I think that the character of Luce is pretty cocky and self absorbed. Hes matured and grown up alot since Holden last saw him, but that doesnt change the way Holden acts towards him. I think Holden sort of admires Luce because hes so confident, especially with his women. It kind of surprised me that Holden liked him as much as he did because Luce seems like he would be someone that Holden would think is phoney because hes so self absorbed that he only likes to hear himself talk and doesnt care at all what other people have to say.

Little girls dreaming of white dresses and proposal kisses
Boys dreaming of superheros and those daydream blisses
Throwing mud and pulling hair
Acting like they don't even care
Skipping school and laying to the teachers
How fun it is to hide under the bleachers
Dreaming of white picket fences
All thoughts are in those future tenses
Planning out that perfect life
Am I really ready to be a wife?
How fast the time has gone by
This feeling as if I could almost cry
Son we will be having our families
Time to hire those little old nannies
Where has all that adventure gone?
Like those days when life seemed like a song
What happened to this person I used to love and know?
What happened to the fun we had has we laughed and watched each other grow?
What happened to my Romeo?
It gets harder and harder to watch you go
As i sit and stare and try not to think
Is this what will happen to nature's link?
All those girls dreaming of wedding dresses and proposal kisses
And those boys dreaming of their superheros and daydream blisses

"You take somebody that cries their goddam eyes out over phony stuff in the movies, and nine times out of ten they're mean bastards at heart." pg 140

This expresses Holden's strong dislike for the movies, but also shows what he thinks makes a person phony. During his date with Sally he expresses how he hates material things in the world. That's one reason why he hates the movies so much. He doesn't like the lady in the movies so much because he thought the movie was very stupid and pointless and he thought it was very funny that someone would cry because about it. Movies are the definition of phony to Holden, and anyone that cries over a movie as bad as that one is especially phony to him.

November 13

In chapter 17 Holden asks Sally to go away with him and live together and maybe even get married. He talks about how he wants to get away from everything and live out in the country. This helped me realize how he hates material things and that's why he calls so many people phony. I think he says because he hates how so many people are so materialistic, but I also think its because he's just running away from his problems and his fear of facing the world.

I think Holden has a lack of respect for authority because he thinks that he is always right. I also think his lack of motivation also comes from the fact that he thinks hes always right. Especially with school, he acts like he doesnt need it and that he is already smart enough so he doesnt care to try at all. I think he is very ignorant.
I do think this does apply today with teenagers, many of them dont respect certain people in authority because they believe that they are always right. Today I think teenagers lack of motivation comes from ignorance, but not as much as Holden. Teenagers today try to act like they know everything but i think many of them just dont care as much as they should when it comes to school.

One reason why I think Holden acts childish is because he wont talk to his parents because he failed out of school. Hes running away from his problems and wont take responsibility for what he did. I also think its funny when hes at the bar and hes dancing with the woman and he tries to act older by swearing alot but the woman doesnt like it at all and thinks that he is very immature becuse of it.

I think Holden tries to be more mature when he leaves the school and is on his own for a little while. I think he wants to be more of an adult than he is actually ready to be.

10/29/09

After reading chapters 2-4 i like the character of Holden. Even though he is very cynical, I think represents a little bit of everyone in a way. Whenever he is talking to someone, he always has different thoughts going on in his head, which usually aren't positive, than what he is doing or saying. This makes him seem like he is a rude or arrogant person, but this is something that everyone does. They always have different thoughts going on in their head than what they are expressing to others. Also i think his thoughts are very similar to what everyone else thinks, like hating little aspects of people or being grossed out by people's certain features. He judges people very harshly but everyone has these thoughts, he's just the only person who is expressing them.