The Catcher in the Rye - Where did you go, J.D.? o.O

So, Mr. Salinger was a recluse. I didn't know why, but that's why I'm doing this blog. (Hurdur)
Apparently, Sir Salinger was a recluse because he didn't enjoy the public eye. He didn't want fame to come with his writing, but it did at as a cost (in his case) to publish his books, so he chose to live alone as a recluse. J.D. Salinger's writing can have parallels drawn from them to J.D.'s own life, where he lived in a well-to-do home and served in the Army.

The Catcher in the Rye was considered a controversial book, because depicting a child with an unstable mental nature. On the other hand, some claimed it was a book that looked in the minds and problems of the American youth.

Mr. Salinger did not want his book transformed into a movie, to avoid further fame, but various characters in many films have been based on Holden Caulfield, the main character of "The Catcher in the Rye." Some of these include Holden McNeil of "Chasing Amy", who was named after Holden Caulfield, and Neil in "Chasing Holden", who compares his life to Holden's and the movie is named after Holden Caulfield.

Holden

I really, really, really, don't like Holden. Sure, he's had tough experiences and all, but his personality is just... meh. For one, he's hypocritical. Some of you that are reading this might say "Oh, well, everyone's a bit hypocritical!" That's true, but he condemns other people for doing the same things that he does. He's willing to hate people just because of little things, and then from there he jumps to them being "phony." For example, Stradlater is a "secret slob" or in other words, "phony" because he pops his pimples privately. Wow. Honestly, I was thinking "this dude needs to go out more." He sees nearly everyone as "phony," but he isn't willing to look at himself and really try to recognize and evaluate what he's doing. If he actually did look at himself and compare it to what everyone else did, he'd probably look at things differently.

- I haven't finished reading the book, so it's only so far.

The Catcher in the Rye - Red Hunting Hat

TL:DR? - Read the second paragraph for why it's my hunting hat.
So first off, I think this blog post is supposed to be about something important/symbolic to us, like how the hunting hat relates to Holden (In "The Catcher in the Rye"), and then how it relates to the hunting hat itself.
    I think my "red hunting hat" would be my long-board. Why does it make me stand out? Uh, because we're in Illinois and freestyle is underground. I actually started skating before I did long-boarding, mainly because my friend got me to do it. Bought a complete, skated for about 3 or 4 months, then I realized I sucked at it. By "suck," I mean really, really, really, really, bad. I still skate now after a 2-3 year hiatus and I'm still super-bad (not bad in a good way), but I chose to switch to long-boards because I was so bad at skating.
    Anyways, I think my long-board is my red hunting hat because it makes me stand out. You don't really see long-boarders around unless you look for them, or if you live by a college or something. People says stuff like "That's a cool skateboard (not that it's one)" and "I've never seen a board like that before! :O)
 Uh, I really don't know what to say from this point on.

Thankful for a Classmate

A classmate that I'm thankful for?.... What an odd question. Is it only in English or classmates in general. Whatever.

Uh, I suppose that a classmate that I would be thankful in English for would be Eddie Yanez.

Met the dude this year, and I also have Chemistry with him.

I'm thankful (o.o) for him because I have someone to talk to in class! :3 

We don't talk about anything concrete besides SKYRIM, because everyone knows Skyrim is awesome. 

But uh... beyond that, not really.

I mean, what else would you be thankful for with a classmate? o.O

CORMAC MCCARTHY BLOG.

WSJ: "The Road" is this love story between father and son, but they never say, "I love you."

CM: No. I didn't think that would add anything to the story at all. But a lot of the lines that are in there are verbatim conversations my son John and I had. I mean just that when I say that he's the co-author of the book. A lot of the things that the kid [in the book] says are things that John said. John said, "Papa, what would you do if I died?" I said, "I'd want to die, too," and he said, "So you could be with me?" I said, "Yes, so I could be with you." Just a conversation that two guys would have.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704576204574529703577274572.html

Both McCarthy and Oprah clearly enjoy their conversation, showing a kind of opposites-attract chemistry as two people who have excelled at the highest level of very different fields. She catches him blushing as he admits that The Road is a love letter to his son, and chides him for his failure to understand women even after three marriages. As she leads him through topics from life to literature to personal finance, he never seems inclined to dumb down or dress up his answers, but gives carefully considered responses that show real respect for the questioner.

http://www.flakmag.com/books/cormacoprah.html

Paternal love

The theme of paternal love is ubiquitous given the relationship of the two protagonists. As the man's wife points out before her suicide, "the boy was all that stood between him and death" (25). In other words, the man's thirst for survival is fueled by the love for his son. While the man may expect his own death, he lives in order to seek life for the boy. Unlike his wife in her suicide, the man does not wish to "save" his son from civilization's destruction, rape, murder, and cannibalism by killing him preemptively. To the father, suicide is only an option for the son if he is to be imminently harmed. Perhaps for this purpose he leaves the pistol with the boy whenever he explores a new and potentially unsafe location alone.

http://www.gradesaver.com/the-road/study-guide/major-themes/

In "The Road", one of the biggest themes in the story is the theme of love, and paternal love. The man demonstrates great love for his son throughout the story. For example, the man gives his son all of the treats that he finds in their quest to reach the south. One of the treats they find is the Coca-Cola can. He is willing to kill his son in order to protect his son from the cruel reality of the world they live in, and he also takes the burden of keeping his son alive while his wife, "The Woman" committed suicide to relieve herself of a burden of fear and pain. The father also refuses to abandon his morals in order for him to support his son's innocent outlook on the world. The boy could very easily be the reason that the man refuses to resort to cannibalism - his love for his son supersedes the need for survival.

LETTER TO THE MAN - CHARLES BUKOWSKI

Dear Mr. Bukowski,

  In your work - "Dinosauria, We", all the examples you wrote detailed made sense to me. I see society as a sort of..... entity? I'm not sure if that's the word I'm looking for. I see society as an entity that consumes people and makes them self-destructive. I personally believe that ambition is dangerous, and the future you described is a result that I completely see as a possible future that comes as a result of ambition.

                                                                                                                                 Sincerely,
                                                                                                                               Milton Chung

Father and Son

Barren wasteland, gray skies, cannibals roaming about.
Not exactly the best place for a kid to grow up.
In the book - "The Road" a father and son grow up in a post-apocalyptic land, where they fight everyday to find food, evade cannibals, and simply try to survive as humans, with no real goal.
As the story develops, we gradually learn about the child's relationship with his father, and how growing up in a place like this affects the boy.
The father tries his best throughout the story to try and protect his son from everything in the world that can harm him. In my opinion, it's because of the fact that he's not accustomed to this new world.
The father grew up in a "better" world than this, and he's teaching his son to live by morals and principles that he grew up learning. His principles however, may not be suited for this world. Some of his principles actually hinder their progress. For one, his refusal to resort to cannibalism even in the circumstances may seem admirable to us, but in their current reality, him and his son may actually die if he keeps holding on to principles like that. If his son continues to live after his father dies, living by these morals without the skills to actually survive by himself can only lead him to his death.