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As you read Chapters 9-11, it is obvious Holden deals with feelings of alienation; however, he is also torn in the middle of two worlds: childhood and adulthood.
How do you see this theme play out in the chapters you read for today (9-11)? How is this struggle evident? How is Holden like a child? How is he like an adult?
This struggle was already evident in the first 8 chapters, however, after reading chapters 9-11 it is becoming much more obvious that Holden is caught in between two worlds. First of all, he still has a little bit of child left in him because as children we are always wanting to stay close with our family and on pg. 59 Holden is seen wanting to call home just like a child would do if they were separated from their family for awhile. The only reason he doesn't call home is because he is worried about his parents answering the phone and finding out that he left school early. Another time where Holden is acting childish is when he is swearing in front of the three ladies he meets at the bar on pg. 72. Holden believes that swearing a lot will make others view him as an adult, but it is funny because the blonde girl
thinks that it is making him look childish so then she yells at him. Holden still has a lot of a child in him, but he continues to try to act older at all times.
One thing that Holden does to try and act older is try living on his own for awhile. It never says exactly why but I believe that he wants to start living the adult life by living on his own at the hotel he went to after leaving school. Everyone knows that real adults can live and provide for themselves without their parents (most of the time), so Holden probably wants to start doing this to become more like an adult. Another thing that he does is try to order drinks at the bar on pg. 69. His plan backfires on him and he is not able to order drinks because he isn't 21 and doesn't have an ID. Holden does so many things that are childish, yet constantly tries to act like an adult. It really makes it look like he is stuck in between the two worlds of the childhood and adulthood life.
ALSO...Connect to your life! Explain TWO struggles you or others face as you move from childhood to adulthood. Where does Holden fit on this path?
The struggles Holden is facing in the book aren't too much different from the struggles that my classmates and I will soon be facing. The first thing we have to worry about is going to college our starting our careers after high school. If we go to college we will have to live on our own, away from our parents. We will soon be deciding many other things about our future like what our careers will be. The transition from childhood to adulthood is quickly approaching. We will also start having to provide for ourselves after college, unless we continue to act like children and have our parents pay for everything just like they do now. Holden also deals with living away from his parents and providing for himself. We are all approaching the time when we will all be faced with adulthood struggles. Since we are all used to the childhood life, adulthood will come as a shock to many of us. The struggles of adulthood are endless and we all will likely not stay children for the rest of our lives. Holden will also not be able to stay a child forever so he is starting the adult life now, without much success. This transition will be hard for many of us, but we all have to go through this period of time eventually...
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