Joan Didion

Introduction Holden Caulfield was a mysterious and a rather inept person. It seemed that he could not function in normal life. He had an attitude that was pessimistic and unhappy. He hated most things and referred to most people as “phonies.” There was one thing however, that was expressed in the book by J.D. Salinger, that Caulfield loved. Holden cherished innocence. Caulfield represents the core of all men and women. At the bottom of every one’s heart, there is a great void; a hunger and…

Holden Caulfield: Phony or Real? Holden Caulfield embodies many of the ideas from The Most Human Art. Caulfield and The Catcher and The Rye have connected many people from different backgrounds due to Caulfield ideas resonating. Caulfield embodies many ideas from The Most Human Art, but he especially allows people to see stories through his eyes, realizing the consequences of our actions and teaching us how to be human. Caulfield throughout the book allows us to experience how it is to be a…

In the novel The Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the narrator, Holden Caulfield, goes on an adventurous pilgrimage from his preparatory school in Pennsylvania to New York City, explaining many of his important thoughts and emotions along the way. Throughout his misguided trek through the big city, Holden continually has something wrong with himself and his mental state continues to deteriorate. Although the traits of unhappiness and pessimism embed in him, the readers come to appreciate…

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a somewhat controversial 1950’s novel about the main character, Holden Caulfield, recounting his days of adventure in New York City following his recent expulsion from Pencey Prep, a private all boys’ school. Throughout the interactive oral, it was discussed how Holden’s journey through New York was similar to the odyssey and what the writer achieved by his use of language style, among other questions like what the audience, purpose and context of the novel…

The production, Rent, is a rock musical that is based on a group of distressed artists having a hard time striving in the days of Alphabet City with HIV/AIDS constraining their lives. The original playwright, Billy Aronson, came up with the musical as a renewal of the opera La Bohemia of 1988. Aronson collaborated with Jonathan Larson, a playwright and composer, and created one of the most popular Broadway musicals to date. I watched and experienced a production of this musical at California…

“ I kept picturing myself catching him In the act, and how I’d smash his head on the stone steps till he was good and goddam bloody” (Salinger). One one would assume this came from a violent person, a person with problems controlling their anger but no, it comes from 17 year old Holden Caulfield who just wants to be loved for once in his life. When we first meet Holden we see the dilemma that he goes through throughout the entire book. He goes on this journey, both mentally and physically, and…

In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, almost everything Holden encounters he refers to as phony. He does not like anything fake, especially when people act like something they are really not. Holden is so confused about the phoniness that he fails to realize that he himself is just as guilty of being phony as everyone else around him. Holden desires someone to care about, but his constant lookout for phoniness in people makes it hard for him to make any sort of connection. In a world…

My book is called Bystander. It follows the life of a young boy named Eric who is new to Bellport, Long Island. As a seventh grader it is scary to move to a new school, especially if you do not know anybody going into it. Early in the book, he becomes “friends” with the school bully and his followers. This however was a big mistake. He gets himself into uncomfortable positions where he has to decide to stand up to Griffin (the bully) or stand behind him. My presentation took place on October…

inspired playwrights from for hundreds of years to come to tell the stories of the Men and Women of this time period. From William Shakespeare’s Henry V to Shaw’s Saint Joan we can see a comparison of the two lead protagonists and how they inspired people to follow them despite the differences in class ranks between King Henry and Joan of Arc, as well as which of the two was more effective. Henry V the king of England during part of the Hundred Years War and the main character of Shakespeare’s…

It is often said that ignorance is bliss. No members of society live more blissful and ignorant lives than children. They live unaware of evil in the world and free from the judgement of others. During childhood, kids exist in almost a separate world, where they are able to be truly genuine people. Holden Caulfield of J.D Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye persistently fantasizes about the freedom of childhood. Holden thinks highly of children and praises how sincere they are. Holden also feels…