The catcher in the rye by Patricia Ahlm

Anna S week 1

2017-10-06 06:59:31 UTC

^-^{After the first pages I did not get the best expectations. I thought it was quite boring and dull. Usually when you start reading a book you get a pretty clear view about how it will be and, will it be exciting, thrilling, romantic? But with this one I did not get a hum about how it will be.}

^{-Another book or books that I have read that became very famous and were read by a large number of people are the Harry Potter books. I think it is amazing to think about how many that has read these books and how many that has been captured by this magical world. J.K Rowling created.}

^{-The main character is called Holden Caufield. He is a teenage boy that goes to a fancy private school. Or he went to a fancy private school since he got kicked out in the beginning of the book. My first impression of him is that he seems quite troubled. He says that he has been kicked out of about four schools so far. He gives me a feeling of hopelessness and his life feels a bit miserable. Although he is also a big clown and mixes his misery with a very large amount of humour. It will be interesting to see how his character develops through the novel.}

Sixten Assignment 1

2017-10-06 06:59:41 UTC

The Catcher In the Rhye is a best-selling book. Therefore, I expect a good read that will intrigue and inspire its reader. After reading a few pages, and getting a hang on the pace, I quickly understood that I was going to like the book. The setting and the theme spoke to me. The matter of being a "lost youth" is highly relevant as we are soon going to be done with school and get out into the adult life.

Other books that I have read are Harry Potter.

Linn´s assignment 1

2017-10-06 07:02:52 UTC

From this novel I expect that the main character will go through a transformation in how he sees things. Maybe something happens that changes him or he realizes that he has to take school more seriously than he does right now. Maybe he will get his life together a bit more and feel happier.

I have read a few book that are popular like the Divergent series, The Hunger games series and The fault in our stars.

Holden Caulfield is the main character. I feel like he is tired of school and he does a poor job with it, he got expelled in fact. He lives with his older brother that seems a lot more successful than him because he is a writer.

Anna week 2

2017-10-06 07:18:41 UTC

^a)^{Now we are getting to know Holden a bit more. Holden is lying a lot? Why is he lying do you think? He has a lot of feelings towards other people? How and why? Discuss his state of mind at the beginning of the novel and compare with his state of mind at the end end of chapter 11.}

^{-I think that he is using his lies to protect himself, like a shield against reality and real feelings. He has a lot of anger in him and he expresses it to people through humour and sarcasm but sometimes it goes overboard, like when he did a half-nelson on his roommate and ended up with a bleeding nose. I do not think that his state of mind has changed that much so far. He is still living in his own world and in his own head with all of his emotions mixed up in a mess. I get the impression that Holden is a boy with many troubles. He thinks to much for his own good, and as mentioned he is putting up a shield that prevents his surrounding to get to know him properly.}

^b)^{Can you see any kind development in the story? Where are we now? Perhaps you can make use of the model below.}

^{-Right now I would say that we are in between the stadium of teasing and elaboration.
A development has been made but we are still in the beginning of it. The
beginning of the novel took place in his own head but now he has started to interact
with more people and that gives the novel a new dimension. Because is appears
rather flat when you only get to follow Holden’s thoughts.}

Thoughts in week 1 by Patricia

patricia_ahlm — 2017-10-06 07:18:43 UTC

The catcher in the rye is, is in a no good way, special. I don´t like reading about people who dosen´t take responsiblity for their life. The main characters is kind of weird and we, the readers, understand that he has problems. He got expelled from school, the third time I think, and the people he meet dosen´t seem to like him either. I have high hopes that he would change in some point, really soon, other wise he will be very uninteresting to read about.

Linn´s assignment 2

2017-10-06 07:20:42 UTC

I think Holden is lying so much because maybe he wants to distance himself from people, so that he wont get hurt again like when his brother died in leukaemia. I think that this particular moment in life changed him and that’s when he got quite rude against people.

I think he has a lot of feelings against people because he just has a lot of opinions in general. I don´t think his state of mind has changed really yet but I expect it will, otherwise the book would get boring if he doesn’t have any character development at all.

In the story I think we are at the end of the teaser part and starting to move in to the elaboration part. I think so because we don´t know a whole lot about Holden yet and the other characters but we have gotten an introduction to them.

Linn´s assignment 3

2017-10-20 06:57:43 UTC

Holden is very narrow minded about most things. With women this leads to a lot of stereotypes from his part, for example that women are hard to understand to men. He isn´t necessary mean to them but he has a very pessimistic mind set.

Holdens relationship with money is not very good. He is quite careless with it, for example he said that he often forget to take the change in some situations. A part of this maybe comes down to his father being quite wealthy, but I think it is a sign of depression after his brother passed away as for his pessimistic thoughts and narrow mindedness.

I get the feeling that he was a lot more religious before because of his dad being catholic but he got less religious also after his brother passed. I think that he feels like if there is a god then why do these awful things happen in the world. This I based on that we read how he just believes in Jesus now and not much else in the bible.

Sixten Assignment 4

2017-10-20 07:08:05 UTC

Emma Assignment 1

2017-10-23 06:02:58 UTC

When I'm going to read a book, I try not to have any expectations. Expectations puts pressure on the book and when I have high expectations it is easy to become dissatisfied. On the other side when you read that around 1 million copies are sold each year with total sales of more than 65 million books, it's hard to not think it's going to be a good reading experience. I have read Harry Potter which I liked a lot and it is a very famous book. Over 450 million copies are sold over the whole word.

I think that I will maybe be able to recognize me to some part of the book. Since the main character Holden is in my age and the book dealing with identity problem that I can relate to. When you are in your teens you have to make major decisions. Work, partner, education and etc. The main character is Holden. After just read 21 page I got the idea that I don't like him. He seems lazy, irresponsible and perfunctory. For example, that he doesn't fight for his place on the school. In my opinion, dose he have a very bad jargon, but I hope that during the book he will change and become a better person.

Emma Assignment 2

2017-10-23 06:05:26 UTC

Holden lies a lot, but I get why he dose that in the book. For instance, when he meets a classmates’ mum. He could not say what he really thought about her son. Or when you are going through a messy period (he got kicked out of the school) you might just don’t feel like talk about it. He might use the lies as a defence mechanism, just as he uses his humor and sarcasm. On the other hand, I think he cross the line and exaggerates when he says things as he got a brain tumor or that her son is extremely good. Holden seam to have a lot of anger within himself. Lost as a human. I think he need something to strive for, a goal, to get him going and stop whirl around.

Now have we got a lot of background facts. We are probably at the end of the teaser part and on the beginning to the elaboration on the curve. It is not so high excitement, but things start happening now. He hears about an old, but meaningful friend. He leaves the school and he start to meet all these new people. Which may be the beginning of something.

Emma Assignment 3

2017-10-23 12:34:37 UTC

He stereotypes nearly everyone including women. He is very superficial and he judge you from your appearance. He does not necessarily have a bad view on women. Holden is a very pessimistic person. He focuses on the bad things instead seeing the good things in you. We know that since the books perspective is through Holden and we get to reads his thoughts.

Holden is very careless with money. For instance, he forgets to take the change.He gets monthly money from his aunt which is sick and thinks that it is Holden’ birthday every month. Although he knows that, does he keep the money. My theory is that due to that he grown up in a wealthy family and his aunt payment he never worked. If you never worked to earn you one money, perhaps do you not value the money you get. Of course, it is okay to have different values. Nevertheless, it appears to me that he does not value money so tremendous high. He could imagine living a simple life. Holden told us that when he was on the date with Jane.

I do not think he has a complicated relationship with religion. In the first, it is fine to believe in any parts of the Bible/the Koran/the Upanishads etc. one wants. Secondly, it is okay to change your faith, according to me. A contributing factor to his beliefs along with his behaviour, can be the pass away of his little brother Allie. Allies death may has affected Holden more than appears in the book.

Linn's assignment 4

2017-10-27 07:02:24 UTC

I feel like Holden has changed with all that he has been through during the course of the book. Experiences big or small make an impact on us if we want it or not. So yeah I don´t think he is the same guy he is now and in the beginning of the book. I feel like Holden is both likable an unlikable he is likeable because he has very real thoughts about life, thoughts that I could have and he is unlikable because he is quite pessimistic.

I feel like Holden doesn´t belong in New York in a way. He needs a simpler life that is more suitable for him. New York is too complex for him and he kind of just needs to travel a bit and not really have any responsibilities for a while so he can get his thoughts and life together.

After Allies death Holden is lost and don’t know what he should do with his life now. To drag similarities to the pond when it’s summer the ducks are there and happy and know what to do. And when the winter comes Allie is dead and the ducks disappear, are they in the pond somewhere and if not where did they go?

The thoughts Phoebe expresses in her book shows that she is not protected from the cruelness of the outside world. Kids are so innocent when they are young and happy and don’t know any better. When Holden reads her book I think he gets sad because he wishes his little sister was still that innocent child.

Anna week 3

2017-11-02 10:01:51 UTC

^a)^{What does Holden think about women? How do we know that?}

^{-Holden is quite judging in a way. He sees everyone in stereotypes, women included. He has a very typical sight of women, that they are hard to understand and sometimes it even feels like he sees women like creatures from a different planet.}

^b)^{Holden has a complicated relationship with money. Why is that? What are Holden's thoughts about money?}

^{He is very careless about his money, he forgot to take his change and overall he is very careless. This might be because of his father’s wealth, he never had to care about money because money was never a problem in his family. It could also be a reaction to his brother’s death, I get the feeling that he lost something in himself due to his brothers’ death. Overall he seems quite careless, with school, money, family, friends and himself.}

^c)^{Holden also has a complicated relationship with religion. Discuss.}

^{Holden’s father was very religious and I think that Holden was that as well. Although I think that when his brother died he lost something, as mentioned. One of those things might be his faith in God. I think that he feels very angry with God and religion because of his loss.}

Anna week 4

2017-11-02 10:30:28 UTC

^A.^{When Holden goes to the museum he reflects upon the fact that he has changed so much since the last time he was there whereas the museum is just the same. In what way has he changed? Look at your initial text where you describe Holden? And use that in your discussion. Is Holden a likable person? Why? Why not?}

^{-I do not think that Holden is the same person that he was in the beginning of the book. He still has his less likable sides but he has added some more likable sides to his personality. At first I felt that he was very miserable but with his new experiences he has grown as a person. He is still very pessimistic but I find that quite humorous.}

^B.^{I claim that Holden cannot deal with the complexity, conflict, and change of real life. Why do I say so and what do you think?}

^{-As mentioned Holden is a lost soul and he needs stability in his life. He has had many life changing happenings in his relatively short life and I think that has made him very sensitive to changes. He needs something or someone that is constant that he always can count on, someone or something that can help him get his life back together.}

^C.^{How has the death of Allie affect Holden? Include}^{the pond}^{in your discussion.}

^{-After her death Holden gets very disoriented in himself and in his life. It felt like he was on the right way with Allie, she made him happy and calm. You can compare the death of Allie to the changes of the pond. In the summer, Allie was alive, the ducks swam in the pond and they had a purpose with their life, they knew what was excepted from them and what they were supposed to do. Same as with Holden and Allie. But then the winter came, the ducks disappeared to a place secret to everyone but themselves, Allie dies and Holden’s purpose in life disappears with Allie. Suddenly he is back to his lost and miserable lifestyle and he has no clue what to do next.}

^D.^{When Holden is reading through Phoebe´s notebooks is one of the most famous scenes from the book. What is happening to Holden when he does that?}

^{-Holden has a picture of his little sister. He sees her as pure and innocent but when he reads her notebook that changes. He realises that she is not the innocent little girl anymore and that she is not protected from the horrors of the world. We like to think that children are innocent and happy and protected, but when they grow up it is hard to realise that they have changed.}

Sixten Assignment 2

2017-11-06 07:58:19 UTC

I believe Holden Caulfield feels displaced. He has gone to various boarding-schools and has been flunked and expelled numerous times. Holden assume that he is rational and more quick-witted than most other students but he doesn't find school meaningful. Most likely because he thinks of himself as superior. Holden is also very lonely and he finds it amusing to lie to other people for a laugh. He also doesn't like people who act stereotypically and doesn't stand out from the ordinary. He usually calls them "phonies".

When Holden reach New York we are in in the end of the teasing part of the book, the story is elaborating.

Sixten Assignment 3

2017-11-06 08:12:33 UTC

Holden is a bit bias about women. He finds women difficult to get.

He has a lavish relationship to money. He, for example, gave away ten dollars to a couple of nuns he met in New York for no reason. He comes from a upper middle-class family with a wealthy father.

Holden family is mostly religious exepct his younger brother, Allie, who was an atheist. After his passing Holden became less religious, he lost his faith.