CW first 1000 words

            City cars rush, neon lights flash, and people fussle. She had missed the frantic commotion of this city. She glanced down at her crystallized watch, and shook her leg as she glared at the red traffic light on West 3^rd Street. Her eyes were fixed, waiting for the second it would turn green. When it blinked green, she walked quickly across the street and raised her dark-shaded sunglasses to look at each building. She tilted her neck towards the dark sky and tried to find the building. One building stood out, it was made of clear glass, which shined brightly in her hazel eyes. She knew it was this one, so she walked confidently through the doors of the building. As she walked toward the elevator, she slowed down her pace. In the elevator, she clicked sixty. She looked at the number of floors and was amazed that he would be working in this place. When the elevator arrived, she walked out and her heels clicked on the white floors. She peeped at each desk and looked for the name, “Dane Rossiter.” Finally, she came upon a desk where a paper lied on top, reading “Dane.” As soon as found his name, she double-checked, and her heart skipped a beat. She was overwhelmed that she wanted to hide quickly, but she had waited for two years for this moment to come. She didn’t notice how much time had passed since she stood there, and when she turned around, she saw him. Dane hadn’t changed at all. His eyes were the same blue-green color, and his short hair was down in a boring fashion. Dane shook his head to make sure he wasn’t in another dream. For the past four years, he remembered her, Chloe Hall. Of course, he could never forget her long blonde hair that she combed after lunch, and her pink lips that were never chapped. They both stood there, in shock, unable to believe in the situation. Although Chloe had expected this moment to come someday, she had would have never expected it, except in her dreams. She waited for him to say a word to start a conversation. His voice cracked as he said his first “hi” in four years. Chloe smiled, that was the same “hi” when they met for the first time. Without asking any more questions, she stood upright and said, “Let’s go to a café”. Without a pause, Dane quickly agreed. He wore his black babari coat, the same one he always wore in college. When Chloe saw it, she smiled to herself.

            The two went outside on the crowded streets and walked awkwardly beside each other. They turned right at the first intersection, made another left on the next block, and walked straight towards a café named “Think Coffee” on 248 Mercer Street. As they entered, they smelled the Americano coffee they always had every evening after class. The café was packed with students and most of their sweatshirts read “NYU”. After a couple sitting at the corner of the room left, they sat down on the familiar wooden chairs. Dane stood up and said he would get something to drink. Chloe sat down, looking around at the other students, busily studying while laughing with their friends. One girl leaned her head on her hand with her elbows on the table. Her eyes were fixed on the guy that seemed to be teaching her. Chloe missed those times. The times when her first love would teach her how to solve a math problem, although she already knew the answer. As she was stalking the students around her, Dane held an Americano for her in his bulky hands. She took a sip of the Americano, and it was just how she liked it – dark taste and medium sized. Dane hadn’t forgotten what she liked, and this made her feel especially delighted.

            They both sat there for minutes in awkward silence. Finally, Chloe decided to make a conversation going, and asked, “So… you’re working as an architect right?” She knew that this was an awkward question, since she came to see him to ask him to build a house for her. Since Dane was in college, all he would do in his free time was draw simple houses, and he especially loved towering buildings. The two stayed up all night sketching out their dream house – white walls, four bathrooms, five rooms, and a beach view. But, she asked that one question out of all the questions she had thought of the night before. Dane answered, “Yeah..” He seemed curious why Chloe had suddenly come to see him. Eventually, Chloe had the guts to ask him a favor, “Can you architect and build a house for me?” Dane seemed reluctant, and he thought for a few minutes. For Chloe, those five minutes seemed like an hour. She bit her nails, dreading for his answer. Dane’s face seemed dull and gloomy, but he replied back saying “fine”. Like any usual architect, he interrogated her with questions on how she wanted the house to look like, how many floors, and how many rooms. She was engulfed by all the abrupt questions. She hesitated while saying, ”I want my house to have four bathrooms and five rooms.” Dane couldn’t help but smile at her response. He took out his four-year-old sketchbook and with his worn out pencil, he started sketching the house she wanted. His sketching had improved from the last time Chloe saw it. She glanced at him busily trying to draw the right house for her. As he was thinking, his dark eyebrows gathered together like a unibrow and his wrinkles on his forehead had not changed at all. While he was working, she quickly thought again about the house she wanted. When he finished sketching, she looked outside, it wasn’t that dark yet. After looking at her watch, she said she didn’t really like the house. She told him exactly how she wanted it, and the two grew closer as they tried to build the perfect house.  

Act 1 scene ii: Conversation Cassius and Brutus

In Act I scene ii, Cassius and Brutus meet and have a quick conversation about Caesar. In the beginning, Brutus doesn’t want Caesar to become king, however, he likes Caesar because he is a friend. On the other hand, Cassius seems to dislike Caesar and wants to persuade Brutus to dislike Caesar too. Cassius attempts to flatter Brutus to convince him to be on his side. Cassius compliments Brutus and says that he is a widely respected man in Rome, and Cassius acts as a mirror for Brutus. Cassius goes on to talk about Caesar’s weakness and vulnerability. Cassius builds his argument on why they should go against Caesar by telling anecdotes of him. Cassius attempts to bring Caesar down by saying that Cassius was the one to save Caesar from drowning because of his enfeeblement. Cassius said, “Did I the tired Caesar. And this man Is now become a god” (I.ii.115). Cassius continues his story by telling about a time where Caesar was sick and was trembling like a weakling. He gave many details to emphasize the weakness of Caesar and said, “How did shake; ‘tis true, this god did shake. His coward lips did from their color fly” (I.ii.121). As Cassius was trying to convince Brutus, he also flatters Brutus by saying that his name should be as powerful as Caesar’s name. Cassius seems jealous of Caesar and questions the noble men of Rome. However, although Cassius tried to persuade Brutus, Brutus stayed unconvinced and noticed the flattery from Cassius. Brutus said he will consider what Cassius said, but he will not be on Cassius’ side. 

Holden..A Hypocrite?

       Some people reading The Catcher in the Rye may think that Holden’s plight derives form him simply being a misanthrope. However, past traumas and events in Holden’s life greatly affected him and resulted to cause his depression and pessimism. From Allie’s death, Holden had been through difficult situations that made him realize and experience the corrupted world. Since he was young, he had been physically and mentally hurt from others around him. Although Salinger did not state directly what Holden was effected by, readers can reach to conclusions from Salinger’s use or repetition. In the novel, parents are mentioned often, for instance, Mrs. Morrow. She was one of the few people Holden didn’t call a “phony”, and she was especially a good listener. Although she was a stranger, Holden took the time to have a conversation with her. He even lied about how popular Ernest was to keep her “glued to her seat” (56). This portrayed how desperate Holden was for companionship. Holden just wanted someone who would listen to him and give attention to him; however, he couldn’t find any companionship in Pencey school. This conversation also showed how Holden liked people who were motherly. On page 115, Holden watches a kid walk down the street and he mentions about parents again, and says, “He and his wife were just walking along, talking, not paying any attention to their kid.” Holden thought the kid was “swell” and he felt as if he had found a kid who grew up similar to him. Holden called people who didn’t care or listen to him, “phonies.” Furthermore, Holden had memories of him as a child being abused. On page 192, Mr. Antonlini patted Holden on the head, and Holden was shocked and left the house.  Holden was really nervous and said, “That kind of stuff’s happened to me about twenty times since I was a kid. I can’t stand it.” This quote conveys how Holden had been physically abused since he was young, which caused him to think of the past and be in depression. Since Holden experienced the corrupted world, he felt as if people were “phonies” and had an evil side within them.

Catcher in the Rye: Phoebe

        Holden’s love for Phoebe is demonstrated throughout the novel, and she is one of the few people Holden doesn’t criticize. Holden especially liked kids and in the novel, he never called a kid “phony.” When he saw the “fuck you” signs on the school wall, he immediately accused anybody except for children. He thought that children would never write that, and thought that they were pure. Holden enjoyed listening to Phoebe talking about random things and liked her for her innocence. When he watched Phoebe sleeping, he says, “You take adults, they look lousy when they’re asleep and they have their mouths way open, but kids don’t. Kids look all right.” (159) Holden seemed to dislike adults and thought they were evil. Although kids also had spit all over their pillow, Holden thought that it was okay for kids. Phoebe was always an exception for him. Also, he enjoyed talking to Phoebe about anything because she always listened to him. Phoebe didn’t judge Holden for anything, and understood everything he said. Although Phoebe is child-like, she was also mature at times. When Holden was about to leave, Phoebe gave him her money even though it was her “Christmas dough.” Also, when Holden was about to leave, she wanted to leave with him to take care of him. Phoebe was probably the reason why Holden didn’t leave New York. In the last scene, Holden takes Phoebe to ride the carrousel. This scene had significance because the carrousel represented something that would never change. He watched Phoebe ride it, and started to cry. He was touched by her child-like innocence. Phoebe was exactly the sort of child he wanted to “catch in the rye.” Phoebe was also the only one that knew about Holden’s dream of wanting to be a catcher in the rye. This shows the trust he had in Phoebe. 

Catcher in the Rye Cover

This is the cover I drew for the “Catcher in the Rye.” I drew Holden standing and looking outside the window with a baseball glove in his hand. I drew the baseball glove because it had a big significance in the novel. This was the baseball glove from Allie that Holden always kept. Allie was one of the few people Holden loved. In remembrance of Allie, Holden kept it safe. The death of Allie had a great impact on Holden and that was one of the main reasons Holden went into depression. After Allie’s death, he felt lonely and thought that the world was corrupted. The baseball mitt is in his right hand, because it is the hand that Holden hurt while punching a window. His right hand was ineffective because he broke it by punching windows after Allie’s death, and he could never make a tight fist again. In the cover I drew, the Allie’s baseball mitt covers Holden’s right hand, and this symbolizes how Allie looks over him and protects him. Also, I outlined the glove in red because that color was important to Holden. Both Allie and Phoebe had red hair, and those were the only two people he really loved and connected with. IT was also the color of his red hunting hat. In the drawing, Holden is looking outside the window where the rye is. While Holden is holding the glove, he gazes out the window and dreams about wanting to become “a catcher in the rye.” Holden imagined children playing outside the rye. He wanted to catch all the children before they fell off a cliff into a corrupted world. He thought that children were innocent and pure and wanted to protect them from the evilness of the outside world they didn’t experience yet.  This was  also the title of the novel.

Why do you think Holden cries before he leaves Pencey?

        In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden leaves Pencey Prep to go to New York. In my perspective, I think Holden cries because he feels lost and doesn’t know what to do. Holden was in a terrible situation where he couldn’t find the right path in his life because he got kicked out of school.  Also, he felt bad for his family for letting them down and disappointing them. He definitely didn’t want to tell his mom and siblings that he was kicked out. His brother, Allie, and his sister, Phoebe, were smart and got all A’s on their report cards. But, Holden failed in three out of four classes, except for English. When Holden starts packing and took the skates his mom sent him, he said, “She bought me the wrong kind of skates-I wanted racing skates and she bought hockey” (52). Holden mentions his mom and suddenly feels depressed. The racing skates and the hockey skates symbolized the differences between the personality of Holden and his mom. Racing skates symbolized individualism and running away, and hockey skates symbolized companionship and team effort to achieve a goal. His mom could’ve not bought the hockey skates because she wanted Holden to fit in and make new friends, instead of running away from difficult situations. In addition, I think Holden cried because he felt that there was no one who cared for him. He felt alone and wanted to find companionship, but instead he felt lonely when he was with others. When Holden talks about packing, he suddenly mentioned, “Old Stradlater didn’t even wake up” (51). Holden seemed upset because his own roommate didn’t even notice him leaving and didn’t have any interest at all. Holden wanted people to give him attention and at least care if he was leaving. When he shouted, “Sleep tight, ya morons!” on page 52, Holden wanted to get attention and wanted everyone to know that he would be gone. Holden wanted to receive love and affection from others, so he felt neglected and deserted.

Jenny Walking Through the Fields

“Comin Thro’ the Rye” by Robert Burns is about a girl named Jenny walking through the grain fields, or the rye. Her wet, poor body symbolizes her emotions and her sadness. Jenny is in an emotional puddle and seems to be in a state of depression. She is seldom dry because she is seldom out of the puddle. In addition, the rye represents the poor period during the 1700s. It seems as if she is stuck in the rye and can’t get out of her morbid emotional state.  In the poem, she “drags at her petticoat,” and I think that means that she kept herself together. The petticoat represents a skirt that keeps the structure of her dress and that shows how it held her together. This poem is about a girl who is sexually active and has been judged by others around her society. The repetition of “comin thro’ the rye” places the readers where the woman is and emphasizes the importance of the location. The woman walking through the grainfield is not a farmer, since she is wearing a petticoat. She seems to be crying and the feeling of this poem is melancholy. I think Jenny is questioning the world and she thinks that no one is listening to her problems because the poem says “need the warld ken?” which means if the world listens to her. In stanza three, I think she meets somebody in the fields. The poet emphasies the girls sexual desire by including the detail of “kissing the body.” She yearns for something or somebody and wants to meet him or her. Burns emphasizes the use of ‘rye’ and ‘dry’ to emphasize the mood of the poem, which is melancholy. The rhythm of the poem gives it liveliness and makes it more interesting for the readers.