What interests me is Holden's relationship with his parents. Initially, it appeared as though Holden was completely fearless of authority and didn't mind the penalties for his actions. However, when it came to Holden's parents, it seemed that he didn't want to disappoint them. He didn't want them to know that he dropped out of school when he did. He would do anything before he would call his parents to come bring him home, even if that meant he would roam the dangerous winter streets of NYC alone. When Holden finally reached home, he wanted only to see Phoebe, and wanted to avoid any contact with his parents. I do not know whether he is fearful of them, or if he genuinely feels bad about being a "failure" of a student. It seems that Holden has a lot of pressure and a lot to live up to, as his older brother is being successful elsewhere. Holden must feel pressure from his parents, however, Holden doesn't take the pressure in a motivational way. The pressure probably overwhelms him in a discouraging fashion, because he is rebellious and cynical towards almost everything,  except for his parents. For what reason, I do not know. 

Ol' Ackley

Below is a passage that makes me smile:

"You could also hear old Ackley snoring. Right through the goddam shower curtains you could hear him. He had sinus trouble and he couldn't breathe too hot when he was asleep. That guy had just about everything. Sinus trouble, pimples, lousy teeth, halitosis, crumbly fingernails. You had to feel a little sorry for the crazy sonuvabitch" (39). 

I love this passage because Holden ruthlessly bashes Ackley, but then says that "he felt a little sorry for him". All that Holden says is so blunt and truthful, which makes him truly funny. This, again, proves that Holden speaks his mind directly, without a buffer whatsoever. 

Catcher In the Rye.

I finished reading the entire book weeks ago, and I really truly enjoyed it. It was such an easy read and so absorbing. I felt immediately connected with Holden, although I don't know if I would actually like to know him in real life if I could. However, my favorite component to the novel was how blunt and honest Holden always was. He said a lot of things that people tend to think of, but fear to express outwardly. His honesty was crude and sarcastic, but often so appropriate. The way he spoke to the people he was not fond of made me smile because he was just so witty with his choice of words and emphasis. I loved Holden's standards and views on many things. For example, he mentioned something about how "the least he could do was be nice to her after she let him get sexy with him". I thought this was very funny and although, poorly phrased in my opinion, very true and often overlooked by guys that age. His opinion of his school, his roommates and his classmates was also very negative and frankly, appropriate. Holden seemed to be surrounded with a lot of pressures as well competitive classmates, so much so that he resorted to rebellious (illegal) behaviors and habits. These rebellious behaviors hooked my interest whether he was at the bar, smoking a cigarette, departing from his shelter, or getting into a rowdy fight. Lastly, I personally was attracted to Holden's natural talent with dealing with children. He had an exclusive relationship with his younger sister, Phoebe. I felt that this reflected a sense of maturity and sensitivity from him. I loved her contributions to the conversations they had because she seemed more grounded than he was, and seemed to keep her older brother in line. Their conversations were also humorous at times because she was so sassy and immature, while he too, was immature and sarcastic. There was one setting where Holden was at a museum with two young stranger boys and Holden kept them occupied and had a natural gift with communicating with them. Holden's lazy, lonely, blunt, rebellious, invincible and sarcastic attitude was very amusing to me. There's not much I would change of the book at all. It was a pleasure to read.

"y'otta title it - eric buchsbaum"

Eric blogs hard all day; all he does is blog.