- Consider the difference between a symbol and an allusion.
SWBAT:
- Students will be able to distinguish the difference between a symbol and an allusion.
Homework:
- Allusion blog due Monday.
- Literary Term test A-Z on Monday (BenchPrep)
- Catcher reading, annotating and questions through to the end of chapter 23 due Tuesday.
Shakira Thompson
ReplyDeleteMs. O’Donnell
AP. Lit.
April 1, 2013
The Catcher in the Rye
There are many allusions in the novel The Catcher in the Rye. The allusion “Comin Thro’ the Rye” (chapter 16, page 115) in the novel The Catcher in the Rye the author J. D. Salinger sorts of misinterprets the poem by Robert Burns.
In the novel page 115 Holden states “He was singing the song, “If a body catch a body coming through the rye.” He had a pretty little voice too.” The song the little boy was singing symbolizes Holden. The reason is because it is Christmas time and even thought the little boy parents are there, he still feels lonely and that is Holden’s current state of mind. Also Holden states “He was making out like he was walking in a very straight line.” (Salinger 115) The little boy walking in a straight line could be going down the right path. He also walks on the curb of the side walk, he is not aware of the danger that surrounds him.
The meaning of the allusion is that Holden interprets it the wrong way. According to an online source states “Holden remembers the words to the poem incorrectly; instead of “catching” someone in the rye, Burns writes about “meeting” someone in the rye, changing the meaning and potential interpretation of the poem significantly. Perhaps both interpretations are a reflection on Holden as a character or his society as a whole.” (http://content.easybib.com/students/topics-pages/the-catcher-in-the-rye/) Basically the allusion is reflecting on Holden and his point-of-view of society.
The purpose that the allusion serves is to focus the reader’s attention on the characters, mood and the setting. Also the allusion seems to corresponds with the character Holden because he is lost and lonely at Christmas time and Christmas is the time of the year when u visit and spend time with your family. The setting of the allusion took place in New York.
Over the course of The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger alludes to Benedict Arnold not once, but twice. To understand these allusions, one must first understand the subject being alluded to. Benedict Arnold, as most people are probably aware, was a Colonial general who fought in the Revolutionary War, who ended up betraying the rebels in favor of the British. This betrayal was so significant that to this day the term “Benedict Arnold” is used to refer to traitors. What this means is that alluding to Benedict Arnold calls to mind feelings and perceptions of betrayal, deception, and duplicity.
ReplyDeleteThe first of Salinger’s two allusions to Benedict Arnold occurs when Holden returns home to see Phoebe. During their conversation, the reader learns that Phoebe is going to be acting in a school play as Benedict Arnold. During this scene, Phoebe says to Holden, “It starts out when I’m dying. This ghost comes in on Christmas Eve and asks me if I’m ashamed and everything. You know, for betraying my country and everything. Are you coming to it?” (162) This passage serves to highlight just how much Holden is “betraying” those around him with his selfish actions. This starts with the first sentence, where Phoebe says, “It starts out when I’m dying.” In this sentence, “I” could be seen as referring primarily to two things. On a literal level, it refers to Phoebe’s character, Benedict Arnold, who, in the context of the play, is literally dying. It could also, however, it could be seen as indirectly referring to Holden, who has also been “dying”, feeling isolated, alone, and unsure, struggling with depression and a desire for things to never change. The next sentence, “This ghost comes in on Christmas Eve and asks me if I’m ashamed and everything” is also hugely significant. Once again, the “I” in this sentence is literally referring to Benedict Arnold, but can also be interpreted as representing Holden. That it is a ghost – traditionally a symbol of unresolved worries, regrets, and/or past events – represents how Holden struggles to let go of the past, both in how he wishes events could have played out differently, from Allie’s death to his inability to call the kid who stole his gloves a thief, to how he desperately wants to stop things from changing, which one sees clearly during his trip to the museum. The most important part of this sentence, however, is where the ghost asks Benedict Arnold if he is “ashamed”. Holden being represented by Benedict Arnold, this sentence represents, in essence, Holden being asked if he is “ashamed” of his behavior, which thus far has been not been the most polite, to put it lightly. This question of whether Holden is ashamed of himself carries directly over into the next sentence, “You know, of betraying my country and everything.” This sentence drives home the idea of Holden having betrayed those around him, with the use of the phrase “You know” insinuating that Holden knows what it’s like to betray one’s “country”, representing here his family and those who care for him. The last sentence “Are you coming to it?” reminds the reader that this is a play that is being talked about, calling back to the events of Hamlet, in which Hamlet uses a play in which events very similar to those surrounding King Hamlet’s death are portrayed in order to asses King Claudius’s guilt in the matter. In doing so, Benedict Arnold is further cemented as representing Holden, in much the same way that Hamlet’s play’s murder represents King Claudius.
The second of Salinger’s references to Benedict Arnold is a sort of reversal of his first – as Holden is preparing to leave, Phoebe tells him that she is not going to go back to school, and that she wants to go with him. Holden refuses, and says to her, “You have to go back to school. You want to be in that play, don’t you? You want to be Benedict Arnold, don’t you?” (208) This allusion, in contrast to the last, shows how Holden feels betrayed by those close to him. The parallel sentence structure in the sentences that make up the line serve to link them on a conceptual level, linking Phoebe going back to school with her acting as Benedict Arnold. Since Benedict Arnold represents betrayal, this links Phoebe going back to school – and thus leaving Holden – with betraying him. However, Holden is actually encouraging her to go back to school and thus “betray” him, even going so far as to engage in the “phony” act of lying to her that he won’t actually be leaving. This shows that Holden has more or less begun to accept that people will inevitably betray him, and has resigned himself to living a life of isolation and loneliness.
DeleteAsha Chen-Phang
ReplyDeleteApril 1, 2013
AP Literature
Mrs. O’Donnell
The Catcher in the Rye Allusion
Hamlet
J.D. Salinger makes a reference to Shakespeare’s Hamlet in chapter 16 (Page 117). This is a well-known and extraordinary piece of literature that many people are familiar with, therefore it makes sense to use it as an allusion. During this period in the book, Holden is commenting on his views on the theater as well as reminiscing about time spent with his siblings, Phoebe and D.B. While speaking about the play, Holden mentions “The best part in the whole picture was when old Ophelia’s brother was going away and his father was giving him a lot of advice. While the father kept giving him a lot of advice, old Ophelia was sort of horsing around with her brother…That was nice. I got a big bang out of that.” He also goes on to say that that type of brother-sister relationship is not common. Salinger apparently is portraying this moment as Holden relating the relationship between Laertes and Ophelia in the play to his own relationship with his younger sister Phoebe. This allusion reveals how much Holden truly misses the bond that he shared with Phoebe and how disconnected he has become from his family. What he happened to see in the play is reflective of the connection he shares with his little sister.
Moreover, Salinger’s intent is also to use Hamlet to capture the innocence of the memory Holden has of Phoebe. Holden states, “The only thing old Phoebe liked was when Hamlet patted this dog on the head.” Even though Holden has continuously pointed out how much of an intellectual his sister is, the purpose of this is to preserve the innocent child that she actually is. This simply, provides a deeper insight and understanding into the idea that Holden doesn’t want to alter and interfere with what lies in his past because he wants those memories to retain their purity. This is why Holden hesitates to contact the ones that he loves when he needs someone to talk to, he feels as though he’ll wreak havoc on their lives.
Josaua Desai
ReplyDeleteAP Literature and Composition
Ms. O’Donnell
3/31/13
Allusions and Cultural References: Wilhelm Stekel
In J.D. Sallinger’s, Catcher in the Rye, several allusions to various forms of literature, historical figures, and cultural ideas were denoted throughout the text. One of the most popular references was to Wilhelm Stekel, an esteemed Austrian psychiatrist and psychologist. Stekel was an early follower of Sigmund Freud, and went on to become deeply influenced by his work, which lead to the creation of his theories, essentially indirectly characterizing Holden and how other people viewed him.
This was addressed in the conversation Holden was having with Mr. Antolini, a previous teacher whom Holden had good relations with, “Then he came back and sat down with the paper in his hand. “Oddly enough, this wasn’t written by a practicing poet. It was written by a psychoanalyst named Wilhelm Stekel. Here’s what he-Are you still with me?” This further continued on and the message that Antolini wrote on the paper he gave to Holden read, “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.” He illustrates Holden as somewhat of an immature child, in the eyes of society, as seen when Mr. Antolini describes him as someone who will eventually die for some “highly unworthy cause”, an idea upheld by Stekel essentially dictating that a person who died for some “unworthy cause”, was not mature, but rather that the person who lived their life for their own self was supposed to be viewed as a mature individual. Accordingly, this conveys that Salinger was also a supporter of Stekel, because he, through several occasions in this text, portrays and allows for the reader to dissect and analyze Holden as a “child in a man’s body” Consequently, this illustrates Holden’s past to be filled with harsh and difficult situations, in which he did not mature mentally, but only physically, in which he grew bigger physically, but his mental capacity and idea of thinking stayed the same.
Additionally, by inserting this allusion, Salinger is illustrating what society’s thoughts and ideas mainly consisted of at the time that he wrote his book, as well as what his (Salinger’s) views were of society and it’s morals. Over the course of this chapter, Salinger describes Mr. Antolini by using a negative connotation, through Holden who calls him an “alcoholic” if he doesn’t watch his step. In addition, Holden stated that he “smoked like a fiend”. Moreover, Salinger suggests that Mr. Antolini is in fact very judgmental, because of the way he almost “obsesses” over Holden, when he was telling Holden ultimately, that he wasn’t going to make it in the world. Consequently, this allows the reader to chisel away the extra detail, and realize the situation that Holden is dealing with; a society that was very judgmental of a person’s behavior. Furthermore, this is seen when he is comparing himself to D.B., Allie, and Phoebe, in the way that he felt “dumb” compared to them, indicating one of the reasons for his behavior was in fact this judgment he felt. In addition, this further embraces the idea that Holden is a direct representative of the childhood and life that Salinger lead, because Salinger’s tone, diction, and the resulting mood when describing this allusion seems to be somewhat rough, however it is somewhat filled with sympathy and understanding, thereby giving the reader an entrance into Salinger’s mind ad his real intent behind writing this renowned piece of literature. Moreover, this seems to hint that Holden’s character and the characters around him that shape his ideas will continue to unravel.
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ReplyDeleteThe allusion I will be investigating today is The Great Gatsby one, which is in chapter 18, on page 141. It states,” I mean for instance, I don’t see how he could like a phony book like that and still like one by Ring Lardner, or that other one he’s so crazy about, The Great Gatsby. D.B. got so sore when I said that, and said I was too young and all to appreciate it, but I don’t think so. I told him I liked the Ring Lardner and The Great Gatsby and all. I did too; I was crazy about the Great Gatsby. Old Gatsby. Old sport. That killed me. Anyway, I’m sort of glad they’ve got the atomic bomb invented. If there’s ever another war, I’m going to sit right the hell on top of it. I’ll volunteer for it, I swear to God I will. What’s happening in this in the part of the story is that Holden is walking to the wicker bar while he remembers the books he had read with D.B. After seeing the film, his reflections on the film lead to some further considerations of literature. He informs the reader that he dislikes Ernest Hemingway’s novel A Farewell to Arms, because he thinks of it as a war story, and of course “phony”; but he appreciates F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby because it wasn’t a phony novel to him.
ReplyDeleteThe meaning of this allusion is to show how Holden is a self-proclaimed pacifist. When he says that he was not fond of the book, this might be because of it being due to its advertising of the war. He is totally against this and describes himself as “yellow”. Furthermore, yellow as in cowardly. Being scared to do something, like a wimp. The purpose of this allusion is to get his mind off of the grief of Allie’s death, and the things that are worsening what he already feels. “If there’s ever another war, I’m going to sit right the hell on top of it. I’ll volunteer for it, I swear to God I will.” (J.D. Salinger, the Catcher in the Rye, pg. 141). This quote foreshadows his mood in how he’s feeling after he says this because of the way he did, with his tone. He feels like no one cares about him. And this then can lead to suicidal thoughts, because not only does he feel awful, but also that no one cares about him, so there is any reason for him to live. This should lead the reader to understand that Holden himself feels he should just give up. He does not care one bit about anything. Like he just wants to die. Salinger might be suggesting through this reference that Holden is not in his right state of mind, and he wants to die.