The Catcher In The Rye

The Catcher In The Rye was a very interesting book because of the way the book was written. The book was based on the thoughts of the main character, Holden Caulfield. His mind seemed to wander around and he reminisced about his past often, especially about his dead brother, Allie, and a girl he had feelings for, Jane. Holden had a hard time connecting with people, but he had many thoughts going on in his head. He could be considered “shallow” because of how judgmental his comments were about everything he saw. He called many people “phony” throughout the whole book. By the end of the book, Holden seemed to break out of his “childhood shell” and step into maturity. His little sister, Phoebe, helped him mature without even knowing that she did. As he watched her ride a carousel, he almost cried because he realized how much he loved her and many other people. After failing four schools, it was good to read that Holden felt optimistic about his new school that he would attend in the fall after he recovers from his mental breakdown.

This book was a decent book to read because the text wasn’t too hard to understand but I thought the plot was a little dull and boring. The parts that had my attention were when he was punched in the face by Stradlater and when he mentioned that a former student committed suicide. The ending was quite unclear about the rest of Holden’s life after he was put into a rest home to recover from his breakdown. Overall, the book was enjoyable, along with his crazy thoughts.



Focus Points

• Grammar

• Content and ideas

Death of a Salesman

After watching and reading The Death of a Salesman, I felt sympathy for Linda Loman. Her husband, Willy, had a mental issue and was caught cheating by his own son. Willy even bought things for his mistress that he couldn’t give to his own wife. Her two sons, Biff and Happy, had problems of their own. Biff was going from job to job, looking for himself and trying to please his father. Happy had a blown-up self-ego and loved hooking up with women, even if they were engaged. As a mother and wife, Linda must have suffered a lot. She realized that Willy was contemplating suicide and even attempted it several times.

Throughout his life, Willy has tried his best to get everyone to like him. He wanted to be respected and liked, but he was always doubtful about himself. Willy was even caught cheating by Biff. He lost respect for his father after that day. Willy also pursued the American dream of having a successful life of buying and selling. He had a traveling job with good pay, but his wife begged him to try to get a job in town. After talking and yelling at his boss, Willy ended up getting fired. Because of that, his life was destroyed and he was devastated. All Willy wanted was a job that required a phone and connections with other businesses. He recalled that a salesman named Dave Singleman had a wonderful job and was still working at the age of eighty-four. Dave had died the “death of a salesman” and many people from different cities showed up at his funeral. Willy wanted that kind of life.

Willy tried to get his sons to follow the footsteps of becoming a successful business man. He wanted Biff and Happy to live a life that he couldn’t get. Although most parents want their kids to be more successful than they are, Willy pushed his sons too far. They were stuck in a job they didn’t like, but Biff was the only one to take a step to realizing who he really was. He accepted the fact that he was a failure and wanted to find a job in the West. On the other hand, Happy was very similar to Willy. He loved women and enjoyed their company. After his father’s death, he made a promise to stay in the city and become a famous and successful businessman.

Willy went driving one night and got into a car accident. At Willy’s funeral, Charley, Bernard, and his wife and sons showed up. Linda was appalled at how little people showed up. She was devastated because they were close to paying off all their bills. I believe that if Willy had took the job offered by Charley, he would have been happy in the end.



Focus Points

• Content and ideas

• Grammar

• Style