8th Grade Summer Assignment
1.Character Analysis - 20 points
The protagonist of the story “ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams, is Arthur Dent. Arthur Dent is one of the only two humans that are still alive from planet Earth. Mr. Dent is a dynamic character. He is a dynamic character because, when Arthur loses his home planet Earth, he quickly learns to adjust to life as a hitchhiker with the help of his friend Ford Prefect, and the book that he is currently helping to update “ The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”. Arthur has a couple traits about him that are good and some that are bad. A couple examples of the traits are, that he is brave, at the beginning of the book he decides to lay down in front of a bulldozer that
…show more content…
They get along so well that Ford decides to save his life, and bring Arthur with him to the galaxy. Mr.Prefect also helps Arthur through the transition of Stay home human, to a hitchhiker of the galaxy. Like when Ford gives Arthur information about Vogons through the hitchhikers guide book, it says “ Vogon Constructor Fleets. Here is what to do if you want to get a lift from a Vogon: forget it. They are one of the most unpleasant races in the Galaxy-- not actually evil, but bad-tempered, bureaucratic, officious and callous. They wouldn't even lift a finger to save their own grandmothers from the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal without orders signed in triplicate, sent in,sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in a soft peat and recycled as …show more content…
This is an important trait that Arthur possess because, it could help him get out of doing something that he knows isn’t right or even protecting something that is his or family members, or even a friends. Arthur is defiant at the beginning of the book when the construction workers, wanted to take down Arthur’s house in order for them, to build a bypass. In the book as an act of defiance it clearly states that, “It was Arthur’s accepted role to lie squelching in the mud making occasional demands to see his lawyer, his mother or a good book;”.This quote can be found on page 14 of the
“If the path before you is clear, you're probably on someone else's.” (Joseph Campbell). Every character walks through an astringent journey throughout their lifetimes. This journey can be viewed as the Hero’s Journey. Undertaking the journey of the hero can elevate the character achievement. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye--Holden Caulfield with no exception undergoes the journey. Holden’s journey ventures beyond what he is able to endure, forcing him into the unknown territory. Holden received the quest call to adventure, and responded to the call for the journey when he left Pencey prep school. Holden accepted the call, faced his challenges struggling through hardships and oppression, with helps from the guidance, he then eventually returned to his comfortable world with a tremendous intellect and physical transformation giving a closure to his journey.
Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.
With his repetition of phrases such as “it really did” and “if you want to know,” his use of slang including “take a leak” and “booze hound,” and his coarse language, Holden gives the novel an upbeat, optimistic feeling, despite the book’s darker theme. Holden’s tone and diction allow the reader to relate to him and imagine him as a friend.
The use of suspense in “The Hitchhiker,” keeps the audience in a state of panic, wondering what the outcome will be. The protagonist looks back upon the torturous six days, remembering his protective mother, and the commonplace traveler. Fear mixed with suspicion, he identifies the hitchhiker on the most inappropriate hitchhiking roads, set on terminating the foreboding individual. Leaving the audience at the climax, Adams believes the hitchhiker must be mortal, and therefore able to hinder, yet the fact of Adams’ unknown identity and his total isolation, prevent his ability to take
The Catcher in the Rye Holden Gets Influenced Everyone gets influenced by someone, even heroes do. The Catcher in the Rye, a novel written by J. D. Salinger, talks about Holden Caulfield, a 16 year old boy that is trying to live through his problems. Holden tries to learn from his experiences as well as from the ones of others. He goes through many hard times, but he always takes them as a chance to imagine how it could have ended if he had done something about them or what cold had happened if he was not so “yellow”.
In "The Seventh Most Important thing" by Shelley Pearsall I believe that Arthur Owens has these traits. First trait is that he is a Liar. According to page 48 Arthur is a liar because he states that "After Groovy Jim disappeared into the back room, Arthur couldn't help feeling a little guilty for lying to the guy who'd been so nice and helpful to him so far". This confirms he is a liar by him saying that he is lying in the text. The second trait I believe Arthur has is being dedicated. My evidence to support this is "The trick was how to get the thing into the chart. It took him forever to figure out how to lift it and balance it on the top of the chart, and then he spent more than an hour slowly pushing it back to the garage". This confirms
Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist in the book “Catcher in the Rye”, is usually described as an uncouth, impolite, inappropriate character, who has little to no respect for anyone but himself. However, after I completed the book, I realized that while Holden did a poor job of establishing his positive characteristics to the readers, his behavior often proved he was a respectable, honest human being that was often misjudged. My opinion is that Holden possessed contrasting characteristics that were both undesirable and admirable qualities. I believe that because the book was written in the first person point of view, Holden is often judged based on his thoughts and not on his actions. Throughout the entire book the reader was given a perspective
When one finds themselves in a reader’s position, they search for things in the novel that they can relate to. J. D. Salinger wrote a story that contained countless topics that people, past, present and future, can relate to in several ways. The novel follows the story of a troubled boy named Holden who leaves school due to his poor academic performance, an altercation with his roommate, and complications with his emotions due to the traumatic loss of his brother. He quickly understands how his narrow view of the world will lead him into trouble when he finds himself alone. The reader accompanies Holden through his stressful experiences over a period of three days through which we learn of his pain-filled past and negative outlook on the future. Some of the barriers Holden came upon during the time period of the novel are themes of everyday life. In The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger intends to grab his audience’s attention with the story of a young teen named Holden Caulfield who must face emotional damage, hidden truths, and accepting responsibility
For example, Holden is shown as being intolerant to everybody, disrespectful, and hateful. He hates the use of certain words. Besides religion his intolerance is based on the fact that he has a problem with everyone since he lacks respect and does not admit to any mistakes. In addition, he is so much into teenage sex as revealed in his words, “Sex is something I really don’t understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away. Last year I made a rule that I was going to quit horsing around with girls that, deep down, gave me a pain in the ass. I broke it, though; the same week I made it – the same night, as a matter of fact” (Salinger). His intolerant personality is unacceptable, and the book teaches that this is not
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a story of Holden Caulfield's growth as a person. Some view Holden as a static character, and say that by the end of the novel he hasn’t changed. I’d say that on the contrary Holden is an extremely dynamic character throughout the story. Holden does change and grow as a character because he lets go of wanting to protect innocence in the world, we see Holden begin to grow into what Erik Erikson believes is the stage of development for adolescents, and he starts to be willing to apply himself.
In a way, the main character of the novel, Doug Swieteck has been okay all along, despite his disbelief in himself. As time passes, Doug continually grows to understand the state of being okay and while it is not an easy ride, it is clearly a rewardable one. The point of Doug’s journey is to show the reader that everybody questions who they are, but it’s what they do with this question that matters. Anything can happen, and Doug’s story really shows that becoming okay, the promise of more than okay, is possible.
The novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” revolves around the protagonist Holden Caulfield as the story is told from his perspective. J.D. Salinger constructed Holden Caulfield as a cynical person who cannot accept to grow up. Throughout “The Catcher in the Rye,” J.D. Salinger uses symbolism to reveal and reinforce critical aspects of the protagonist Holden Caulfield. Three important aspects Holden acquired through Salinger’s use of symbolism are: his stubborn, uncompromising mentality; his softer, more caring respectful side; Holden’s cowardly way of acting and thinking.
J. D. Salinger’s only published full-length novel, The Catcher in the Rye, has become one of the most enduring classics of American literature. The novel’s story is told in retrospect by the main character, Holden Caulfield, while staying in a psychiatric hospital in California. This is a coming of age tale that is wrought with irony. Holden Caulfield, Mr. Antolini, and Phoebe are the main symbols of irony.
What was wrong with Holden, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D.Salinger, was his moral revulsion against anything that was ugly, evil, cruel, or what he called "phoney" and his acute responsiveness to beauty and innocence, especially the innocence of the very young, in whom he saw reflected his own lost childhood. There is something wrong or lacking in the novels of despair and frustration of many writers. The sour note of bitterness and the recurring theme of sadism have become almost a convention, never thoroughly explained by the author's dependence on a psychoanalytical interpretation of a major character. The boys who are spoiled or turned into budding homosexuals by their mothers and a loveless home life are as familiar to us today as stalwart and dependable young heroes such as John Wayne were to an earlier generation. We have accepted this interpretation of the restlessness and bewilderment of our young men and boys because no one had anything better to offer. It is tragic to hear the anguished cry of parents: "What have we done to harm him? Why doesn't he care about anything? He is a bright boy, but why does he fail to pass his examinations? Why won't he talk to us?"
Both Amir and Holden grow and change over the course of their journeys in The Kite Runner and The Catcher in the Rye, but whereas the courage and inner peace that Amir gains enable him to come to peace with his past, Holden’s slow growing, understanding of people and maturity do not specifically result in any colossal changes in his life ; unlike Hosseini, who suggests heroism is something you gain through redeeming yourself and having peace with the past, Salinger suggests that heroism is not about the end point where you finally accomplish greatness, but along the journey where you ameliorate yourself.