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In order to understand the type of narrator in a novel, the reader should answer the following questions:
Chapters 1-7 Narration
Chapters 1-7 Narration
1. Discussing the narrative technique used in the story.
2. Is the narrator part of the story? If so, how much influence does he or she have on what happens?
2. Is the narrator part of the story? If so, how much influence does he or she have on what happens?
3. To what degree does the narrator participate in the action (just observe, participate some, or participate fully)? Is the narrator conscious of the storytelling and commenting on it or not?
4. Is the narrator’s presentation of the situation and people reliable, partially reliable, or biased?
4. Is the narrator’s presentation of the situation and people reliable, partially reliable, or biased?
5. Does the narrator take the reader inside his or her mind? Is the reader listening in on one character telling the story to another?
6. Is the narration written in the form of a diary or letter? Is the narrator telling a story from a significant time in the past?
6. Is the narration written in the form of a diary or letter? Is the narrator telling a story from a significant time in the past?
In your group, answer the previous questions about The Catcher in the Rye.
For each question that you answer “Yes,” copy a quotation that supports your answer.
For example – “Yes” Holden is part of the story.
“I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas....” (1).
Each group should present its answers to the class and discuss the observations about Holden as a narrator.
“I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas....” (1).
Each group should present its answers to the class and discuss the observations about Holden as a narrator.
1. Holden narrates the story using a technique known as, stream of consciousness.
ReplyDelete2. Yes the narrator is part of the story, " I'm not going to tell you about my whole goddam autobiography or anything. I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy"(1).
3. The narrator is mostly part of the story and he does narrate when he is observing or participating, " I was standing way the hell up on Thomson Hill.. You could see the whole field from there"(2).
4. There narrators presentation of the situation and people is only partially reliable. "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful"(16).
5.
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ReplyDelete1) The narration tone is the story is casual "Besides, I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything."(1)
ReplyDelete2)Yes the narrator is part of the story. He is the main character, he's telling his story about what happened to him. "...Just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy."(1)
3) Yes the narrator participates in the action, but very little, and he's conscious of the
storytelling. "I forgot to tell you that. They kicked me out..."(4)
4) The narrator's presentation of the situation and people is reliable. "...it was December and all, and it was cold as a witch's teat, especially on top of that stupid hill."
1) The narrative technique that is used is called stream of consciousness. It is very casual, and thoughts blend into each other; there is no clear transition. "I'm not too crazy about sick people, anyway"(7) shows Holden's casual tone and how he deviates from the topic when he enters Spencer's room. It is in first person.
ReplyDelete2.) Yes, Holden is part of the story. A quote that shows this is "I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything"(1). When the events in the book occurred, he had complete control over them because he was responsible for his actions. Although Holden tries to make it seem as if he had nothing to do with the events in the book, and although he tries to put the blame on other factors, he cannot hide the fact that it was his fault.He says, "They give the ax quite frequently at Pencey"(4), where he tries to say that his failures are not is fault.
3.) Although Holden does participate in the story, he is mainly an observer. His observing nature leads to his criticizing of others, which is seen throughout the story. The quote, "I remember around three o'clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill..."(2), shows that he is a participant in the story.
4.)Holden's presentation of the situation and people is partially reliable, since he only sees negative things and fails to notice positive ones. This doesn't allow the reader to fully understand the situation or people because it leads us to see everything the was Holden sees it. So, in a way, his presentation could also be said to be biased. "The more expensive a school is, the more crooks it has-- I'm not kidding"(4). The "I'm not kidding" tells the reader that his statement might not be completely reliable yet he wants the reader to believe him.
5.)Yes, everything the reader reads is from Holden's mind. "I know that sounds mean to say, but I don't mean it mean"(6). We are hearing Holden's thoughts. He is not telling the story to another character.
6.)The story is more in the form of a diary than a letter, because the only person to whom he is narrating the story is the reader. The story is happening exactly a year in the past, close to Christmas. "I was sixteen then. and I'm seventeen now..."(9).
Great job picking quotations that would best support your answers. I also enjoyed reading your response because you go further into explaining your quotes instead of just stating them.
Delete1. Holden Caulfield uses an extremely casual tone when he is talking. He says everything he thinks and uses a stream of conscious method. When we read the book it is like we are in Holden's head. "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth" (1).
ReplyDelete2. Holden is part of the story. Holden so far is influencing all that happens because the narration is his stream of conscious so we hear everything he thinks. He also influences the storyline because he is the main character, and therefore the story is about him. " 'Life is a game boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.' 'Yes sir. I know it is. I know it.' Game my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it's a game, allright-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."
3. I think Holden participates some in the book but is mostly an observer. He observes what other people are like in his critical manner "You remember I said before that Ackley was a slob in his personal habits? Well, so was Stradlater, but in a different way. Stradlater was more of a secret slob. He always looked all right, Stradlater, but for instance, you should've seen the razor Stradlater shaved himself with." (27).
4. Holden's presentation of the situation and people is only partially reliable. This is because he exaggerates a lot and is also very sarcastic and negative "I told him Mal Brassard was going. He said, 'That bastard... all right. Wait a second.' You'd think he was doing you a big favor. It took him about 5 hours to get ready." (36). He also says "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life." (16). This also makes us not want to believe everything he says, but, because the story is in 1st person, we are always reading what is in his head because he says everything he thinks to us which makes us think that he wouldn't make lies about what he was thinking which leads us to believe the general ideas of what he is saying.
5. Yes, Holden takes us inside his mind. "The thing was I couldn't think of a room or a house or anything to describe the way Stradlater said he had to have. I'm not too crazy about describing rooms and houses anyway." A lot of the story is made up of what Holden is thinking. No, Holden is not telling the story to another character.
6. I think the story is in the form of a diary because he is telling us his thoughts and what happened. Yes the narrator is telling the story about a year ago around Christmas break. "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run down and had to come out here and take it easy." (1).
Great job on this. I find it interesting that on question 3 you found Holden to mainly be an observer, as I found him to mainly be participating in the action, but occasionally 'pausing' to explain something. However, I think your quotation for that question definitely helps support your response.
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ReplyDelete1. In "The Catcher in the Rye", the "stream of consciousness" method is used to explain the thoughts and actions of the narrator, Holden. This is especially shown in Holden's description of Mr. Spencer's situation when he says, " I'm not too crazy about sick people, anyway…old Spencer had on this very sad, ratty old bathrobe that he was probably born in or something. I don't much like to see old guys in their pajamas and bathrobes anyway" (7). This is again shown when he rolls his thoughts into how he dislikes seeing certain things about old men, which is a completely different topic than that of which he started with. This method is used in the first person and continually blends from one thought to another as Holden casually rambles on throughout the story.
ReplyDelete2. Holden is a huge part of the story because the events that he talks about all revolve around what happened to him and the thoughts that are mentioned are solely his. Although he tends to not thinks things though as much as he should, he did have control over the events he recounts in his story. This is shown early on in the story, where he introduces the fact that he'll be telling what happened to him and says, "Besides, I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything" (1).
3. Holden's degree of participation in the actions of the story varies because at certain times, he may fully be participating, when at others, he may simply be observing. However, the majority of the time, he seems to be observing, as shown by his numerous critical comments such as, "The whole time he roomed next to me, I never even once saw him brush his teeth. They always looked mossy and awful..." (19). Holden only participates in the action every once in a while, such as when he got into a fight with Stradlater. Although Holden is conscious that he's telling the story, he may not fully be aware of all of his comments because he tends to ramble on with his train of thought.
4. Holden's presentation of the series of events and people are only partially reliable and on the verge of biased because he's so critical of almost everyone and therefore points out all of their negative characteristics. At times, it's also true that because he likes to make excuses and false statements, the reader may not be reading the truth at all, just what Holden wants them to believe. This doesn't allow the reader to completely understand the people and events because the storytelling is very one-sided. This is shown when he says, "The more expensive a schools is, the more crooks it has- I'm not kidding" (4). Since this obviously can't be true and he's clearly trying to persuade the reader into believing it, many of his later comments can't be fully trusted either.
5. Since the story was written in the first person, the reader is in Holden's mind the whole time. An example of this is when he's talking about his new hat and says, "The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around to the back-very corny, I'll admit, but I liked it that way" (18). He never actually speaks these words to anyone else in the story, he just explains these thoughts to the reader. At this point, we assume he isn't telling the story to another character, but instead recounting the events just to the reader.
6. The narration stands out as written in the form of a diary instead of a letter because Holden seems to be directing his words to the reader only, and not to someone specific he's writing to. The story that Holden is telling is about a significant event in his life that occurred around a year before he's reflecting about it, which makes it even less likely that he'd be writing a letter to someone about it so long after the events took place. "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run down and had to come out here and take it easy." (1).
You did a great job of explaining your answers! Although Holden does talk a lot about unrelated topics a lot, I don't think "rambles", in #1, is fitting because what he says does have some meaning. I agree that Holden does seem to be trying to persuade the reader.
Delete1. The type of narration is stream of consciousness. Holden is extremely casual and it's written in the first person. He speaks directly to the reader about whatever comes into his head. "They're pretty touchy about things like that, especially my father. They're nice and all- I'm not saying that- but they're also touchy as hell" (1).
ReplyDelete2. Yes, Holden is the narrator of his own story a year earlier. "I'm not gonna tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything. I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me" (1). Holden has a lot of influence on what happens in the story, since he's talking about himself. "Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep" (2).
3. The narrator participates fully in the action because, again, he's telling the story about himself. He's not an observer, he's talking about something that actually happened to him. "I shook my head. I shake my head quite a lot" (9). The narrator is conscious of the storytelling and commenting on it. He's telling the story about himself. "All of a sudden the door opened, and old Stradlater barged in, in a big hurry. He was always in a big hurry" (25).
4. Holden's presentation of the situation and people is very biased. He's always critical and he lies a lot, so he's not reliable. "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life" (16).
5. Holden takes the reader inside his mind. Since the story's about him, and he's commenting on the story, he tells the reader what's happening in his head a lot. "I was so damn worried, that's why. When I really worry about something, I don't just fool around" (40). The character isn't listening in on one character telling the story to another, he's telling the story to the reader. No one else is hearing it. "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born" (1).
6. The narration isn't written in the form of a diary or letter, it's directly from the Holden to the reader. "I was sixteen then. and I'm seventeen now"(9).
You did a great job of supporting your answers with quotes. On your answer to question #6 you might want to explain your quote, because I think that your quote answered the second part, but you wrote it as the answer for the first part.
DeleteOlly, good job. Although, I didn't agree with all of your answers, you did a good job supporting your answers with the quotes you picked. I agree w/ Josh about the last quote you picked, it would be nice to go into more detail explaining about that, but overall, job well done.
Delete1. The type of narration used in this story is stream of consciousness. Holden does not talk in a former manner, and also swears a lot in his narration. This is shown when Holden says "my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it" (1). This shows that Holden is not formal because he just talks about whatever he feels like, and says words like goddam, and crap a lot.
ReplyDelete2. Yes, Holden is a part of the story. He has a lot of influence on what happens because most of the story is about him, and he is saying what is happening. When Holden says "only I wasn't watching the game too much. What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of good-by" (4) this shows that he is a part of the story, and that he has an effect on what happens by just standing on the top of the hill.
3. I think that Holden participates in most of the action in the story. This is because he has been in the majority of each chapter, but sometimes he is describing somebody when he was not there, like when he says "now he's out in Hollywood" (2). Here he is talking about his brother, and none of this quote refers to Holden himself. This shows that Holden is not a part of everything in this story. I think that Holden is conscious of what he is saying, but not always. This is because sometimes he will just say random things, and not know what he is talking about.
4. Holden's presentation of the matter is not completely reliable, especially because he says "I'm the most terrific liar" (16). This means that he is either not telling the truth about somebody, or is actually being honest, but Holden is usually lying when he is speaking.
5. Holden often takes the reader into his mind. He expresses his opinions on matters in the narration, like when he says "just because they're crazy about themself, they think you're crazy about them, too, and that you're just dying to do them a favor" (28). The reader is not listening to Holden talking to another character; Holden is talking directly to the reader. An example of this is when Holden says "I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything" (1).
6. The narration is not written as a diary or letter, but it is as if Holden is just telling what happened to the reader; "I forgot to tell you about that. They kicked me out" (4). Holden is not telling the story from a significant time in the past. We know this because at the beginning Holden says "I was sixteen then, and I'm seventeen now" (9).
Josh,
DeleteYou have great quotations to support your answers. I like your answer for the third question because I said that he participates fully. I liked seeing a different perspective. Great job.
1. Holden's narration is a stream of consciousness. He speaks as if he is having a conversation with someone in his head. He speaks his mind, with little censorship. Because of this, he often goes off on tangents. "Besides, I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam biography or anything. I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come back here and take it easy. I mean that's all I told D.B. about, and he's my brother and all. He's in Hollywood" (1).
ReplyDelete2. The narrator, Holden, is very much a part of the story. The story he is telling is about what happened to him in the past. "Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep" (2).
3. The narrator participates fully in the action of the story, although he occasionally pauses the action to explain something, or to give his opinion. "'This is about the fourth school I've gone to.' I shook my head. I shake my head quite a lot. 'Boy!' I said. I also say 'Boy!' quite a lot. Partly because I have a lousy vocabulary and partly because I act quite young for my age sometimes" (9).
4. For the most part, Holden is not a very reliable or trustworthy narrator, as he is often biased. Part of this comes from how critical he is, as he is always finding flaws in others. He also can idealize people, such as his brother who died from leukemia. “But it wasn’t just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest, in a lot of ways” (38).
5. The narrator takes the reader into their mind, and speaks directly to the reader. Holden is telling the story to the reader, not to another character. He gives the reader insight on what he is thinking. “He hated it when you called him a moron. All morons hate it when you call them a moron” (44).
6. It seems to be in more of a diary form than a letter, as he speaks his thoughts freely, without being directed towards a specific person. The narrator is telling about a significant time in his past, a year ago, when something important happened. “I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas...” (1).
You did a good job responding to the questions and backing up your answers with quotes. I think you missed the second part of a couple questions though. I'm not sure if that's important or not. Overall, nice work.
Delete1) The narrator has a stream of consciousness when he is telling the story to the readers. Holden has a casual tone: "... but I don't feel like going into it..." (1).
ReplyDelete2) Yes, he is part of the story. He is telling us an event that he was apart of. "Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep.
3) This narrator participates fully. Occasionally he expresses his opinions and tells us a mini story that happened in the past "I forgot to tell you about that. They kicked me out" (4). He is conscious of his story telling but sometimes, he gets off topic.
4) The narrator is biased. "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in you life" (16).
5) Yes we are reading what Holden is thinking. "I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything" (1). Holden is talking to us, the readers.
6) The narration is in a form of a diary because he is talking to the readers and not to someone else. He is referring to a time which is about a year in the past. " I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas..." (1).
Good use of quotes. MLA format looks good. Some Q's could use a bit more meat, like 4 and 2.
Delete1. Holden describes the story using a casual and a stream of consciousness. He narrates it like he doesn't want to wright this or doesn't care what he says.
ReplyDelete2. Yes: he talks in the first person through out the book: "The reason I was standing way up on Thomsen Hill, instead of down at the game, was because I'd just got back from New York with the fencing team”(3).
3. He is participating fully. He is both commenting and story telling through out the book.
4. He is most of the time biased to the people around him. Sometimes he is a little bit reliable, but mostly he sticks to criticizing everyone other than him.
5. Yes: Holden takes you inside his head when he says "i wouldn't mind calling this Isak Dinesen up"(18). No, the reader is not listening in.
6. He is telling this story 1 year after the event. The story is in the form of a diary since he tells you everything that goes through his head, yet is is in the past
Nice job with providing a full answer to all of the questions! I definitely agree with your answer to the first question, and find it interesting how Holden talks about everything in a very off hand sort of way, trying to sound nonchalant, possibly just trying to hide how hurt he is inside? One suggestion that I have is to provide a quote for every response, just to make your answer stronger. Good write!
Delete1. "Catcher in the Rye" is written in first person, from the point of view of Holden, an Salinger writes in stream of consciousness. An example of this is when Holden was thinking about Spencer's home, and condition. "It was pretty depressing. I'm not too crazy about sick people, anyway. What made it even more depressing , old Spencer had on this very sad, ratty old bathrobe that he was probably born in or something. I don't much like seeing old guys in their pajamas and bathrobes" (7). This shows his seemingly insignificant thoughts streaming through the text without any filter.
ReplyDelete2. Yes, Holden is very much part of the story; the book follows his thoughts, actions, and reasoning. Since this is being told from first person, the reader gets the perspective from Holden, and at the time when the story was being told, Holden was fully active, and in control of this role in the book. However, when he's relating the story (about a year later), he's reflecting, so by then, the past is the past. This is shown when Holden says, "Besides, I'm not going to tell you my whole goddamn autobiography" (1). This is illustrates that Holden is our narrator.
3. The amount that Holden participates in the story is very dependent on his character. Holden has the full capacity in the story to participate, when it was being told. Holden is very aware of the storytelling, and because of that, the text is always filled with his opinions, or general chatter and commenting. "They gave you steak. I'll bet you a thousand bucks the reason they did that was because a lot of guys' parents came up to school on Sunday"(35).
4. The narrator's description and narration in this book is both reliable and biased. It's biased because this book is written as if from his thoughts, and his automatic opinions. Holden normally makes slightly extreme assumptions of people, or characterize them under one characteristic, and although this is a biased opinion, and maybe a little narrow, Holden's underlying idea of them is normally quite true. "Stradlater was more of a secret slob"(27).
5. In this book, we are definitely inside Holden's thoughts. He is narrating the story, and retelling it, but really from his own mind. This may be the reason for so much of the repetition, or comments that wouldn't be said out loud. "She wouldn't move any of her kings. What she'd do, when she'd get a king, she wouldn't move it. She's just leave it in the back row.She'd get them all lined up in the back row. Then she'd never use them. She liked the way they looked when they were all in the back row"(32).
6. This book is written in more of the style of a diary since Holden reveals things through his eyes, very personal subjects, that wouldn't be written in a letter. This is a very intimate form of communicating with the reader. The story was not in an especially significant time in the past, other than it was being told when Holden was a year older, and near Christmas time. Also, this book was really a rebel in literature for its time, and was a completely new form of writing style. "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me last Christmas"(1).
Great job, as usual you went into great depth in describing each point and capturing many aspects of who Holden is and what he is doing as a narrator. I found it quite interesting how you described it as being a diary because it is so personal. I have read and written letters where the content is very personal. However I can agree with your argument as it seems much of the class had different opinions on that. I also liked how you described Holden's narrating as both reliable and biased. That is very true. Good show.
Delete1. Holden narrates the story in a casual, stream of consciousness, tone.
ReplyDelete2. He is very much a part of the story, the story is about him, "I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography" (1). He has a lot of influence on what happens, because he can tell the story with any omissions or embellishments he desires, since the reader is ignorant of the truth.
3. Holden participates fully, after all the story is about his own actions, "as soon as I got my breath back I ran across route 204" (4), but he also makes many observations and tells stories about others, " . Holden is conscious of the storytelling, "where I want to start telling is the day I left Pency Prep." (2).
4. Holden's perceptions are very biased. He is an especially negative and critical teenager , so everything he describes serves to put others down or to describe his dislike for something or someone.
5. No we are not inside Holden's mind, but he is aware that we are listening to him tell a story. He cuts out the bits he doesn't want us to hear, and embellishes some things, like his description of his brother Allie. Holden is telling a story to the reader, "You probably expect me to tell you my whole goddam autobiography"(1).
6. The story is not a diary, but it did happen in the past, "happened to me around last christmas" (1).
Great job Jakub!
DeleteI'd say that I completely agree with all of your answers except 4. For answer 4, Holden is a very critical person ad that much is clear. However he seems to enjoy a few people including Staderlater (at first), Jane, and all of his siblings which he talks about in one of the later chapters.
Nicely Done,
Ross
1. I think that it is really a stream of consciousness in a really casual way that creates a sort of vision in my head about what is happening. I think that this way I can get really good details on what’s going on.
ReplyDelete2. Of course the narrator has an effect on what is happening. The way it works is that in first person, the reader only has one opinion, which is the narrator’s view on everything that is happening. So Holden’s thought about all of the people he describes is what you (the reader) must base your facts on.
3. I think that Holden is always participating because no matter what, he is still retelling what he did or saw. Holden also spends much of his time commenting on whatever he just said.
4. I think yes, but it’s always to an extent. The narrator will always be biased no matter what. I think that we always see who the bad guy is during a first person story; again talking about how the only opinion we have is Holden’s.
5. Yes, I don’t think that Holden is aware he is telling Ross Martin. He just knows that he is telling a person who is reading.
6. The book is written like a diary, but isn't exactly one. Holden is giving thoughts and ideas that were going through his head at the time. I believe that the story is in a year in the future from where it takes place.
WAY TO GO ROSS!!!
DeleteYou had some really great insight into the story and you were very confident about your answers. I really like and agree with your thoughts especially on the fourth question. If I had one suggestion for you it would be to add a few more quotes to back up and support your answers. Otherwise really great job!!!
1. Holden narrates the story indifferently, using a technique known as stream of consciousness.
ReplyDelete2. Holden is clearly part of the story when he says, "The reason I was standing up on Thomsen hill instead of down at the game with everybody else was because I had just gotten back from New York with the fencing team" (2). This quote also shows the Holden is telling the story from a first person point of view which means he is the main character in the story.
3. Holden is very consciousness of the fact that he is telling the story, he comments often as well as talking to the reader directly for instance when he says, "I forgot to tell you about that. They kicked me out. I wasn't supposed to come back after Christmas vacation on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself at all" (2). This clearly shows that Holden is both talking to the reader with comfort as well as a very active character in the story.
4. Holden’s take on the story is extremely biased, he will only say the negative things about people so it is impossible to understand the person he is talking about fully. When he is describing Ossenburger, even though he is probably a very nice man the only thing Holden tells us about him are little details like, “I just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs” (9). This shows us how he only tells us the bad things about people.
5. I would not say that we are exactly let into Holden’s mind, He certainly speaks to the reader comfortably but it seems that he is telling a story to us rather than we are let into his mind. I believe this because Holden seems to comment on things and speak to the reader, for instance at the very beginning of the story when Holden says, “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born” (1). This shows us how he speaks to the reader as if he is telling us a story.
6. This story is narrated as if from a letter, He is always talking to the reader. In the first line of the book Holden says, “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born” (1). This shows how he is talking to the reader by saying you.
You have a great point with your answer for question four. Holden really does make everything negative so you won't pay attention to that person. He wants to make you believe what he believes so it's easier for him to tell his story.
DeleteI completely agree with your number four. Holden definitely is boast to the other characters, especially with people he thinks are lower than him. On the other hand, I disagree with your number five. He tells everything that goes on in his head, as well as everything he thinks about when other characters are around.
Delete5) We listen to Holden talk a lot about himself but we're not in his mind. The reader is listening about Holden telling a story about himself. "... where I was born, what my lousy childhood was like and how my parents were occupied before they had me..."(1)
ReplyDelete6) The narration is being told as if it is like a letter. He is explaining to the reader what happened to him and not as if he's reading to himself. "That isn't too far from this crumby place..."(1)
Good job, however I disagree with your answer to #6. He isn't directing it towards one specific person; rather he is telling his story to a general audience. I do think that your quote emphasizes your point well, though. Over all, nice thoughts!
Delete1) It is told from the first person point of view of Holden who uses a stream of consciousness as the narrative technique. An example of this technique is when Holden goes to visit his history teacher Mr. Spencer. He is describing the room and Mr. Spencer when he says "Everything smelled like Vicks nose drops. It was pretty depressing. I'm not to crazy about sick people, anyway" (7). Here he went off on a tangent about how the room made him feel, which was different than just describing the room like most narrators do.
ReplyDelete2) Yes, Holden is part of the story, in fact he is describing his actions and thoughts through what is going on around him. From where he is telling the story he has no control because he is talking about he past, however he did have control over what was going on at those times he is looking back at. "I'm not going to tell you my whole goddamn autobiography or anything. I'll just tell you about the madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas" (1).
3) Although Holden sometimes is fully participating and is capable of doing so, he usually just observes and comments on what is going on around him. In the beginning he states what he is going to and not going to tell us as the narrator. He is definitely conscious of the narration he is giving. "I'm not going to tell you my whole goddamn autobiography or anything. I'll just tell you about the madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas" (1).
4) Holden's point of view of the characters is particularly biased and clouded. He usually just looks at people and describes them hyper-critically and with a small description for the person as an entity. "I can just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs" (17). This quote is an exaggerated description of Mr. Ossenburger, which although somewhat true is not an accurate description of him as a whole person. This how holden describes almost everyone with the exception of Stradlater.
5) Yes in a way you are inside Holden's head because he is telling you all his thoughts and feelings. He is expressing most of the story with personal comments and judgement of the people or events. "I just didn't want to hang around anymore. It made me too sad and lonesome" (51). This is Holden sharing with us the fact he is sad from just being at Pency.
6) No I do not think it is not a diary. It seems to be more of a story he is telling us, the readers, directly in possibly the form of a letter. "If you really want to hear abut it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born" (1). This is his introduction and could be the beginning of a responding letter he is writing. Although it is from a time in the past it is recently passed. Last year would be the assumption that the reader makes.
1) Holden, the first person narrator in Catcher in the Rye, tells his story casually, with the technique known as a stream of consciousness. “I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me...” (1).
ReplyDelete2) Yes, Holden in defiantly part of the story. He has a lot of influence on what happens, because it is his story, and he is the one telling it. “Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep” (2).
3)As the narrator, Holden participates fully, again because it is his story, and he is telling it from his point of view. He is also conscious of the storytelling, though maybe not all of the commenting. After all, we are pretty much inside his head, ‘hearing’ everything he ‘thinks’. “I’ll just tell you about the madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas” (1).
4) I think that Holden’s presentation of the story is partially reliable but also quite biased. Although he understands the truth of general ideas, he tends to exaggerate and idealize the details. He also shows his opinion quite strongly. “It was a terrible school, no matter how you looked at it” (3), and “...what a phony slob he was” (3).
5) I think that Holden is telling us his story, yet at the same time letting us into his mind to learn ‘extra’ things and hear his nonverbal comments. “I’m not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything” (1), supports the concept that he is telling us the story, but “If there’s on thing I hate, it’s the movies. Don’t even mention them to me” (2), shows that we are also inside his mind.
6) The narration seems to be written more in the form of a diary than a letter, because it is general, and not really directed to a specific person. However, it also seems like he is not telling the story through writing, because we get all kinds of side comments and ideas. “I’ll just tell you about the madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas” (1).