- They never act like people
- Some good actors do slightly act like people, but not in a way that's fun to watch
- Actors that are really good, know they're good, which spoils it
In the show he takes Sally to, Holden has problems getting interested with the characters. But he tells us that the Lunts are different from other actors because they didn't act like people or actors. He then goes on to contradict himself about how they were too good at accurately portraying people talking and interrupting each other which, in turn, made them not that good because they would start showing off. I'm just sitting here reading this trying to understand what it really is that Holden is trying to say. There is a reason that J.D. Salinger includes this mild rant about the Lunts. Holden says that they're so good that they know they're celebrities and they start showing off. Holden just flat out can't accept anyone being something that isn't themselves. Even if actors portray people, they are still acting. Something that holden can't get over. It's almost as if the Lunts put on a mask when they go on stage, and Holden fails to connect with them as they're characters because he knows what's behind the mask, people who he thinks are full of themselves, phonies. The picture to the left shows drama masks, commonly used symbols for theater. While the origin of these masks is completely unrelated, I can't help but look at them and think of Holden. While he's in New York he seems to wear the happy mask around other people and strangers. Whether it's trying to have fun and dance with girls and have drinks or trying to have a good time with people like Sally, he acts like nothing is bothering him. But because we're in Holden's mind the whole novel, we know which mask is really how he is feeling. He actually takes off his happy mask and expresses his real thoughts at the end of the chapter (which I won't get into because Caleb's got it covered).
Why do you think Holden doesn't like actors? Do you agree or disagree with me?
How do you think the masks pictured above relate to Holden? Why does Holden choose to wear the happy mask around New York? Which mask really relates to how he is feeling?
I agree with you on why Holden doesn't like actors. He can't stand it when anybody is anything but themselves, and actors do that for a living. I think actors also bother him because celebrity is another way to lose your innocence. Holden says "If you do something too good, then, after a while, if you don't watch it, you start showing off. And then you're not as good anymore." I think this quote shows how Holden believes fame can corrupt people, just like it did to his brother D.B when he went to Hollywood to become "a prostitute." The more famous people get, the less pure their talent becomes. I think the masks above relate to Holden in the way that his emotions change so rapidly that it is like he is changing a mask. Such as when Holden is thinking he wants to marry Sally when he first sees her walking towards him, but then telling us he doesn't even really like her. Holden chooses to wear the happy mask around New York because he doesn't know anyway to express to true emotions other than ranting about actors. The blue mask really relates to how Holden is feeling because it shows how desperately sad and lonely he is on the inside, but is unable to show. It also reminds me a little of the scream painting in how it is obviously shouting or crying, but there is no sound.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with you on why Holden dislikes actors. Holden has a deep dislike for Phonies (as we have seen commonly throughout the novel), and he does not like anyone being anything but themselves, even if it is for entertainment. I think Holden also does not know how to deal with people who are constructing fake identities and emotions because he has to try to decipher the made up emotions when he does not even know how to deal with natural emotions, not even his own. Holden is mentally confused by why people would want to be fake, but at the same time never tries to why they would be doing what they are doing. He only sees them being fake and does not go any deeper, and thus automatically dislikes anybody who showed even the slightest hint of fakeness. I think the blue, crying mask relates to Holden’s true self, the one with all of the emotions that he has subconsciously buried to protect himself from pain, and from growing up. That blue mask is what Holden needs to let out. The yellow, smiling mask is the Holden that everybody sees, even Holden himself most of the time. That blue mask also only appears when Holden is trying to connect with someone, like with Luce. The yellow mask’s smile looks forced, fake, and crooked. It is ironic that Holden is doing the very thing that he hates; being fake. By outing on that mask with its forced, fake smile, he is becoming the actor that he hates in everyone. It appears as if Holden is actually growing up by doing this, he is putting on a fake personality from everyone else and is hiding things. Holden wears the happy mask around New York simply because he does not want anyone that he is not even the slightest bit comfortable with to see his true emotions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on why Holden doesn't like actors. It is really simple when you think about it. Holden hates phonies. When you act you are pretending to be someone you aren't. That is the very definition of a phony. That is why Holden hates actors. I think that the masks relate to Holden because they show the two main emotional states that we see Holden in throughout the book. I believe that it is almost like Holden is wearing the blue mask and then wearing the gold mask on top of that one. Then, every once in a while he will take the gold mask of and reveal the the real one beneath. In a way, you could almost see Holden as being a phony himself. I think that Holden puts on the happy mask in New York because he thinks that if he does he can someway escape his problems and just have fun. That turns out not to be the case however. Holden is really the blue mask. He deals with depression, has trouble expressing himself, and often contemplates what if he were dead or on the brink of death.
ReplyDeleteI think that Holden doesn't like actors because their job is to basically be phonies by pretending to be someone they are not. And, as we know, Holden despises anyone or anythink phony-like. I don't the masks relate to Holden because he doesn't wear them. He usually wears his heart upon his sleeve and lets his emotions be shown. I don't think he is wearing the happy mask around New York, but instead, he is actually being himself. This is because if he did wear a mask, he would be acting just like the thing he hates, a phony. Except when he is with Phoebe in D.B.'s room, he is usually feeling the blue mask, because he is depressed and at one point even admits to wanting to commit suicide.
ReplyDeleteBased on not only this chapter, but also the previous chapters, Holden expresses a clear dislike of phoniness. This being said, I agree that Holden does have a dislike of actors, and it is easy to see why. I think Holden dislikes actors because they act and try to portray people they are not. One of the things that Holden dreads about adulthood is the phoniness, which explains Holden's hatred towards actors. I think the masks in the picture resemble Holden because, like you stated, he wears those masks around different people so he can fool them. However, I also believe that his moods, like many other teenagers, keep shifting between the two expressions. However, I feel like when Holden tries to put on the happy mask, he ends up doing things without thinking them through, just to cover up the sadness. This habit of his is not very healthy. I think that in order for him to reach a state of calmness, he must be vulnerable. Because of this, I think that the blue mask best reflects Holden, because it is what he is truly feeling, not the phony, happy mood as portrayed in the other mask.
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