After reading chapters 8-11 I think Holden is an okay guy. Sometimes you get a glimpse of this really caring nice guy who regrets some of his decisions, but then sometimes you see this kid, who is kind of annoying and who lies to people like it's his job. Like in chapter 8 you see the guy who is lying his face off but then after he talks to the women he regrets lying to her, Holden says, ""...I have to have an operation.""Oh! I'm so sorry," she said. She really was, too. I was right away sorry I'd said it, but it was too late." He tells these lies because he is used to it but he ends up feeling bad about it. I think that makes him a good guy. He recognizes his mistakes and he how it feels when you tell a lie. However, something that makes him kind of a bad guy is that he is kind of a creep, I don't really know a good word to describe him I don't want to say pervert or weirdo or anything, so I think he is just kind of a creep. In chapter 9 when he goes into his hotel room, and he is seeing all the people in the other rooms he is creepin'.
"You'd be surprised what was going on on the other side of the hotel. They didn't even bother to pull down their shades down. I saw one guy, a gray-haired, very distinguished-looking guy with only his shorts on, do something you wouldn't believe me if I told you. First he put his suitcase on the bed. Then he took out these women's clothes, and put them on. Real women's clothes-silk stockings, high-heeled shoes, brassiére, and one of those corsets with the straps hanging down and all....Then, in the window almost right over his, I saw a man and a woman squirting water out of their mouths at each other. It probably was highballs, not water, but I couldn't see their glasses....The trouble was, that kind of junk is sort of fascinating to watch, even if you don't want it to be. For instance, that girl that was getting water squirted all over her face, she was pretty good-looking. I mean that's my big trouble. In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw."
That is a total creeper move. Watching people through windows! That is pretty sketchy. And I feel that only creepers would say the line, "In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw." This makes him a bad guy because he is spying on other people. Yeah, the people leave their blinds open but that don't mean you have to watch!
I guess that Holden can be a good guy and bad guy, it just depends on the day.
So I totally agree with you on Holden. He is kinda of both sides. He has times were he is a great guy but then there are some times where you are like, I can't believe you are doing that. The window moment I think was a creeper move but also do you think it was because he was lonely? He just wanted to see what other people who had a life was doing? I personally love people watching so where is the line from people watching to creeping? Or is people watching creepy?
ReplyDeleteI really didn't think he was a creep! I mean, everyone thinks these thoughts, it's just that since we are in Holden's mind we experience them in a different way. I like how you focused on the lying part of Holden. I think he unconsciously lies because it has become such a habit of him. I love the glimpses of the caring Holden, like when he wouldn't take advantage of the girls, or didn't have sex with the prostitute. But I do agree with you, that Holden has different sides, and I can see how you would find him annoying!
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