Holden's History Teacher At Pencey Prep example essay topic

4/28/03 Catcher in the rye Vocabulary 1. Fencing - The art or sport of using a foil, ep " ee, or saber in attack and defense. 2. Grippe - an acute febrile highly contagious viral disease.

3. Phonies - Something not genuine; a fake. 4. Ashamed - Feeling shame or guilt. 5. Compulsory - Obligatory; required: a compulsory examination 6.

Peculiar - Unusual or eccentric; odd. 7. Descriptive - Involving or characterized by description; serving to describe. 8.

Conceited - Holding or characterized by an unduly high opinion of oneself; vain. 9. Psychoanalyzed - To analyze and treat by psychoanalysis. 10.

Halitosis - The condition of having stale or foul-smelling breath. 11. Moron - A stupid person; a dolt. 12. Suave - Smoothly agreeable and courteous. 13.

Ostracized - To banish from society; to put under the ban; to cast out from social, political, or private favor; as, he was ostracized by his former friends. 14. Bourgeois - A person whose attitudes and behavior are marked by conformity to the standards and conventions of the middle class. Questions 1. Why is Holden expelled from Pency? He flunks all of his classes, except English.

2. Identify the following characters and tell about Holden's attitude toward them: Spencer: Holden's history teacher at Pencey Prep. Holden seems to dismiss his opinions because he is older and sick at the time. Ackley: Holden's next-door neighbor in his dorm at Pencey Prep. Holden feels that Ackley is a phony because he lies about his sexual experiences.

Stradlater: Holden's roommate at Pencey Prep. Holden calls him a "secret slob" because his one razor is very dirty. Holden also calls him a "sexy bastard" because he is well liked and experienced with girls. Sally Hayes: A girl who Holden has dated and known for a long time. He thinks she is "stupid" even though he says she is well read.

He also calls her a phony quite a bit. Mr. Antolini: Holden's former English teacher at the Elkton Hills School. Holden seems to respect him and find him to be clever. 3.

Which people in the novel does Holden like? Why does he like these characters and dislike others? Holden's main distinction for liking or not -liking someone is whether or not he thinks they are phonies. Some of the characters he likes are his sister and brothers, Mr. Antolini, Jane and Carl Luce. 4.

Holden has trouble communicating with adults. Pick three adults in the novel and show how Holden "miss-communicates" with them. Spencer: Holden doesn't respond to his concern and lecture the way an average student would by listening, instead he starts thinking of how he's in a robe and how he doesn't' like to see old men's chests or having to be around someone with grippe. Mr. Antolini: Holden really likes this guy because Mr. Antolini isn't afraid to show him his private side like his older wife and his messy apartment. I think Holden miss-communicates with him when Holden leaps to the conclusion of Antolini being a flit because he touched his forehead and promptly evacuates Antolini's apartment. Carl Luce: maybe it's not completely Holden's fault he miss-communicated with Luce since he was intoxicated, but still he was asking somewhat inappropriate questions of him. 5. list five different things that Holden does while in mid-town New York.

Holden takes several taxi's and asks the drivers where the ducks go in the winter, he checks into the Edmond hotel, he sees people in the opposite wing of the hotel cross dressing and a couple spitting their drinks into each others faces, he goes on a date with Sally Hayes to see a play, and he goes to Ernie's jazz club to meet up with his friend Carl Luce. 6. Holden suffers a number of significant disappointments during the story. Describe five of these disappointments. He is disappointed that Jane goes on a date with Stradlater, he gets kicked out of Pency Prep, he gets ripped of by a hooker and her pimp, people are so phony, there's a "fuck you" written in his sister's grade school and at the museum of natural history, and that his brother has turned into a Hollywood phony.

7. Explain the significance of Holden's red hunting cap. Holden's red hunting cap symbolizes that he wishes to be different but he doesn't like to wear it around people he knows because it is "weird". Emotionally I think it symbolizes Holden's need for isolation and his need for a close relationship since the hunting cap is both "weird" and a symbol of protection. 8.

How does the approach of Christmas affect the story? The approach of Christmas affects the story because it allows certain characters to be around when they normally wouldn't be, like the mother going to visit her son on the train and other students being around during the day. 9. Why does Holden worry about where the ducks go in winter?

He worries about the ducks instead of worrying about where he's going. He worries about the duck's future because I think it's sort of a displaced emotion. 10. Why does Holden consider himself a madman? He considers himself a madman because he drinks and despises phonies and is very unconventional for the time period about handling events in the book. To me, it was very obvious why this book required reading for high school students.

I mean the book is practically one big lecture. First from Mr. Spencer and continually from then on out. Other than that it was an easy read, although I am grateful that I won't have to read any more "and all's" for a while. It sort of felt like I was listening to a ten year old complain, which I guess was appropriate since one of the main themes of the book is Holden trying to deal with growing up. Another thing that was very obvious to me, maybe since I have had this realization previously myself, is Holden calling lots of people phonies while he himself seldom takes the time to make judgments other than shallow snap judgments about their personalities and behavior. Holden seems to reject the adult world he inevitably will become a part of, I think a part of this is his rejection of affection from everyone.

Holden may be hyper sensitive to affection because he relates it directly to the physical aspects of adult relationships. He even comments that his sister gets too affectionate with him even though it was just a hug. Other events where he rejected simple affections are with Mr. Antolini, when he places his hand on Holden's forehead. Holden gets nervous and runs out of the apartment.

Other themes I noticed in the book were the museum of natural history and the carousel near the end. They each represent childhood for Holden and his desire for it not to end. The museum has the forever unchanging displays of animals that he contrasts with the variables of the kids in his class. The carousel is a more obvious hint toward childhood.

There he almost forces his little sister to ride but doesn't himself showing that he has begun to recognize his eminent adulthood..