Chapters 9-12 Right Side Journal
Questions
Chapter 9
“ I felt like giving somebody a buzz… I couldn’t think of anybody to call up.” How does this show the extent of his isolation?
He feels the need to talk to someone, but because he isolates himself so much, he can’t call anyone. Because of his hesitation or “mood”, he does not call the people he knows, but instead calls up a stranger.
What is the purpose of Holden always bringing up the
ducks?
“I was probably the only normal bastard in the whole place- and that isn’t saying much.” What does this mean and how does this tell us how he sees himself?
The way he degrades himself is also a part of his character in which he knows he is different from everyone else in a bad way
What does breaking his “rule” say about his struggle with himself?
He can’t stick to his rules meaning that he can’t listen and won’t follow directions.
Regarding Jane, how is his call to Faith hypocritical? HOw does this show his phoniness?
It’s hypocritical in which he says he’s not in the mood to call Jane, but he calls this random stranger he doesn’t even know.
What is the reason that Holden continues to not call/ see Jane? Why is he always “not in the mood”?
Maybe he’s afraid of going back to his past or afraid of becoming close to someone when all he knows is isolation right now
Why does Holden want to give Faith a phony name over the phone? What is the purpose of him using a phony name?
Chapter 10
What characteristics make Phoebe so important to Holden?
What does he like about Phoebe? How is she different from all the other women? What is her “only trouble” in Holden’s eyes and how is this ironic?
I get that she’s a good listener. She’s amusing to him.
How does Holden compare himself to his siblings?
He describes himself to be the dumbest in his family. He asserts that he isn’t as ;good as his siblings
Why does Holden regret having lied to Marty about seeing Gary Cooper and not the other people he lied to?
Chapter 11
What’s humorous about Holden saying he knows Jane “like a book”?
He hasn’t seen Jane in a while and he says that he knows her like a book.
Are Phoebe and Jane similar? In what ways?
She was always reading, and she read very good books. She read a lot of poetry and all. Movies
What do you notice about most of the adults around Holden?
They treat him like a child
Why is the checkers situation so important to him?
Holden says Phoebe’s only trouble is that she’s too affectionate, but he is affectionate to Jane. How did he show his affection for her in the past?
@quotes/ passages
How did the act of him leaving in a hurry compare to his feelings at the end of Chapter 11? “... and all of a sudden I felt like getting the hell out of the place. It was too depressing. And I wasn't tired or anything.”
Chapter 12
What does the duck question show about Holden’s character? How is Horwitz response realistic?
What does Holden mean when people have to say stuff like “glad to’ve met you” in order to stay alive?
Stay alive= stay connected to the real world?
How does his thoughts when listening to the conversation at Ernie’s show how pessimistic he really is?
He sees all the bad things happening instead of just minding his own business
Literary Analysis
When Holden says that he wants to call someone up and and realizes he can’t call anyone, it somewhat reminds me of my life. It reminds me of my life in which I have a lot of people in my friend and family circle, but when I want to call one of them, I don’t because I don’t want to bother anyone. The two cab driver’s reactions/ responses to Holden’s curiosity about the ducks, to me, show the realistic answers someone would get if they were to ask about that in the real world. Honestly, I can understand Holden’s feelings in these chapters because he is just feeling lonely, but that’s mostly his fault for isolating himself from the “phonies” of the world. I think if he stopped being judgemental and pessimistic about life, he could associate with the people and world around him. Also, his fear of his parents is something that can relate to the real world in which if we do bad in school, get suspended/ expelled, or just anything our parents don’t like, we don’t want them to find out and we kind of live in fear of them yelling/ punishing us. Overall, Holden’s life or the events that are happening in these four chapters are somewhat explanatory of a regular teenager’s life. The smoking, drinking, and failing subjects at school are all characteristic of today’s teenagers. The theme of isolation of the book continues to show throughout these chapters in which it is seen through the hesitant phone calls, driving around in the cab, and going to Ernie’s. By calling a stranger, Holden shows his loneliness is serious enough to try to meet up with someone he has never met before. Also, we see more of his view of women in these chapters in which he talks more about Jane, introduces us to his sister (Phoebe), and his interaction with the three women at the hotel. We see that he holds more affectionate feelings for Phoebe and Jane than the other women. For some reason, he calls other women phony, but not these two female characters. The reason is unclear to me, but they’re obviously important figures in this story, showing characteristics of Holden we have not seen in the beginning. Also, the theme of immaturity vs. maturity comes up in which the book gives us more instances where he drinks/ smokes and Holden talks more about his sex life.
Quotes/ Passages
- “ I felt like giving somebody a buzz… I couldn’t think of anybody to call up.”
- shows the overlying theme of isolation
- “I was probably the only normal bastard in the whole place- and that isn’t saying much.” - He degrades himself by saying he’s normal but not much
- “In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw. … Sex is something I really don't understand too hot… Sex is something I just don't understand. I swear to God I don't.” - He contradicts himself in these couple of sentences
- “The only reason I didn't do it was because I wasn't in the mood. If you're not in the mood, you can't do that stuff right.”
- It’s just talking, what do you need to do right? When talking on the phone, he makes himself try to seem more mature, but he just sounds stupid
- I'm not sure what time it was, but it wasn't too late. The one thing I hate to do is go to bed when I'm not even tired.
- shows how he’s like a kid” I’m not even tired!” etc.
- “As a matter of fact, I'm the only dumb one in the family. My brother D.B.'s a writer and all, and my brother Allie, the one that died, that I told you about, was a wizard. I'm the only really dumb one.”
- Again, he degrades himself and does not see much in himself. This could contribute to his isolation
- “ I started giving the three witches at the next table the eye again… The other two grools nearly had hysterics when we did. I certainly must've been very hard up to even bother with any of them.”
- He calls these women all types of names. Does not see them as women, but everything but women.
- “Girls. Jesus Christ. They can drive you crazy. They really can. They didn't invite me to sit down at their table-- mostly because they were too ignorant--but I sat down anyway. “
- “The two ugly ones' names were Marty and Laverne.”
- “I know old Jane like a book--I still couldn't get her off my brain. I knew her like a book. I really did.”
- “I don't know why, but it bothered hell out of me. So what I did was, I went over and made her move over on the glider so that I could sit down next to her--I practically sat down in her lap, as a matter of fact. Then she really started to cry, and the next thing I knew, I was kissing her all over--anywhere--her eyes, her nose, her forehead, her eyebrows and all, her ears--her whole face except her mouth and all.”
- shows his affectionate side
- “I partly blame all those dopes that clap their heads off--they'd foul up anybody, if you gave them a chance. Anyway, it made me feel depressed and lousy again, and I damn near got my coat back and went back to the hotel, but it was too early and I didn't feel much like being all alone.”
- Shows how he embraces his loneliness and he knows that he is alone and isolated