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			The Piano Jazz Club was one of the many places that Holden went to on his journey after being expelled from school. A noticeable character at this location is Ernie the pompous piano player.

	Shalvey Personal Response



	In response to the novel Catcher in the Rye, I thought it was an excellent novel that was entertaining and funny, but lacked an ending that seemed anything close to conclusive. Although the ending was slightly disappointing it was also somewhat fitting in how it was the sort of thing that Holden, the main character would do. I personally can relate to Holden in only a few ways. The biggest part of relation that I have to him is that we both can not stand people that are �fake�, or people that openly act as they believe others would want them to act. The reason that I relate so strongly to this is because I am a high school student surrounded at the moment by people that do not feel comfortable in their own skin, and act like they are someone else. My brother in particular is going through a strange phase and it is if I hardly know him, and it seems to me that he is fake all of the time. Many people will also act fake in that they don�t know who they are and have not found themselves yet, although that is no excuse to not attempt to find yourself. I can also relate to Holden because in the novel he is fed up with school and life and lives somewhat on his own as he waits for his parents to receive a letter from his school saying that he has been kicked out. That freedom he possesses is something that I want to obtain very badly. I unfortunately feel as if I have senioritis as a junior. Holden is an individual and strives only to be different from everyone else. I can relate in that I am a nonconformist if I do not agree with what is going on; in other words, I don�t allow myself to sink so low as to do something that I don�t believe in just because everyone else does believe in it. From an objective point of view this book is probably considered controversial. Getting kicked out of multiple schools and wanting to live a life when all you do is catch children when they might fall off of a cliff in a field of rye is not something most mothers would like their children to aspire to be. It also has a knack for sparking rebellion, as that seems to be Holden�s purpose in life, to rebel. Holden also exemplifies thoughts of superiority as he looks down on almost everyone. Throughout the book he talks of the annoyances people are to him and how he hates all of these things about them. What�s ironic is he is an extreme hypocrite and doesn�t even realize he possesses several of these flaws as well. Many other people can relate to Holden in that he is isolated and has an unstable life. While he can�t stay put in a school, he has no real idea of what he wants or what lies ahead of him. He simply wants to chill and hang out all the time. This is another reason for the mass controversy to this book at the time of its publication. It influenced people into believing it was okay to simply live a life of nothing and never attempt to do anything productive, because according to Holden, it is pointless. This attitude was seen in later generations as the backwards society of the sixties hung out and did drugs around the clock. Overall I believe this book can give you whatever you want from it. Many people in high school will most likely enjoy it if they have ever experienced any feeling of teen rebellion and high school drama. Although it is controversial, anything can be taken from a book if you twist it the right way. For example, many people claim that there are sexual innuendos in the famous Disney movies. If that�s what you want to get out of it I�m positive something can be found. Objectively, The Catcher in the Rye is a book that lacks a proper ending and seems to ramble on about pointless stuff as its main objective. There is no plot and no real meaning to the tale. On the other hand, I enjoyed this book and found it fairly amusing. It teaches a lesson to those who want to learn, almost reversely; while Holden lives a meaningless life, he influences people to try with all their might to not end up where he is, alone and miserable. He kind of inspires people to give purpose and meaning to their lives. As a whole I thought it was an excellent book.

		"I'm quite illiterate, but I read alot." -Holden Caulfield

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