SECTION 4 The Catcher in the Rye chapters 7-9
Answer one question with a complete thought of about one paragraph in length.
1. Why does Holden sabotage his efforts to succeed?
2. Why does Holden want to call someone so badly when he gets off the train?
3. What is the significance of the red hunting hat?
4. Why does the author choose to include the scene with Ernest Morrow's mom?
posted by dr. dalili @ 12:03 PM
10 Comments:
Holden wants to call someone so badly when he gets off the train because he is lonely. Holden has gone through most of his life alone, being kicked out from boarding school to boarding school and being rejected most of the time, only for him to feel lonesome. He goes to the phone boot because he just wants to talk to someone, no matter who. Holden just wants some interaction with someone who he can actually tolerate, like his sister, Phoebe, or Jane, his old neighbor. I think Holden wanted to call someone so badly because he is extremely lonely.
I think that Holden wants to call somebody when he gets off the train because he feels lonely. He has been lonely for a while since the loss of his brother. Also, when he gets kicked out of schools he doesn't have many friends for long so he has nobody to help him get through. He just wants to talk to someone on the phone to make him feel comforted and loved.
Holden wants to call someone, because he was feeling lonely. He hasn't really had a best friend or someone very close to him since Allie died. Hes been far away from his family because he has been in boarding school and since he does not apply himself he has move from one boarding school to the next and hasn't had a true close friend. The closest person to him is probably his sister and since he doesn't want to risk talking on the phone with his parents, he has no one to call and leaves the phone both.
Holden wants to call someone so badly because he really has no place to go or no one to see at that point. He seems a little confused when he gets to New York. He didn't plan out his trip to NYC very well.
The significance of the red hat is because it is the color red. Holden seems to talk about his memories from his childhood and incorporates the color red in his detailed explanation. His brother whho he really like and had many good childhood memories with him had red hair. Phoebe, who Holden loved also had red hair. Also when he was really good friends with Jane she remembered that after her dad asked her for cigarettes, he remembered her tear drop fell on one of the red squares of the checkerboard. The color red brings back very good memories for Holden. It is the color of his that represents love and care.
Holden sees the red hunting hat as a way to start accepting Allie's death. The red hunting hat is the first instance of Holden trying to fill that gap that he feels is in his life. The red hunting hat becomes a big symbol and important part of Holden's life in the next few days after he leaves Pencey.
The red hunting hat symbolizes Holden's love for Allie and Phoebe. Their hair is red, just like the hunting hat. He feels that the hat is a way that he can be connected to his siblings, especially Allie. Phoebe and Allie are some of the only people Holden is close to, and he is very fond of them.
Holden is constantly sabotaging his own chances of success because he doesn't think he deserves the chances that he is given. Because he is repeatedly enrolled in prep school s and he repeatedly is expelled, one could infer that it isn't because he is lazy or unintelligent; for that would take too much effort to repeatedly restart one's life. He probably does this to strangely morn for his deceased brother. Perhaps he believes that his Allie, being known for his intelligence, was much smarter and deserved the prep schools more than he. And so he won't participate because he feels guilty even though he has no reason to be.
I think that the red hunting hat is a symbol of Holdens connection with Allie. The hat is red like the color that Allie's hair was. The hunting hat some how connects Holden with Allie which I think makes Holden feel safe. It also helps Holden pretend to be back in the past.
I think that the hunting hat is important b/c it reminds Holden of Allie's death. I don't think it is healthy for Holden to be thinking about his dead brother all the time, but he still does. He might be messing up all of his relationships, b/c he fears becoming attached to any one person and losing them like Allie. I think that Allie's death is what caused Holden to be the way he is.
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