NickAndra

The motif, phony, is brought up multiple times in the story. Especially on page 26, when Ackley, Stradlater, and Holden are together in their room and Stradlater says, "How'sa boy, Ackley?". Holden noticed he said it in a phony way. He described Stradlater as "a phony kind of friendly". After this happens, Stradlater continues to attempt to strike a conversation with Ackley, and fails. Immediately following this, is Stradlater shaving in the bathroom. Holden refers to him as a well put together kid, hiding his sloppiness.
 * · How does the symbol/motif come up in the novel, and how does it impact what is going on? What happens immediately preceding or immediately following a mention or discussion of this idea or thing? **

The mood is a content, just-hanging-around-mood. Not to say Holden was confused, but more going through the thought process of Stradlater in general. Every time the motif became phony, perverted, or screw-balled, the mood changes. For example, on page 34 when Holden comes across the man dressing in full woman's clothing, he is more in shock and confused than content.
 * · What is the mood when this idea or thing is brought up? Would you associate this with times when Holden is content? frightened? frantic? confused? Is this mood consistent with every incidence of this motif? **

· ** Is Holden alone when this motif/symbol occurs? If not, with whom is he interacting? How would you characterize that interaction? Does this motif occur both when he is alone and when he is with other people? Is there a connection to be made? ** Whenever this motif occurs, Holden is not alone. This phony/pervert/screwball idea is never about him, it's about the people he's with. "he was sitting on the floor right next to the couch, in the dark and all, and he was sort of petting me or patting me on the goddamn head." (192) He was talking about Mr. Antolini, a man he trusted enough to go to when he had run away. He feels very uncomfortable about the situation, and let's slide that these sort of things happened a lot at his various boarding school. You can infer that his past experiences have made him a lot more cautious.

It shows there's a chance Holden was possibly molested, or even abused at one point in his life. His strong reactions all the perverts in the story shows his uncomfortableness. He also hates all the phonies in the story, and that can lead you to believe that he was deceived by someone very close to him at one point in his life.
 * · What does this motif/symbol tell you about Holden, in a “big picture” way - Does this suggest anything about his personality? His weaknesses or strengths? His sense of himself? **


 * Tie it all together: Did any pattern emerge? Pick out other words or ideas used in conjunction with this motif. Look back on your investigation and come up with a single sentence that sums up what you’ve discovered **

a. Hook PUT BEFORE INTRO! Imagine what it's like to travel alone, with a minimal amount of money in your pocket. Imagine what it's like to be on your own, for the next few days. Imagine what it's like to be Holden Claufield. b. Thesis Holden never gets close with people because he doesn't want phonies in his life. i. main 1 People (phony) ii. main 2 Stradlater, Ackley, & Holden (screwball) iii. main3 Relationships with adults (pervert)
 * I. Introduction ** Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger takes us on a journey through a young man's life. Every page turned, a new lesson is learned. Holden, our main character brings us deep into his life leaving no detail behind.

**II. Body One** (Avenue one/Main reason 1) Phoniness is the biggest motif in Catcher in the Rye. "Phoniness, for Holden, stands as an emblem of everything that's wrong in the world around him and provides an excuse for him to withdraw into his cynical isolation." (Spark Notes) a. Supporting Detail One, including MLA citation Relaxing in his hotel room, looking out the window, Holden gets a peculiar glimpse of something he has never seen before; there was this man, this around forty years old man, dressing in woman's clothing! He was even wearing the makeup (Salinger 61). i. Reason why supporting detail emphasizes and reaffirms thesis Holden has a funny reaction towards this situation. He is not sure whether it was actually happening or not. This portrays such phoniness, because the man, was clearly of the male sex, not a female. Dressing up as a woman, shows the man was trying to be someone, or something that he is not. b. Supporting Detail Two, including MLA citation Going to the Museum of Natural History was one of Holden's favorite places. He loved how every time he went back, every time he saw that Eskimo, it would still be the same as the last time, no matter what. Holden enjoyed the fact that nothing ever changed. Even if you were wearing a different outfit, or you were with different people, the museum was still the museum, and it was never going to change. i. Reason why supporting detail emphasizes and reaffirms thesis "The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move. You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would still be on their way south, the deers would still be drinking out of that water hole..." (Salinger 121). c. Supporting Detail Three, including MLA citation Stradlater shows his phony side when he was in the washroom with Holden, talking about Jane Gallagher (Salinger 31). He was listening, but he chose more to ignore everything Holden said. i. Reason why supporting detail emphasizes and reaffirms thesis Holden kept saying and asking so many questions; some to himself, some directed towards Stradlater. "'I used to play checkers with her all the time.' 'You used to play what with her all the time?' 'Checkers.' 'Checkers, for Chrissake!'" (Salinger 31).

**III. Body Two** (Avenue one/Main reason 2) linked with THESIS STATEMENT Although Stradlater and Ackley are two totally different people, they share one trait in common: being the 'screwball' of the group. Screwball, is the nicer way of saying, an eccentric person. a. Supporting Detail One, including MLA citation Towards the end of chapter three, when Stradlater returns from leaving the game early, he gives off a sarcastic tone to Ackley (Salinger 25). "'How'sa boy, Ackley?' he said to Ackley. He was at least a pretty friendly guy, Stradlater. It was partly a phony kind of friendly, but at least he always said hello to Ackley and all." (Salinger 26). i. Reason why supporting detail emphasizes and reaffirms thesis Holden immediately notices the rude tone in Stradlater's voice. He is satisfied that he always says hi to Ackley, but deep down, Holden would prefer him to be nice about it. b. Supporting Detail Two, including MLA citation Ackley shows us a different form of what a screwball can be. As it reads in chapter three, Ackley is not the most hygiene person around. Holden states: "The whole time he roomed next to me, I never even once saw him brush his teeth. They always looked mossy and awful, and he damn near made you sick if you saw him in the dining room..." (Salinger 19) i. Reason why supporting detail emphasizes and reaffirms thesis Ackley's actions, show us that he is not the cleanest person you will ever meet. It makes him a screwball because he does not care about how he looks, which is quite the opposite of Stradlater. c. Supporting Detail Three, including MLA citation At one point, Holden actually was talking about not wanting to look like a screwball. He was wearing the red hunting hat, right before he entered the hotel, "... I took it off before I checked in. I didn't want to look like a screwball or something." (Salinger 61). i. Reason why supporting detail emphasizes and reaffirms thesis Holden did not want to look like a crazy person checking into the hotel with a bright red hunting hat on. Not caring what he looked like in the cab, Holden wore the hat "just for the hell of it." (Salinger 61). Trying not to blend in with all the other screwballs, morons, and perverts in the hotel, Holden quickly took off the hat to save himself the embarrassment.

**IV. Body Three** (Avenue one/Main reason 3) linked with THESIS STATEMENT Holden trusted Mr. Anntolini enough to go to his house when he had no where else to go. a. Supporting Detail One, including MLA citation "I'm not kidding the hotel was lousy with perverts" (Salinger 62) i. Reason why supporting detail emphasizes and reaffirms thesis Holden obviously has a problem with perverts, and the context in the book can lead us to conclude that something happened to Holden before this book took place to create this hatred. b. Supporting Detail Two, including MLA citation "He was sitting on the floor right next to the couch, in the dark and all, and he was sort of petting me or patting me on the goddamn head." (Salinger 192) i. Reason why supporting detail emphasizes and reaffirms thesis He thought he was safe at Mr. Antolini, but he didn't even give him a chance to explain the situation. c. Supporting Detail Three, including MLA citation "Boy, I was shaking like a madman. I was sweating, too. When something perverty like that happens, I start sweating like a bastard. That kind of stuff's happened to me about twenty times since i was a kid. " (Salinger, 193) i. Reason why supporting detail emphasizes and reaffirms thesis

a. Restate thesis i. Avenue one (Main reason 1) 1. Why this reason reaffirms thesis ii. Avenue two (Main reason 2) 1. Why is reason reaffirms thesis iii. Avenue three (Main reason 3) 1. Why this reason reaffirms thesis iv. Concluding statement
 * V. Conclusion **


 * ROUGH DRAFT **

Imagine what it's like to travel alone, with a minimal amount of money in your pocket. Imagine what it's like to be in a big city for the next few days. Imagine what it's like to be Holden Claufield. J.D. Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye tells the journey through a young man's life. With every page turned, a new lesson is learned. Holden, the main character, shares every detail, not leaving one behind. He never got close to many people though; he did not want phony, or fake people in his life. As the adventure beings he meets, catches up, and reunites with people of all diversities. The phonies, the screwballs, the perverts, the morons... Holden has gone through it all, and J.D. Salinger portrays the life of Holden through his eyes.

Phoniness is the biggest motif in Catcher in the Rye. For Holden, phoniness stands as an attribute of everything that's not right in the world around him. Relaxing in his hotel room, looking out the window, Holden gets a peculiar glimpse of something he has never seen before; there was this man, this around forty years old man, dressing in woman's clothing! He was even wearing the makeup (Salinger 61). Holden has a funny reaction towards this situation. He is not sure whether it was actually happening or not. This portrays such phoniness, because the man, was clearly of the male sex, not a female. Dressing up as a woman, shows the man was trying to be someone, or something that he is not. Going to the Museum of Natural History was one of Holden's favorite places. He loved how every time he went back, every time he saw that Eskimo, it would still be the same as the last time, no matter what. Holden enjoyed the fact that nothing ever changed. Even if you were wearing a different outfit, or you were with different people, the museum was still the museum, and it was never going to change. Stradlater shows his phony side when he was in the washroom with Holden, talking about Jane Gallagher (Salinger 31). He was listening, but he chose more to ignore everything Holden said. Holden kept saying and asking so many questions; some to himself, some directed towards Stradlater. "'I used to play checkers with her all the time.' 'You used to play what with her all the time?' 'Checkers.' 'Checkers, for Chrissake!'" (Salinger 31).

Although Stradlater and Ackley are two totally different people, they share one trait in common: being the 'screwball' of the group. Screwball, is the nicer way of saying, an eccentric person. Towards the end of chapter three, when Stradlater returns from leaving the game early, he gives off a sarcastic tone to Ackley (Salinger 25). "'How'sa boy, Ackley?' he said to Ackley. He was at least a pretty friendly guy, Stradlater. It was partly a phony kind of friendly, but at least he always said hello to Ackley and all." (Salinger 26). Holden immediately notices the rude tone in Stradlater's voice. He is satisfied that he always says hi to Ackley, but deep down, Holden would prefer him to be nice about it. Ackley shows us a different form of what a screwball can be. As it reads in chapter three, Ackley is not the most hygiene person around. Holden states: "The whole time he roomed next to me, I never even once saw him brush his teeth. They always looked mossy and awful, and he damn near made you sick if you saw him in the dining room..." (Salinger 19). Ackley's actions, show us that he is not the cleanest person you will ever meet. It makes him a screwball because he does not care about how he looks, which is quite the opposite of Stradlater. At one point, Holden actually was talking about not wanting to look like a screwball. He was wearing the red hunting hat, right before he entered the hotel, "... I took it off before I checked in. I didn't want to look like a screwball or something." (Salinger 61). Holden did not want to look like a crazy person checking into the hotel with a bright red hunting hat on. Not caring what he looked like in the cab, Holden wore the hat "just for the hell of it." (Salinger 61). Trying not to blend in with all the other screwballs, morons, and perverts in the hotel, Holden quickly took off the hat to save himself the embarrassment.

Holden trusted Mr. Anntolini enough to go to his house when he had no where else to go. "I'm not kidding the hotel was lousy with perverts" (Salinger 62). Holden obviously has a problem with perverts, and the context in the book can lead us to conclude that something happened to Holden before this book took place to create this hatred. "He was sitting on the floor right next to the couch, in the dark and all, and he was sort of petting me or patting me on the goddamn head." (Salinger 192). He thought he was safe at Mr. Antolini, but he didn't even give him a chance to explain the situation. "Boy, I was shaking like a madman. I was sweating, too. When something perverty like that happens, I start sweating like a bastard. That kind of stuff's happened to me about twenty times since i was a kid. " (Salinger, 193).

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