Catcher in the Rye, 10-12

C. I don’t understand why J.D. Salinger has to use names that are so uncommon to us. Phoebe, Laverne, Ackley, and Ely are just a few uncommon names from this book. Why can’t names like John, Robert, and David be used in the novel? Is there a reason for this or is it just for no reason?
D. I liked the part when Holden sat down next to the group of girls and started giving them “the stare”: “She was sort of cute, the blonde one, and I started giving her the old eye a little bit, but just then the waiter came up for my order…I started giving the three witches at the next table the eye again. That is, the blonde one. The other two were strictly from hunger. I didn’t do it crudely, though. I just gave all three of them this very cool glance and all” (pages 90-91). I liked this quote because Holden acts like he is a thirty year old when he’s only a teenager. Even when the girls started to forget about him a little bit, he still had confidence in himself and kept talking to them.
E. I can’t really tell if thinking about Jane is a good thing or a bad thing for Holden. He often thinks about her, but thinking about her brings back memories for Holden: “I mean, besides checkers, she was quite fond of all athletic sports, and after I got to know her, the whole summer long we played tennis together almost every morning and golf almost every afternoon” (page 99). I think these memories that Holden has with Jane makes him feel happier.

Eddie DiTolla
Mr. Thomas
English 10
12 March 2014
Catcher in the Rye Chapters 10-12
I. I agree with Jyle because I too think it is funny when Holden is in the cab and he once again asks the driver where the ducks go after the lagoon freezes over was very funny to me. The cab driver, like most of them, don’t seem to be very happy with what they do and I understand he doesn’t want to be answering idiotic questions from his passengers. His reaction was priceless.
D. A set of lines I liked from chapter ten were “They were so ignorant, and they had those sad, fancy hats on and all. And that business about getting up early to see the first show at Radio City Music Hall depressed me. If somebody, some girl in an awful-looking hat, for instance, comes all the way to New York – from Seattle, Washington, for God's sake – and ends up getting up early in the morning to see the goddam first show at Radio City Music Hall, it makes me so depressed I can't stand it. I'd've bought the whole three of them a hundred drinks if only they hadn't told me that (10)”. I liked this set of lines because Holden is depressed that these girls are just lapping up phoniness of New York. They've traveled all this way just to see a bunch of deceiving dancers prancing around Radio City Music Hall.
F. the relationship I am going to talk about is between Holden and all of the girls and ladies he has met so far in the book. It seems to me for every time he tries to do something for them he goes over board and then it ends up that the woman does not like him. For example in Chapter 10 when he is at the bar and is trying to get a alcoholic beverage the bar tender notices that he is only about twelve, and Holden sees these girls giggling. He begins to dance with one of them and tries to start a conversation but fails, then he kisses her on her forehead and the girl asks how old he is. Also, Holden has also ended up lying to each and every girl he has met in this story except to Jane and when he is talking to them when they asks his name he tells them Jim Steele.

The Catcher In The Rye Chapters 10-12

B. Now we are starting to learn after the first 10 chapters that Holden does express feelings for people First we learned of the feelings he has for old Spencer, then we learned about the way he feels for his younger brother Allie and his childhood crush Jane Gallagher. In the beginning of the book I think most of us thought Holden was an apathetic who didn’t care for anything or anybody. I think we are starting to realize that Holden cares for the people who have impacted his life very much. Holden is showing us that he doesn’t always intend to be brash and that sometimes he gets upset with himself when he is. In Chapter 10 Holden contemplates whether he wants to call his sister Phoebe. Holden talks about Phoebe and he says she is clever and humorous. I think that Holden cares more about his siblings than his parents.

C) I don’t understand what Holden is trying to do in all these night clubs. First he goes to the Lavender Room for some alcohol and then he goes to Ernie’s nightclub. I am starting to think that Holden is using alcohol as an antidepressant because he seems upset everywhere he goes. In the Lavender Room he also lies to the women saying he met Gary Cooper. I thought Holden didn’t like to lie. He said that when he was talking to Mrs. Morrow he didn’t like that he lied to her.

E) I am starting to think that Holden is a bit nosy. When he first arrived at the hotel he peeked outside and watched the “perverts”, then look to see if the pervert’s lights are off. In Chapter 12 he listens to the conversations around him at Ernie’s nightclub. I wonder what Holden is trying to get out of all his nosiness. I think Holden has no interest in people’s troubles. I believe he thinks humans are stupid and fake.

A) I was able to associate Holden's problems sleeping with my occasional problem of sleeping the night before going back to school after a break. During the break, my sleep schedule would get messed up because I would be playing video games with my friends or watching Netflix until the early hours of the morning. When I would try to fall asleep earlier on the night before school, I would end up watching tv until I fell asleep, which took a while. “The one thing I hate to do is go to bed when I’m not even tired” (Salinger 66).

C) I understand why Holden won't call his parents but it is better to tell them sooner rather than later. Why is he putting off the reality that he will eventually have to tell them that he got kicked out of school? I know that he does not want to get in trouble but he will get in more trouble if he waits to tell them what happened. 
"I thought of maybe hanging up if my parents answered, but that wouldn't've worked, either." (Salinger 67) 

D) I enjoyed the scene where Holden thought that he had a shot at having sex with Jane. In reality, they kissed and Jane dissed him and walked away from him. Holden even says that he got the feeling that she wanted to stop kissing but he kept on going. “She sort of wouldn’t let me get to her mouth. Anyway, it’s the closest we’ve ever gotten to necking. After a while, she got up and went in and put on this red and white sweater she had” (Salinger 79). 

Peter Boustani

C. Whenever Holding says "and that killed me" it constantly confuses me. He says it to multiple different things and it throughs me off so much. He constantly says it in reference to things that frustrate him, and/or in reference to something he thinks is stupid which makes me feel like he is referring to these events as idiotic. This is okay until he begins to talk about Jane because he starts to say that once again things that she did and even referring to the whorish blonde woman's body that it killed him, so I felt extremely confused as to what he had meant when he said that and it made me really confused.
D. I really didn't like Holding during the first chapter of the reading as he was extremely annoying in relation to constantly making fun of or rather insulting the woman that he danced with. It got me really angry because he was being so judgmental, got mad when they ignored him and constantly referred to the other two girls as the ugly ones. To be fair Holding is still absolutely the most accurate and realistic character and I am not going to lie and say that I have never had those thoughts but his felt so aggressive and real. He felt no remorse for those thoughts.
B. another thing that I felt was important as we talked about in class was the fact the Phoebe was so intelligent not only for her age but simply in general and the fact that she knew the movie "the 39 steps" by heart and I feel that may be important either later on in the story or with Phoebes character.