In chapter 18, after Holden leaves the skating rink, he gets hungry so he decides to call up an old friend of his to have dinner, Carl Luce. He wasn't able to have dinner but he said he would meet up with him at 10:00 pm at the Wicker Bar to get a drink. Holden had a while to wait until then, so he decided to go watch a movie at Radio City. He walked in on the Rockettes and while he was waiting for the movie to start, he kept on getting annoyed at little things during the show. He kept on going on about how the movies was phony.
The movie started after a while, and it was about this boy, Alec, who lost his memory in war and started a new life. When he came out of the hospital, he met this girl on a train and they fell in love with each other, and he started a new life with her. But one day his fiancee, from before he lost his momory, saw him at a store autographing his books, and told him that he is really a Duke and he need to visit his mother. He doesnt want to listen to her, but the love of his life tells him to listen to her and go with her. Finally one day he was watching some kids playing cricket, and he gets hit in the head with the ball. This made him regain his memory and forget all about the girl he fell in love with one the train.
This movie was phony, in Holden's opinion of course, but there was a lady sitting next to him which thought it was very touching. She was cring throught the whole show. She had a little boy sitting next to her that needed to go to the restroom and was bored as hell, but she wouldn't take him. This makes Holden think she is not kindhearted. To me, her crying would make me feel bad for her because either she just gets sentimental about things like war, or she lost a loved one in war. Do you think that Holden had the wrong impression that she was kindhearted? Why? Or do you agree with me that she could have lost someone in war, so she was very sentimental.
The movie started after a while, and it was about this boy, Alec, who lost his memory in war and started a new life. When he came out of the hospital, he met this girl on a train and they fell in love with each other, and he started a new life with her. But one day his fiancee, from before he lost his momory, saw him at a store autographing his books, and told him that he is really a Duke and he need to visit his mother. He doesnt want to listen to her, but the love of his life tells him to listen to her and go with her. Finally one day he was watching some kids playing cricket, and he gets hit in the head with the ball. This made him regain his memory and forget all about the girl he fell in love with one the train.
This movie was phony, in Holden's opinion of course, but there was a lady sitting next to him which thought it was very touching. She was cring throught the whole show. She had a little boy sitting next to her that needed to go to the restroom and was bored as hell, but she wouldn't take him. This makes Holden think she is not kindhearted. To me, her crying would make me feel bad for her because either she just gets sentimental about things like war, or she lost a loved one in war. Do you think that Holden had the wrong impression that she was kindhearted? Why? Or do you agree with me that she could have lost someone in war, so she was very sentimental.
I think Holden has the wrong idea. Just because a mother will not take her child to the bathroom during a sad movie does not mean she is not kindhearted. I agree with Ana when saying maybe she has a soft spot for people in the war or she has a loved one that is either in or died in the war. I think Holden needs to think about other option's in the woman's life that makes her that sensitive and sentimental to a movie. True, it is said that women are more emotional and sentimental than men or maybe the just show it more than men. Holden might not realize this either. If she has a loved one in the war or a loved one who died in the war, her son might not realized it either because he is so young and does not understand. Holden needs to think about this when he is judging other people and calling them "phony" because there may be more than meets the eye behind their "phoniness"
ReplyDeleteI believe that Holden was looking at the situation negatively. This also to me seem like it ties to the fact that Holden is still holding onto his childhood. He was probably feeling bad for the kid because the kid had to use the restroom really bad, but didn't even stop to fully think about the woman that was crying. Also, him holding on to his childhood, he could've been avoiding trying to comprehend the pain and feeling associated with the effects of war on people. So I would still say the lady is kindhearted, even though she didn't take the boy to the restroom. I would agree that if she was crying to the point where she wouldn't take the boy to the restroom, you could tell she is very sentimental about war or a war experience she's endured. I'm guessing that the boy didn't know why she was crying, other than the fact that they were at the movie, all he knew was he had to go to the bathroom.
ReplyDeleteI actually do think that Holden got the wrong impression. The lady definitely could've been kind, but he just doesn't know her. All he saw, was a crying lady who wouldn't let her son go to the bathroom. The fact that she wouldn't let him go to the bathroom greatly irritated Holden. I think this is because, he can relate to the little boy. Holden, himself, is also tired of asking for help from people who don't pay attention to him, like the crying lady and her son. I think the relationship between the two of them distracts Holden from the movie and reminds him of his own life. He relates to the little boy so much, that he loses his respect for the crying woman. Although I do agree, that she might've lost a loved one to a war. However, that whole idea is disregarded in Holden's case.
ReplyDeleteI think that Holden turned this situation around in a very pessimistic way. From what I can tell, he definitely had the wrong idea about this lady and her being kindhearted. I don't think you can judge someones personality based on one situation, especially if you don't even know them. I think he was judging way too quickly. I'm not exactly sure why this lady was crying, but I think that Holden is the one that could have been more kindhearted. He doesn't know what this lady could have gone through and he just immediately looked at her negatively. Even though this is true, I do see how Holden could have been annoyed or gotten the wrong idea. If you only look at the situation the way Holden did, it's easy to judge, but on the outside it's easy to stick up for the lady and her unknown background. Overall, I think that Holden was way too negative in this situation and had a wrong impression.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Holden in that it was not very kindhearted of the woman not to take the kid to the restroom. But it is mostly the fact that she was crying at a movie that he dislikes her. Holden hates anything phony, and movies are basically fake stories, so it would make sense that he doesn't like them. He saw no reason for her to be crying at something that wasn't even true, but it doesn't mean that she was a mean woman. She could just be a sensitive person, but I doubt she was crying because she lost someone in a war.
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