The Catcher in the Rye Chapters 10-12
Respond with a complete thought answering the question below. The response should be specific using textual references.
1. Holden asks the cab driver Horowitz where the ducks go in the winter. Horowitz says that where the ducks go in the winter is based on nature. Based on Holden's attitude towards life what is Holden's nature?
What do you think accounts for his confusion about where the ducks go in the winter?
Labels: "Doin' what comes natural"
posted by dr. dalili @ 11:12 AM
26 Comments:
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Holden has asked a few times throughout the book (so far) where the ducks of Central Park South go during winter. Based on Holden’s attitude towards life, Holden’s nature is running away and not facing his problems head on. He reverts to his childish ways of leaving. The ducks go south because that’s where they think is best. By definition, nature is “The essential characteristics and qualities of a person or thing”. Holden’s essential characteristics tell him to remove himself from the situation. I think this could have something to do with the way he was raised and more specifically Allie's death. I think Holden is confused about where the ducks go in winter because he sees himself like he does the ducks. The ducks go south in winter but come back in spring. He might go places, but only for the short while. This could mean Holden returns to a place significant in his life (i.e. his house…). His confusion over the ducks might be hard for Holden to grasp because he has never returned to a place for very long. That could also be why he is postponing his homecoming. The journey getting south might be rough for the ducks but the final destination is usually worth it!
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I think Holden is so questioning on the ducks because he thinks of himself as similar to the ducks. New York City, like for the ducks, is Holden's home. Even after awhile when Holden is gone he eventually comes back, almost always. Holden starts at new schools over and over again, but always ends up in the same place, on his own, depressed and lonely. I think Holden's nature is one that isn't stationary or permanent. He has more of a go, go, go nature that needs changes in scenery, like the ducks.
I think that Holden uses the duck in the lake as a reference to himself in New York. The Lake being New York and Holden being the ducks. It is in the Ducks nature to go south in the winter because the lake is inhabitable to the ducks. Therefore the Ducks cannot stay in one area for long periods of time because of the season change. Holden cannot be at one place for a long period of time because it becomes unseemly to him so he doesn't apply himself because he really doesn't want to be there. So his nature from my perspective is that to find away to leave when you stop wanting to be there, so in a sense he is a quitter. He also may be a person that prefers to wander from place to place, like the ducks.
In the story Holden questions the reasoning as to where "the ducks of Central Park South go during the winter." As the story has progressed, it begins to show the simmilarities between Holden and the ducks. Just like the ducks, he goes somewhere else for a while, but reaches a point when he always returns home. The ducks way of life and Holden's are not far apart, because the ducks fly south for the winter to escape from the cold weather, and Holden runs away from his problems when he cannot deal with them properly.
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In response to Dan's comment yesterday...
I think that Holden could be a profound being if he wasn't so spoiled and stuck up. He is obviously smart if he can get in to all these great schools. He does have a problem of being spoiled though. His parents don't necessarily let him think that it is okay to flunk out of all these schools but they never said that there was anything really wrong with it. If Holden was given a firm guiding hand then he could be brilliant.
Commenting on what Dan said yesterday...
Holden could be a profound intellectual if he wasn't such a spoiled brat. Evidently he is smart if he can get into Pencey and Whooton. Holden's parents need to step up and let him know that he isn't going to get everything his way and he needs to try in school. His parents spoil him and and they let him get away with to much. Holden has the ability to be a great student but in his mind he will get everything his way and he doesn't have to do anything in school because his parents will pay for him to go to another one. Holden's parents need to let him know that's not the way it is and he better step up and do what he needs to stay and succeed in school. Holden has the knowledge to become a profound intellectual but his parents spoiling him won't help the situation. He needs to be put in his place and actually try his best in school.
Holden has now refered to the ducks three times in The Catcher in the Rye. Hes obviously curious where the ducks migrate to because when winter is coming and they cant stay in there current habitat anymore they leave. This also happened in Holdens situation because when he couldn’t stay at Pency anymore so he left to New York like the birds migrated. I think Holden could be compared to the ducks because when nature brings cold weather the ducks leave because they are not comfertable and Holden does the same thing. He keeps mentioning the ducks because he wants to know where the ducks go when the weather changes because similarily he wants to “migrate” as well.
I think the ducks symbolize Holden's life and his way of thinking. Whenever something bad happens to him, Holden runs away. For example, he gets expelled and he goes to New York. He doesn't face his problems. His attitude is parallel to ducks in the winter. They migrate south to escape the cold.
I think Holden is asking about the ducks because he thinks the answer will be his solution. He wants to know how the ducks deal with a problem when they're in trouble, and then he can follow their lead. He wonders if other beings act the same way he does.
. Holden asks the cab driver Horowitz where the ducks go in the winter. Horowitz says that where the ducks go in the winter is based on nature. Based on Holden's attitude towards life what is Holden's nature?
What do you think accounts for his confusion about where the ducks go in the winter?
I think Holden's nature is if he doesn't like something he won't deal with it. When he had enough of Pencey, sfter he flunked himself out, he ran away from it. When the pond freezes for the ducks, it is like the ducks place not good to be in anymore. When Holden doesn't like anyplace he goes and they all end up to be bad, he doesn't know where to go. So him knowing what the ducks do when their environment doesn't suit them anymore relates to him because he doesn't know where to go himself. He is confused himself about where to go, so he feels like when the pond freezes and the ducks are confused on where to go but eventually find somewhere good to go, then maybe he can find someplace good for himself as well.
Where the ducks go has been a thought on Holden's mind throughtout the book. He asked the cab driver where he thought the ducks went. From what you can see about Holden's attitude, it seems like his nature is running away from his problems. He seems like someone who just likes to run when there is an obsticle in his way. This is not a very good characteristic to have because it shows fear and insecurity. If he cant be comfortable with himself then he will never be able to be comfortable with anyone else.
The reason that Holden thinks about where the ducks go in the winter when the lake is frozen over is that he wants to find out where he is going. When the lake freezes over, the ducks cannot swim in the pond anymore, and similarly, Holden does not have anywhere to go either. After being kicked out of every boarding school his parents could send him to, he has no more places to go. However, it's not really the physical part he is so worried about. Holden is emotionally hurt inside. His brother is gone forever, he has not seen his family in quite a while, he does not have many friends, and all his relationships have failed. He wants to know where he should go next in life, so he uses the analogy of ducks to try and discover that path.
I think Holden loves and cares for nature very much. He asks the cab driver over and over again I think b/c he has never really taken the first step to start learning and pay attention in school. B/c of this Holden lacks some common knowledge that he "missed" during school.
Holden is at a point where he doesn't even know what his next step should and so it is his nature to search for help from other people and even animals. Even though Hortwitz keeps telling him the scientific facts, he actually wants to know where to birds "runaway" to since they are leaving home just like he's trying to. Even though it is the birds' nature to leave home, they always come back. I believe he does know where the birds actually go because time after time Hortwitz answers him with where they actually go; but he's searching for something deeper. He's searching for a home that he can also runaway to but plans on coming back in the end.
Holden is exactly like the ducks. When the ducks cant live on the lake any longer because of the weather they go somewhere warm. The only problem with Holden is that when he cant be somewhere any longer he doesn't know where to go. He is very confused about the concept of change. The ducks move instinctively but Holden doesn't have those same traits.
Holden constantly asks about the ducks. Throughout the novel Holden is running and trying to get away from people once they are close to him so I think that his nature is running and avoiding being close to people because he is scared that if he gets close to anyone that they ill die like his brother Allie.
I think HOlden has this obsession with the ducks because he's curious and jealous of the ducks. He wants to know if anyone takes care of the ducks when they leave. So Holden figures that if he leaves, will he find someone to take care of him. Holden has a very sad, depressed nature. He's seldom happy & he just needs someone to be there for him
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