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Welcome to Mr. Hughes's Catcher in the Rye blog! You will use this site as a sounding board for your thoughts and reflections as you follow our protagonist, Holden Caulfield, on his physical and emotional journey through the streets of New York City.







Chapter 1 Discussion

Post your thoughts, questions and reflections after reading chapter 1.  Scholars you are expected to help answers your classmates' questions.

23 comments:

  1. The main character Holden is failing four of his classes at Pency Prep. Recently, he has been kicked out of the school due to his grades, he must leave after Christmas break. Holden is the fencing team's manager, today he left their fencing equipment on the subway while going to attend their meet. Therefore the whole team could no longer go to the meet, so the team went back to the school. After they arrived back at the school Holden watched part of his school's football game from a far. Then he decided to go to his friend Spencer's house. He sprinted all the way there in the cold.
    Holden like his family and thinks they're very kind. Holden likes his brother and looks up to him in a sense. His brother currently lives in Hollywood, and is making a large amount of money as a prositiute. His parents in his opinion are too touchy, and are very kind.

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  2. Very good, Keely. Thank you for being the first to comment here!

    I have two points to clarify: Spencer is not Holden's friend, but his history teacher. Also, Holden's brother is not an actuall prostitute. Rather, Holden compares him to a prostitute for the type of writing he does in California.

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  3. Holden, is the antagonist of Catcher in the Rye. The chapter opens with him writing his story from a rest home where he has been sent to for therapy. He talks about how he can't really write about personal family things because both of his parents are rather uptight about that sort of thing. He then moves on to the topic of his brother. He does admire his brother but he thinks his brother is a sellout and that disappoints him greatly. As he begins to talk about his school, Pency Prep, you can see he has no ambition to stay there. He is failing 4 classes, and has been warned, and is now being kicked out. He was the leader of the fencing team, but had to return back to the school early because he lost their gear on the subway. When he gets back, he watches the football game from a far, and tries to remember the good times he had here. Then he leaves to visit Spencer, his history teacher who is ill. From the first chapter, I can see that Holden is truly bored with his life.

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  4. I agree, Claire, he does seem bored with his life. I wonder how this happened to him at such a young age. He is only 16 when the events of the story begin.

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  5. Holden is the main character in, The Catcher in the Rye, and in the first chapter we learn he is currently attending a boarding school called Pency Prep which he is being kicked out of due to failing four classes. Although this seems significant to the reader Holden almost acts as though he doesn't care and its not a big deal and this is surprising. We also learn he is the caption of the fencing team, and that the team wasn't able to participate in the tournament because Holden left the equipment on the subway. These two things lead me to believe that he just doesn't care. He is impartial to whatever is happening around him and while he seems very judgmental he is just honest with himself.

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  6. Yes, Avery, he does seem to be disconnected to what is happening around him. He does not seem to care that he is being kicked out of school.

    Also, did you notice where is as he tells his story to the us? Holden tells us it has been a year since all that "carzy stuff" happended.

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  7. Holden appears to not really care much about anything. So far we have been told he is failing four of his classes, he's being kicked out of his school, he doesn't go to his schools football games, and forgot his fencing equipment on the subway on their way to a fencing competition in New York City. I agree with Avery, it seems like he doesn't care. Holden isn't very enthusiastic about anything, he lives sort of a boring life. Holden also says that it has been a year since the "crazy stuff" happened and I believe that whatever this "crazy stuff" is, it changed him and is the reason why he no longer tries in school and cares about anything.

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  8. During chapter one, the main character Holden does not seem to be a responsible person. He has been kicked out of school because he has been failing four classes at Pency Prep. We also learn that he was the captain of the fencing team. He showed irresponsibility when he unable to compete in the tournament because he left the equipment on the subway. Just by reading these two events in the book you can clearly see that he is an irresponsible kid. Towards the end of the chapter, Holden visits his ill social studies teacher before he leaves.

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  9. I agree that he thinks his life is boring. He obviously doesn't care that much about his school work, hence him being kicked out. He also finds his parents to be "touchy as hell". This type of attitude reflects someone who just doesn't care about most of their surroundings. Perhaps the "crazy stuff" is what made him who he is today.

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  10. I agree with Chris during chapter one, Holden does not appear to be reasonable as he gets expelled from school because of his academic performance. Holden seems to be laid back not putting in effort into school or anything. He forgets his equipment on a subway and does not seem to not care about anything. He is not motivated, and his parents are uptight, and touchy as he tells it. He hates his school and can not wait to leave Pency Prep.

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  11. After reading the first chapter of The Catcher in the Rye, I've come to gather that Holden, the main character, doesn't seem to care about anything or anyone around him. After only reading the first chapter he's already managed to get kicked out of school, left fencing equipment on the subway, and referred to his parents as "touchy as hell" as Isabel also said. He is bored with his routine way of living, and said its been a year since any "crazy stuff" has happened. Holden seems to get along with his family for the most part, except he says his parents are touchy and his brother is a sellout, which makes in confusing to understand his relationships with them.

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  12. Holden seems like the type of person who really doesn't care about much. He was failing four of his classes and didn't put in any effort to try and pull his grades up. It seems like he's very bored with his life and isn't too thrilled with the way things are going. Holden seems to have a good connection with Spencer, his history teacher because he goes to visit him when he is sick and before he must leave the school because of his failing grades. I'm very curious as to what the "crazy stuff" that has happened to him is and how it's effected him.

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  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. The protagonist in Catcher in the Rye, Holden, is being kicked out of Pency Prep and is currently failing four of his five classes in school. But we also learn he seems a bit disengaged/unaffected to what is happening around him. The story tells us that Holden is part of the Pency Prep's fencing team, but due to him forgetting all the equipment on the subway, the team couldn't participate in the tournament. Like Avery and Luke, Holden makes me think he just doesn't care about anything. Plus he lives a pretty dull life. It also states in the novel that Holden's year has been filled with "crazy stuff." I think the "crazy stuff" is what led Holden to have such a dull life now. Also like Gabby, I'm eager to find out about the "crazy stuff" that happened to Holden the past year.

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  15. The main character Holden he seems like he has a lot to say but his thoughts are almost all over the place, what he says is translated in a very jumpy way. He doesn't seem like the type of person to try at all because he was failing 4 of his classes and he didn't even try to bump anything up. He seems extremely lost and bored and out of it , maybe its because of the "crazy stuff" He just seems extremely distant from the world , its kind of sad.

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  16. Holden, the main character in Catcher in the Rye is very bored with himself and his routine. He's been kicked out of Pency Prep because of his grades. He's failing 4 classes and is expected to leave after Christmas break. He's very unaware of his surroundings and wants things his way as apposed to the way that's expected of him. As Cat said above, Holden lives a boring life as of now and I'm waiting to see what he means when he refers to the "crazy stuff" that happened in the past year. He describes his parents as "touchy as hell" which leads me to think that their relationship with Holden is delicate. His brother is a writer in Hollywood but for the most part their relationship is solid. Holden is the manager for the fencing team and on the way to a tournament he forgot their equipment on a subway resulting in them not being able to participate. This all leads up to now when Holden is standing on Thomsen Hill watching the football game from far away.

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  17. Holden is the main character in Catcher in the Rye, he doesnt seem to be very responsible because he is failing out of Pency Prep. During the first chapter we learn that Holden left the fencing teams equipment on a subway and that he is saying goodbye to his history teacher. Holden compares his brother to a prositute because he is making more money living in LA than he did being a writer. As you read on in the chapter you learn that Hold thinks his parents are the very touchy type. Holden unfolds that he lives a boring life and that he is unaware of his surrounds and that everything has to go Holdens way.

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  18. In Catcher in the Rye, you are seeing life through Holden's eyes. He gives you his perspective on life, which is mostly that he is bored with his life and its routine, as Jillian said. Holden tells us that he is getting kicked out of his prestigious boarding school because he has been failing 4 of his classes. Holden was also the captain of the fencing team, but has been booted because he left the equipment on a subway in New York City. Holden's attitude, as Cat said, is that he does not really care about much. Holden also talks to us about his family, and says his parents are "touchy as hell" but he seems to get along with them. He also talks about how he admires and respects his brother, but calls him a sellout for working in Hollywood, which Holden thinks is phony. The contrasts in the descriptions of Holden's family members are slightly confusing to understand, as Jillian said.

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  19. The main character in CAtcher in the Rye Holden. In chapter one we learn that he is currently attending a boarding school called Pency Prep, in which he gets kicked out of for failing four classes. Many would conclude that this was a significant worry to Holden,but in fact he wasn't to be bothered by such an unimportant situation. Holden is also, the captain of the fencing club. Because of Holden leaving the equipment on thE subway the team was unable to participat in one of their competitions. As a reader I begin to realize that HOlden is almos disconnected to the outside world and doesn't really care about what the average Joe might care about.

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  20. Cather in the the Rye is about a young boy named Holden who is struggling to fit in and enjoy his life. He is currently attending a private school, however because he is failing four subjects he will not be able to stay there. He seems very careless when he forgot the fencing supplies on the train. He is also a little jelous of his successfull brother, though he clearly looks up to him.

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  21. In the book Catcher in the Rye you learn about a young bot named Harden. He is attending a private school called Pency Prep and is soon going to drop out because of bad grades. He is clearly not a bot who trys very hard. He also is particpating in the fencing club and is the captain of his team. But, before a match he forgets his stuff forcing them to forfeit. Overall it is clear he is a rebel in is soicety.

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  22. After Holden failed all four classes at Pency prep he has been kicked out of the school and now must go to another one. Although he was kicked out there was still a big fencing meet and since Holden was the manager he had to go. But once they arrived to their meet they had noticed that Holden had forgotten everyone's gear on the subway. After, he sprints to his friends Spencer house. Holden has a mother, father , and a brother. Holden finds in brother to be inspiring to him and looks up to him. His brother is currently living in Hollywood.

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  23. After failing four of five classes at Pency prep, Holden has been kicked out of school and now must search for another one. He is the manager of the school’s fencing team and is supposed to be in New York for a meet, but he lost the team’s equipment on the subway, forcing everyone to return early. The week before Christmas vacation begins, Holden stands on Thomsen Hillwhere Pencey plays its annual grudge match against Saxon Hall. Holden has no interest in the game, and hadn't planned to watch it at all.

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