Before Holden returns to his dorm room, he decides to have a word with his former history teacher Mr. Spencer. Holden intends to clarify why and how he was expelled to Mr. Spencer, because he will not have the chance to talk to him until christmas break. Holden makes his way through the bad weather until finally stumbling upon Mr. Spencer’s house. Mrs. Spencer greets him at the door and cheerfully invites him into their house. She makes light conversation and informs Holden that Mr. Spencer is in his room. Holden progresses into the room to uncover what Mr. Spencer wants to talk with him about. Holden was told to sit down on the bed, he compared it to a rock because of the stiff nature of the bed. Mr. Spencer clarifies that he is in fact expelled,
His belief of being superior causes him to view other classmates as “crooks” (pg.6) and “phonies” (pg.17). When sharing stories about his dorm roommates, Holden highlights their negative aspects. During the football game, one of the only other people to stay in the dorm is Ackley, Holden’s neighbour. Although Holden knew “[Ackley] hardly went anywhere” (pg.22) since the other classmates did not like him, he remains annoyed by Ackley’s behaviour and primarily describes his poor hygiene habits such as “never … using [a] handkerchief” (pg.40) to showcase him in a dehumanizing manner. Furthermore, Holden’s jealousy of roommate Stradlater’s relationship with former love interest Jane Gallagher causes the boys to get into a physical brawl. After the fight, Holden receives little to no attention from Ackley and fed up with feeling “sad and lonesome” (pg.58) at school, decides to act upon his frustration. As an outsider, Holden’s is unable to gain acceptance from his peers and find comfort at school, therefore to escape his peer’s negative behaviour towards him, Holden decides to run away from
The lost of innocence can totally change the way people view the world. A person who illustrates this can be found in J.D. Salinger’s novel, the Catcher in the Rye. The story happened during the 1950s, in a small town in Pennsylvania called Agerstown. A teenage boy named Holden, who witnesses the death of his older brother Allie when he was only 13 years old. Then consequently, he blames himself all his life for the death of Allie. As time went by he starts to search for a sense of innocence that was lost in the beginning of the novel. Throughout the course of the novel, the author conveys that Holden is continually stuck in between childhood and adulthood. The author uses Holden’s struggle to convey that in reality often times people who
Holden seems to have the most scorn for people who think or try to act as if they are something they're not. His bitterness, which stems from his need for a perfect and simple world, is directed towards people who hide their true personalities behind masks thus shattering his dream of a "black and white" society. Holden's need for a society devoid of complications and surprises is made evident when he visits the Museum of Natural History. Holden loves going to the Museum of Natural History because it symbolizes the ideal world he wants to live in; a world that never changes, where everything is plain and simple, and easily understandable. When external forces force Holden to see reality, that the world is a very complicated and ever changing entity, Holden rejects it as a form of phoniness. However, in his constant search for the infinite imperfections of his world, Holden fails to realize that he too is a phony. Holden admits to being a compulsive liar and also has a habit of being needlessly cruel. When Holden meets Mrs. Morrow, a classmates mother, on the train, he purposefully feeds her misleading information about her son Ernest. Holden tells her that, "[Ernest] is one of the most popular boys at Pencey," when he actually believes that "her son was ... the
Antolini’s lecturing of Holden changes Holden’s perception of Mr. Antolini from being similar to the affable D.B. to being similar to the authoritative Mr. Spencer, reaffirming Holden’s cynicism towards adults. As Holden is complaining about his Oral Expression class at Pencey, he states that it is more entertaining when one “digresses” from the subject when they are giving a speech (278). Holden expected that Mr. Antolini would understand and agree with him, as his views were usually in line with Holden, such as their disappointment in D.B. for going to write for Hollywood (235). However, Mr. Antolini surprises Holden by asking, “You don’t care to have someone stick to the point when he tells you something”(239)? By imploring Holden to explain his statement, Mr. Antolini parallels Mr. Spencer in the way that he turns the conversation about his failing out of Pencey on Holden. Mr. Spencer makes Holden explain to him why he failed the class (16). Holden, who has trouble with articulating his thoughts, tends to seize up when this occurs, making the conversations doubly unpleasant. “Oh I don’t know,” Holden replied to Mr. Antonili, “I didn’t feel much like explaining. I was feeling sort of dizzy or something, and I had a helluva headache all of a sudden. I really did” (238). Holden was so uncomfortable with Mr. Antolini’s turning the conversation on him that he was physically sick. This parallels to when Mr. Spencer was conversing with him, Holden recounts “All of the
4. Why does Holden go to see Mr. Spencer? Why does he regret the visit? To say goodbye to him and Pency and he regrets it
Spencer, his history teacher at Pencey Prep, and his favorite teacher in the whole school, even though Mr. Spencer gave him a failing grade in his class and sent him home with a note requesting that he stop by his house to speak with him before he leaves. Mr. Spencer unsuccessfully tried to change Holden’s disregard for academics. When it was time for Holden to say farewell to his hometown, Mr. Spencer gave Holden a speech at his own home about becoming someone. He explained to Holden that he needed to think about his future, not just go into the future blindfolded. Mr. Spencer shaped his character by informing him that he wasn’t alone in the world, and told him to think about his life in the future, as stated by the quote, ‘“I’d like to put some sense in that head of yours, boy. I’m trying to help you. I’m trying to help you if I
The season 2 finale of Way Ward Pines leaves a cliffhanger so huge that left fans anxious. The curious case of Wayward Pines season 3 is a question on everyone’s minds. The executive producer, show runners and writers decide to bring comfort to viewers.
Holden shows his personal accountability by talking to his favorite teacher Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer was Holden’s favorite teacher at Pencey and told Holden to come by and say good-bye to him since
Holden is the victim of the world, but he doesn’t do much to mitigate the damage. School is an example of his hardships since he cannot comply with the phoniness of the school. Despite his own facade, Holden desperately wishes to fit into the crowd. Since Holden does not fit in and does not pass his classes he must leave Pencey Prep. Holden visited the only teacher he liked, Mr. Spencer, and recalls that Mr. Spencer is the kind of person who could “get a big bang out of buying a blanket”(23). He said
Mr. Spencer who feels bad about flunking Holden. Mr. Spencer is one of the few people that wants to help holden. “Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that.
In boarding school, Holden doesn't get along with many of his peers, his attitude towards learning affects his education “I didn't exactly flunk out or anything. I just quit, sort of//I hated that goddam Elkton Hills.” Holden does the same at Pencey, and he flunks every single class. After getting into a fight with Stradleter, Holden decides to leave Pencey on his own “I’d get the hell out of Pencey//I
Holden Caulfield is a very immature teen. He pesters many people around him and almost seems to enjoy getting under people’s skin. In the beginning of the book, Holden meets with one of his Professors, Mr. Spencer. His professor
Had Mr Spencer understood Holden’s unwillingness to conform to society’s idea of a bright future, he would not have hurt Holden in this manner. Lastly, Holden feels pressure to conform to society’s idea of sexuality. To expand, when Maurice offers Holden a prostitute Holden immediately complies, despite his inexperience. Holden immediately regrets ever considering the idea, saying, “I was already sort of sorry I’d let the thing start
. Written in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye has been at the forefront of modern literature captivating the minds of teens around the world due to its themes revolving around maturity and growth. Within the novel entitled Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden Caulfield, a teenage boy struggling to cope with his brother Allie’s death is shown to be experiencing the endless trials and tribulations of life ranging from socializing with individuals at his school, Pency Prep, to understanding the true value of education. Holden uses a multitude of defense mechanism such as repression, denial and projection to attempt to get over his brother Allie’s death.
In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield shows that he lives a troubled life. There are multiple experiences that help change and shape who he is towards the end of his story, and one of those people who helped shape him was a girl known as Jane. Experiencing his childhood with Jane Gallagher shaped his life by him how to be a kind-hearted and happy person, which he normally was not.