers still have drama.

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Broadway, New York: First Broadway Books, 1998. Print

Posted By: CHELSEA STRANG

The Things They carried

In "The Things They Carried" many of the men did not want to go to war and die for their country or for their choices that others had made for them in previous lives.The author wanted to explain what and how the war in Vietnam was going and how it was progressing in the war. I felt that the author Tim O'Brien wanted to share with his readers what he was going through before, during, and after the war. Tim O'Brien felt that it is hard to tell the truth during the war and what happens in it because it is hard to tell the unbelievable truth that lies with war.
Men thought that some of their captains and other officers were undeserving of their respect, "Then they salute the Fucker and walk away," when they know that something should be done and do not say anything(77-78). Men should respect their Superior officers and know how to act with them. I felt that the men would need to be team players in their unit in order to act like civilized men and work together with them. I wish that later on in the book the men would learn to respect their elders an learn how to work together. Many of them are friends but should become closer to each other.
By Ryan Barber

The THings They Carried

The book the The Things They Carried has, so far, been a great read. Tim O’Brien has done a great job with describing the characters and there personalities. You really get attached to them and feel emotional if any die. For instance, Ted Lavender, generally a good guy, maybe a bit loopy but still just a kid trying to cope with being in a war that he may or may not agree with. I felt quite sad when he was “Zapped while zipping”. (17) The book actually make me think about what I would do if I was in a similar situation as these young men, and that, in my opinion, makes this book great. You can relate to it, in a way, you can identify with all the fears and concerns that these boys have. The most emotional passage for me is where Elroy Berdahl takes the author to the border of the United States and Canada. There, on a small metal fishing boat on the Rainy River, the 18 year old author makes a choice that no boy should have to make, to go to war. So far this has been a great book filled with emotion and energy only Tim O’Brien could write with.
By: ALEX BREEN

Karissa's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

“When the fog clears to where I can see, I’m sitting in the day room.” (Kesey 14). Children have high imaginations; they see life in a different perspective. The eyes of a child see things different than an adult. They see the good in things, the innocent facts of life. Now if a mental patient were to be defined or described, they would most likely be described in a derogatory manner. However, they also are like children. So oblivious to the world around them, they are set with rules and people to watch over them. They can't be left on their own; they depend on another to help them survive. Sometimes mental patients can be worked with and taught how to take care of themselves, this is similar to childhood and growing up.

In the mental hospital "Big Nurse" would play the role of their mother because she is their caretaker. The patients are her children, and the staff would be the people who influence their life and upbringing to make them the people they become. Now in a "normal family" these children would eventually leave home and fly away from the nest creating new lives for themselves. However in the mental hospital, these patients aren't leaving anytime soon. The patients in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" aren't really getting the care they need. They are there for rehabilitation, yet they feel like they are prisoners, unaware of what it truly going on.

Their imagination sores and searches for explanation as to why they are there. They act in a child manner, this is apparent in "Group Therapy" when they all yell over each other (Kesey 49). They whine and complain just as little kids do and their attention span is generally hanging by a thread. Their patience is usually very thin and limited this is apparent by their actions, "Pete shook his arm loose, "I'm tired," he warned."(51). They are never told what medication they are taking or what is being done to them. So like children, they make up stories to fill the void of the unknown. Even though, in society they are considered "mental" they are so comparable to children. The people in mental hospitals should be treated like people, not cattle where they're separated into certain groups and herded into a specific area. These people have knowledge if someone would just allow them to use it. I believe that some of these people aren’t crazy. They just aren’t given the chance to prove it yet. An example of this is the Chief, he sees life differently, but doesn’t everyone? And for that matter he really hasn’t shown any signs of craziness. Just because he thought process is different.

Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. New York: Penguin Books, 1962. Print.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - 4/29/10

When I first started this book, I was very confused and did not like it at all. I then talked about it with my group and realized that Chief is a little insane and sees things differently than a normal person and often gets pulled into a “fog,” (Kesey 13). Knowing this, I tried to look at this story from a different perspective and see things the way Chief does. After I took this approach, I understood it much better.
So far, we have been introduced to many characters and it is a little hard to keep them straight, but I do remember that McMurphy is one of the main characters and I don’t really like him. He seems like he is always causing trouble. He stirs up feeling in the patients that they would never have felt on their own which causes them to create more trouble too. McMurphy also gets into an argument with Harding almost immediately after he arrives. He tries to explain his theory of the “peckin’ party” but nobody really understands what he is trying to say (Kesey 56). Overall, he is not insane, he tries to create arguments, and he brings way to much stress and drama to the men.
While reading this book, I also had some questions. First, why are there no women patients in the asylum? Secondly, why is Chief in the asylum? Was it an event that led him to this? I don’t think he was born this way because if he was, he wouldn’t fake being deaf and mute to get into the asylum in the first place. Finally, will Chief get Big Nurse to crack?

The Things they Carried

The Things They Carried is a book about the personal experiences that Tim O' Brian has as a young solider in the Vietnam war. The book really focuses on the symbolic items that the soldiers carry with them thorough the Vietnam war. This book lists out almost everything that the men carry during the war. It usually tells you the weight of every specific item that the men carry, " As a big man, therefore a machine gunner, Henry Dobins carried the M-60, which weighed 23 pounds unloaded, but which was almost always loaded. In addition, Dobbins carried between 10 and 15 pounds of ammunition draped in belts across his chest and shoulder." (O' Brian 5) I think the author lists out all of the "Things They Carried" to show in depth about the characters. This can also show the symbolic nature of the book.
One of the most symbolic things in the book i believe is Martha. Martha, Jimmy Cross's friend/ lover, shows hope. For Jimmy Cross his motivation is to be with Martha, to survive the war and see Martha in the future. Hope or something to look forward to is what these soldiers need, motivation. They need to be motivated to get through this war and be mentally strong.

Taylor Perdue "The Things They Carried"

In the book "The Things They Carried" the author Tim O’Brien talks about his experience in the Vietnam War. He also talks about his experience when he got the draft letter and how he left to go to Canada but then stopped at Minnesota and meets an older man. Tim O’Brien is a good author and describes every event and setting with such detail that you feel like you are in the characters shoes. He puts so much detail into the characters that you believe that these characters are real people. Tim also talks in great detail when the soldiers are in combat and describes the wounds and injuries that the soldiers had suffered from the fighting. Like when Lee Strunk stepped “on a rigged mortar round” and you could see “slivers of bone, and the blood came in quick spurts” (65). He wrote this book not just to describe what the Vietnam War was like but how the soldiers were affected and dealt with all of the violence especially at such a young age. He shows how immature and irresponsible some of the soldiers are because most of them are only 18 to 21 years old and have only been out of high school for a couple of years.

By Taylor Perdue

The Things They Carried

The book so far follows the life of Tim O’Brien the author and his years in and around the time he spent in Vietnam, including the events about his life shortly before being drafted and whether or not to escape to Canada to avoid the draft. When he is brought to the border of Canada by Elroy he must make a decision that will basically impact the remainder of his life as well as the story. He is haunted by the thoughts of leaving his family behind and being ridiculed by others for his choice. This also is one of the themes in the book that is about making decisions concerning your moral beliefs as well as the consequences of your choice.
The war itself as he explains it was hell as many put it, but also made him ponder a lot and see life from a different perspective. Him and the rest of the men in his squad were changed by the war but also retained many of their values and attitude, for instance when Azar explains “I mean Christ, I am just a boy”. Overall though no one really finds the war to be fun or happy yet the still retain their morals and values and learn more about themselves through all that they have to weather. By: Andy Jones

Huckleberry Finn and the ideas he gets from his father

I think that Huck learns too much from his father. He sees what happens when someone acts like that, but he still uses his advice. Like when his dad said “it warn’t no harm to borrow things, if you was meaning to pay them back” (Twain 76). He was even confronted about this by his aunt. She said it was a nicer way of saying that you are stealing. This was true for Huck, because there was no way that he could pay the farmers back. First of all, he didn’t even know who they were. He also had no money to pay them with at the time, so he would have to go find them later. This would be kind of hard to do if you didn’t know who you are looking for.
His dad also said “take a chicken when you get a chance”, so his father promotes him stealing from people who it will affect (Twain 76). If he were to take items from a place that doesn’t belong to anybody, like when they took clothes from the house floating down the river, it does not matter. The owners will not “loose money”, because they are dead. Although, when you take from a farmer, he looses the profit off of what you stole.
His dad had told him about a man who looked at the moon over his left shoulder. Two years later he ran into some really bad luck. Obviously, the bad luck came from looking at the moon two years before. He believes every word his dad says, and can’t sort through his stories to find what is actually true. Even if it did come from superstitious activity, I highly doubt that it was from seeing the moon over your left shoulder two years earlier.

Huckleberry Finn, Jim helpin Huck

In this book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck would do anything to get out of his old life. Huck runs away from his dad and fakes his death. He runs away to Johnson Island. His friend Jim runs away to the same island. He ran away because he was going to be sold as a slave. Everyone in the town gets the idea that Jim ran away because he kill Huck. It is ironic that they both ran away in a couple of days a part. Everyone in the town figures that Jim killed Huck.


The only reason I think that they are doing that is because that Jim is a black person and he is a slave. Even thought that Jim has some white in his blood they don’t think that slaves should be equal as white people. Huck is surprised that Jim, of all people would run away. When Jim tells Huck that He ran away being all ashamed by saying, “I- I run off” and Huck replying in shock “Jim” (Twain 56). Huck has to choose to make either to not tell anyone about Jim or tell someone. Huck thinks that Jim shouldn’t have done that. I think that Huck shouldn’t tell anyone about Jim. If Huck didn’t have Jim, Huck would be lost and wouldn’t know what to do on the island. Jim is in the story because i think he is a foil to Huck. Making Huck look better than what he is.

The Things They Carried: Anastasia Ditter

The Things They Carried is an interesting book. It has emotion, adventure and reality to it. Tim O'Brien is a good author. I find his style of writing creative and different from other books. It's interesting how he introduces us to these characters but then kind of lets go of them and doesn't keep them in the story as much throughout the book, such as Martha. It's also pretty interesting how he flashes back between events now and in the past. The death of Ted Lavender was sad. The case that his death happened so quickly and he didn't really get a chance to escape or prevent it from happening, is the worst part. I felt kind of bad for Jimmy for how he felt about Martha. The fact is that he really liked her just as he expresses it in the book when he says, "More than anything, he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her" (O'Brien 1) and she didn't like him back was also kind of sad. He really wanted to be with her so I felt kind of bad for him, especially with the life he had and the war he was in, but its good that he moved on, with the death of Ted that had a huge effect on it and the realization of her not really being that into him. The items each of the men carried is symbolism in this book. It's their precious items and items that they cherish. There is also irony in the book, such as the chapters "Enemies" and "Friends," which is expressed by their titles. When Jensen and Strunk got in that fight they were violently opposed to one another although they are fighting on the same side of the war. Although, I could kind of understand why they got into that fight. I mean with all the stress and tough times their going through in this war, it's hard not to get annoyed of each other, but they didn't have to take their annoyance of each other a little to far. The entire book so far is pretty good and I'm curious as to what will happen next!

What hey found in the House.

In the book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim have both run away. On the river next to the island there on they find a house floating down from the bad storm. Inside the find a dead body. I think that the killer of the man inside was Huck’s father. I think this because his dad is a little crazy and he would have been mad when he found out his son ran away. I think buy the end of the book we will find out that it was Huck’s dad. I also think that it could be one of Jim’s friends. You could see this when Jim doesn’t want to talk about it when they are out of the house (page 62). Maybe Jim saw something in there that could have lead Huck to finding out it was his dad. That would be a good reason for covering up the body. That way if Jim was going to avenge his friend’s death Huck would not worn his dad about the attack. So that is why i think that Jim hide the body for huck.

by Caleb Frisbie

The Things They Carried

The book, The Things They Carried, tells about the American soldiers who had to endure hardships through the Vietnam War. The author Tim O’Brien is a great writer and describes situations in detail and also puts you in the shoes of some characters.
Tim O’Brien is the narrator as well as the author and he tells about his friends and himself in different situations during the war. He tells about what happened to him before the war and during the war and then after the war. Tim also talks about his friends and the men in his platoon and what they went through during and after the war as well. He tells different stories with much emotion and detail. While he was explaining what he was going through as a kid before the war, it really made me think about what I would have done if I had gotten the draft letter myself. He describes his emotions, his feelings, and what he did and what he didn’t do. Another time when the author made me really think about what I would have done if I was in his shoes was when he was talking about when Mr. Elroy Berdohl took him to the river and showed him Canada. If I was a kid his age, I would probably be freaking out about war and life and death. He really puts the reader in the spot light and I enjoy reading this book for that reason and others.

Stephen Bradley

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Tori Fisher

So far in this book the narrator, Chief Broom, is at a mental institution. Everyone believes he is deaf and mute but really he is quite smart. At first i thought he was really actually faking his illness and got put in this place by mistake. Later i found out this is not the case. He is having delusions about things that are actually happening, he just views them in a different way.The institution does something called a Shock Treatment, one man, Ruckly, was carried away to the "Shock Shop" and Chief Broom said he came back with plugs above his eyes and is now nailed to a wall"(21). I think Chief Broom is exaggerating when he says the man is nailed to the wall and has plugs above his eyes but, i also do understand he went to get Shock Treatment. Reading these delusions along with actually real, happening events can make this a hard book to understand.

Jordan Perkins "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

This book is one that has many foreshadowing in it. The next day a frame house was spotted floating down the river. Huck and Jim paddled out to it and come aboard; upon entering they immediately saw a body of a man. Huck was scarred of it so Jim took a look and said he had been shot... Later Huck wanted to talk about the body of the man, yet Jim was against talking about it. This it self is very questionable, and how Jim said talking about it would fetch them bad luck, “He said , he might come and a-ha’nting us,” (62). Jim gave one of his voodoo reasons and since Huck is still a child he easily believed it. However earlier times when Jim told him about something of bad luck he always explained to give Huck answers. Yet here Jim was very quiet, and was shut down about it. This gives questions about if: Jim knew the man, he knew the reason he died, or he knew the person who killed him. This also foreshadows if Huck’s dad killed the man or not. Some people could believe that down the story line that Huck has to turn in his dad for the murder.

Michaela Johnson "The Catcher In the Rye"

Holden Caulfield is a miss read teen. He has gone through so much in life that it keeps piling up on him. Holden has been kicked out of 3 schools already and Pencey Prep will be the 4Th. What I have noticed about Holden is that he loves to read and write. He is really a bright student when he wants to be. He is a caring person who won't let anything bad happen to anyone.
At Pencey Prep Holden has a roommate named Stradlater. Stradlater is the "All Star" and the guys everyone likes. When it comes to talking about people, it doesn't bother Holden to say what he wants to say. He is very descriptive about everyone at Pency. He thinks they are all Phonies and that they all think too high of themselves. To the left of Holden's room there is a kid named Ackley. Ackley is the kind of guy that is annoying to everyone. He is terribly filthy. The only thing that Ackley will take care of would be his finger nails. Kinda weird right?
When Stradlater comes home from the football game he is happy and all. He starts to ask Holden if he would write him a paper for his English class so that he could go on his date. When Holden finds out that Stradlater's date is Jane Gallagher then all the trouble starts when Stardlater returns. On that night Stardlater returns back and then Holden and him start a fight. Holden finds out that Stradlater doesn't care that much about Jane Gallagher and that just gets him going. This would be a good way for Holden to leave Pency Prep.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

So far in the book the narrator has described many characters. McMurphy has come to the institute. The doctors looked for “previous psychiatric history” and did not find anything (46). However, McMurphy found some writing that said he did some psychiatric “outbreaks” (46). He thinks he is “crazy” but I don’t think he is (46). I think that he wants to be in the institute to get out of working in the fields. He has no other signs that he is crazy. Although many of the people in the institute don’t seem to be crazy, they hide it like Chief Broom does.
`Chief Broom so far is the narrator who is describing what the place and the people look and act like. The things that he talks about aren’t the same as they really are. The “fog” is just what he sees (14). The fog is actually what he thinks it is. The fog represents getting medicine and he fills dizzy and can’t see anything. The characters are always talking about the Big Nurse who actually isn’t that big. She is a tiny woman who is just very big in her upper body. I think that they also call her the Big Nurse because she is the person who is running the institute. She tells everyone what to do and when to do it.

By Courtney Kjeldgaard

Sarah Waltman- Catcher in the Rye

So far in this story, it seems to me that the main character, Holden, has a very hard time in trusting people around him, in school, and in having conversations with the people around him. I personally think that most of these problems go back to the fact that his younger brother, Allie, had died of leukemia, and that this impacted the way Holden thinks of people.
Holden refers to his brother as “terrifically intelligent,” and that he basically could do no wrong (38). Holden also had a close relationship with his brother because “it wasn’t just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest, in a lot of ways,” and they got along very well (38).
Ever since his brother died, Holden’s relationship with his parents also became very different. They were going to send him to a psychoanalyst to try to get him back on track, but Holden did not like that very much. Now he doesn’t want to talk to his parents much, and I also think that a reason why he is going off to New York to wait until his mother has the letter from the school saying he was kicked out “thoroughly digested” because he doesn’t want to face them in pain and shock (51).
Holden also never seems to look for the good traits in people or in life. He always seems to find the bad traits in another character, such as Stradlater. I think that this is because he likes to compare them to Allie, and because he thought that Allie was perfect, there is no one else like him. I also believe that Allie’s death had such an impact on Holden’s life that he never looks forward to anything in life, and he also “[feels] so lonesome” without Allie there with him (48). If Allie had never died years ago, I think that Holden would be positive about many more times in life, and there also might be meaning in friends and school for him.
By: Sarah Waltman

The Catcher in the Rye- Analysis

In the story Catcher in the Rye Holden Caufield is the messy, mixed up main character. He represents the outcome of what happens to a person after tragedy. I see his personality as 'crushed confidence'. Allie's (Holden's younger brother) death seemed to impact him quite a bit. In the story when Holden writes his roommates assignment he writes about his brother. He writes “you would have liked him”, I thought this was striking that he’s referring to “you” (38). It proves that in Holden’s head he believes that everybody would love Allie, because Allie was “the nicest in a lot of ways” and “terrifically intelligent” (38). Allie, of course, is Holden’s FOIL character. He was Holden’s opposite and balanced him out. Without his brother he had become a lonely.
I think that Holden describes himself as “lonesome” because he doesn’t know how to connect to people anymore (48). He had held his guard up, and gained extreme trust issues once he realized that somebody as perfect as his brother could still be taken from him. It created Holden become semi socially awkward and not able to connect and make friends. Ackley was Holden’s only friend while away at school. Ironically enough, Holden doesn’t like Ackley, the way he looks or the way he acts by that mean. But, as much as he talks negatively, Ackley seems to be his closest friend throughout the first chapters. I think this is the perfect example of Holden’s struggle to connect. His friends aren’t real, because he wont allow himself to get close to anybody after his brothers death.

by Aleia Amaya

The Foil Chacacter for The Cather in the Rye

Holden is the main character and also the narrator. He is failing out of a boarding school, by failing four classes. He describes his little brother Allie who died form leukemia as “fifty time more intelligent” than Holden. Holden ends up writing a descriptive essay for his roommate Stradlater about his brother’s baseball glove. He tells us how Allie wrote all of these poems on the fingers and in the pockets. Every personality he uses to describe Allie is the total opposite of Holden. Holden loves his younger brother and misses him so much. On the day that his brother died he broke his hand by smashing out all of the windows in his garage. He wanted to do the same to the car windows but his hand hurt to much to co that. Holden got mad when his roommate didn’t like the essay he wrote for him because he wanted it to be about a house or a room, but Holden didn’t want it to be about that. He couldn’t be descriptive about something like that. Holden still had Allie’s baseball glove with him. Allie is someone that everyone would like, so Holden thinks. Holden says not very many people like him, he wishes they did and that he could be more like Allie.


Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.

The Mood of "Catcher in the Rye"

The book: "The Catcher in the Rye" is narrated by a cynical, and somewhat bitter teen named Holden. With every person he meets, he never forgets to bring up the flaws of the person he is describing.

Holden described his life with such a hatred passion, he can make you hate everyone he thinks about. Such as his ex-professor, Mr. Spencer. Holden describes how he thoroughly dislikes talking to him. "The minute I went in, I was sort of sorry I came." (7) Mr. Spencer seems to be a pretty nice professor, because he is always trying to get Holden to do his homework and care about his classes. You can tell because he asks Holden: "'Do you blame me for flunking you, my boy?'" (12)

Not only is Holden over-emphasizing his elders, but he is also very critical of his fellow peers, especially Ackley. "...he was one of those very, very tall round shouldered guys-... [Ackley's teeth] always looked mossy and awful..." (19) Holden also describes his roommate, Stradlater as very conceited and likes to take care of his body, but not all his belongings. "Stradlater was more of a secret slob. He always looked alright, Stradlater, for instance, you should have seen the razor he shaved himself with. It was always rusty as hell and full of lather and hairs and crap." (27)

The way Holden thinks about his mood nearly screams negative, and I think he should attempt to look for the better parts of people and their personalities.

Works Cited:
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Massachusettes: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.

Welcome

Over the next 5 weeks, my students will be reading a variety of books in literature circles. They will be posting responses based on the following American novels:

*The Things they Carried
*One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
*Catcher in the Rye
*Adventures of Huck Finn

Please check back with us to read the responses and reflections of these students as they begin to explore their novels.

Lori Pierce, Instructor