Photo

This photo represents Holden’s life well because there are many different paths that he could take in life. He could go back to school, he could go out west, he could go back to New York, and the list goes on. Also life isn’t like a test where there are right and wrong answers he could take almost any path and live a perfectly happy life. That is why this photograph represents Holden’s life well because there are many possible paths but in the end the decision to which path he takes is up to one person, him.

Painting

This painting by Frida Kahlo entitled “The Two Frida's” represents Holden Caulfield well because it shows two sides of the same person. The Frida seen on the left is very violent and is seen cutting herself and bleeding onto her dress. However, the white represents the purity of the Frida on the left. On the other hand the Frida on the right is very not violent and looks put together. Holden also has various sides such as his un-happy, lonesome, crying, side that is seen throughout the novel including when he leaves, Pencey and when Maurice comes into his room and his happy care-free side which is seen predominantly when he talks about Phoebe. The major discrepancy between this painting and Holden is that the two Frida's are holding hands, representing that the real Frida has found the perfect harmony between the two, whereas Holden is still searching to find that.

Collage

I think that this picture represents Holden Caulfield well. As you can probably tell this picture is a person made up of the body parts of different pictures and drawings. This represents Holden well because he is a very rag-tag kid still trying to find out who he really is. In this picture I incorporated many of the different sides of Holden. The face represents the happy Holden when everything is fine. This is seen throughout the book but most prominently when he is talking about Phoebe. The torso and right arm represents the bum and slacker that Holden is throughout the book. The arm with the beer in the left arm represents Holden’s drinking side and his trying to act tough side. This is seen when Holden says “there isn’t any nightclub in the world you can sit in for a long time unless you can at least buy some liquor and get drunk”. The hair is from Albert Einstein and represents that naturally smart part of Holden. The legs are from bugs bunny and represent his juvenile side. This is seen when he is with the prostitute and won’t have sex with her and a little when he is talking to old Luce and is only willing to talk about sex and things from the old immature, times.


click image to enlarge

Dear Holden,

Dear Holden,

This is something you would love about the world I live in. An Ipod with noise canceling headphones. I think you would like these because while reading your book I noticed that you were often looking for an escape and for someone to talk to, if you had an Ipod with these headphones you could escape from the real world and not be so lonesome because you could always be listening to music (like that record you bought for Phoebe). You probably don’t know what an Ipod is so I will tell you, it’s a very small device that lets you listen to music no matter where you are, and noise canceling headphones let you cancel out any noise so all you here is your music and you won’t hear the annoying noise of the cars that you hate so much. Another great thing about Ipod's is that you can download and audio book to it. An audio book is a book that is being read out loud, that way you can listen to all of DB’s books when you are walking around the city. Also you could also record a conversation you have with Phoebe and put then on your Ipod, that way when you are at your next boarding school you could listen to it and not feel so lonesome. An Ipod could also help you with school because you might be able to get a recording of some of your teacher’s notes, then when you put the notes on your Ipod you could listen to them later on. This would help you apply your self in school and make your parents, Phoebe, and if you ever talk to him again Mr.Antolini, very very proud. Also some Ipod’s play video so you could watch D.B’s newest movies (even though you think the movies are so phony) it would give you guys something to talk to next time you get together.

Sincerely,
Brian Elberg

Playlist for Catcher in the Rye

The first song that I think would go well for the non-existent movie of Catcher in the Rye would be Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi. I think this song would be a good choice because of its lyrics. However, there are some lines that stand out more then others. For example, “everyday it seems that we’re wasting away”. I think that this line relates to Holden’s journey because everyday he’s basically wasting away his life by flunking out of schools and under aged drinking, and finally it seems like he’s realized that he is wasting everyday away. Another line that sticks out in my head are the lines that state “Sometimes I sleep, sometimes it's not for days And the people I meet always go their separate ways”. These lines have quite literal translations because sometimes Holden can’t sleep for entire nights and as for the second line all of the people he meet go their separate ways where as he is stuck doing nothing.

Click here to see lyrics for Wanted Dead or Alive

The second song that I think would go well for this sound track is the song Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer. There are also certain lyrics in this song that apply to Holden’s journey and his character in general. For example, in the songs first stanza Mayer states that “They say we stand for nothing and There's no way we ever could Now we see everything is going wrong With the world and those who lead it We just feel like we don't have the means To rise above and beat it” This applies to Holden somewhat because he sees everything going wrong (like all the phony people) but instead of not having the power to rise above and beat it he is just to lazy.

Click here to see lyrics for Waiting on the World to Change

The last song that I think would work well in the Catcher in the Rye soundtrack is Does this Bus Stop at 82nd Street by Bruce Springsteen. Although there are many lyrics that fit into the theme of Catcher in the rye there are a specific few that work best. For example, the lyric “don't trust men who walk with canes” refers to pimps and about mid-way through the book Holden gets ripped off by a pimp who charges him extra for a “throw”. Also the lyric “drink this and you'll grow wings on your feet” refers to most likely alcohol because alcohol when drunk in excess crazy thoughts can be in your head such as being able to fly with “wings on your feet”. Also the lyric “Tainted women in Vistavision perform for out-of-state kids at the late show” refers to prostitutes and in Catcher in the Rye, Holden is kind of like an “out-of-state kid” and he hires “tainted women”.

Click here to see lyrics for Does this Bus Stop at 82nd Street

Dear Holden Caulfield

Dear Holden Caulfield,

One thing that I think you would hate about our world today is the show American Idol. Millions of people view this show every week, thus making it the #1 viewed show in the nation. I’m sure you don’t know this so the premise of this show is that three judges, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson all go around the country and host a slew of open singing auditions. After choosing roughly the 20 best people in each city they all move on to later rounds of the competition. They slowly eliminate people until they have reached the final 24 contestants. After this each contestant sings a song each week and America votes on whom they think should stay. After a long process America chooses their winner. This person is named the American Idol and is usually adored by the entire nation. In addition to the record deals and the endorsements they will receive. However, many people suggest that this show is phony, which I know is something you hate. As I explained above the auditions are supposed to be open. This implies that anybody in the country can get a chance to sing in front of Randy Simon and Paula. However, websites such as Votefortheworst.com say that this is not true. In fact they say “During the auditions, the judges don’t show up until the last day or two, and only see about 100 people who have already been screened, first by producers (who see small groups and narrow the contestants to a few hundred) and then by the show’s executive producers”. This shows that the shows premise may be not to get the best singers, but the most entertaining ones, for good or bad reasons. A classing example of this comes with the girl named Crystal Parizanski according to her "The show was edited a lot… They portrayed me very stupid… With the show, they told me to put on more makeup. I’m like, “You’re trying to, you know, [exploit] me, you know saying, ‘put on more makeup. Simon will like that. You have to look prettier on the stage for the judges.’” And they came into the bathroom and filmed it too… They told me, “You know what? We like how you put on your mascara, you should put it on” and they filmed me putting it on just to make a mockery of me and I’m like, “That’s bogus.” But you have to learn the harsh realities of the world I guess and how reality TV is not that real." This phony show reminded me of the way that at Pencey you guys always had steak on Saturday nights so that if “everybody’s mother asked their darling boy what he had for dinner last night, and he’s say ‘steak’”. These two are similar because they are both people creating a myth to make other un-knowing people happy. The only difference is in your case it is the parents that are being tricked where as in my case it’s the whole country. Just though you’d like to know.

Sincerely,
Brian Elberg