WHERE
DO THE DUCKS GO IN WINTER?
Holden asks a key question
HOLDEN?S HAVEN NEW YORK?S CENTRAL PARK
EDITORIAL
In today?s society, it has become
apparent that we have spawned a generation of disaffected youth?youth who have
decided that they live in a time that is patently ?phony.?
These children look at all they see
with a sense that there is no reality. No sincerity in existence. No
consequence to life. Afraid to grow up and take responsibility.
This month, we highlight the life of
one such individual. His name is Holden Caufield. This young man embodies much
of the frustrations that apparently trouble the minds of many of our children.
Although he comes from a family that can afford to send him to prestigious
private schools, he has never succeeded at any of them.
Most recently, Holden has been expelled
from Pencey Preparatory School for failing no less than four academic subjects.
His failures have had little impact on his psyche. In fact, he maintains that
the school itself is at least partially at fault for HIS failures since they
purport to ? mold boys into clear-thinking young men.? As has been the case
routinely for Holden, there are others who are responsible for the failings in
his life.
Rather than take full responsibility
for his current state, Holden embarked on a voyage of self discovery that plays
out in New York City - a short train ride from the rolling hills of Pencey
Prep. His
experiences give us an insight
to his clearly troubled mind.
Our cover this month was chosen
specially to highlight our subject. Mr. Caufield holds fond memories of this
place, especially the carousel and the numerous lakes, lagoons, and ponds.
Holden was especially concerned about the ducks that take up residence here. A
taxi cab driver we interviewed for this article recalled a conversation he had
with Mr. Caulfield about the waterfowl. It seems that Holden expressed great
concern about where the ducks go in the winter. It struck us here at the
magazine that this misplaced concern (he really should have been more focused
on his own plight) illustrated a deeper concern on his part. We believe that he
was , in fact, searching for an answer to his own dilemma: Who will take care
of Holden Caufield? The driver, Mr. Horwitz, told Holden that Mother Nature
takes care of the ducks and fish which
seemed to placate Caufield. Was this what Holden wanted to hear? That someone
or something looks after everything? Was Holden ready to accept assistance from
some source no matter who ethereal? This appears to be symptomatic of American
Youth in the 1950s ? looking for something to believe in a world they see as
devoid of meaning. How sad.
The Central Park Carousel also figured
prominently
into Holden?s delusions. He watches his
younger sister, Phoebe, from a distance, to the refrain of the ?Smoke Gets In
Your Eyes.? Mr. Caufield was taken with the entire scene and in an almost
epiphany, he realizes that the children must try to reach for the brass ring
even at risk of falling off. This is perhaps our only indication of hope for
Holden Caufield. He seems to be addressing maturity for the first time. Can it
be that our youth may actually be saved? We can only hope. ED
Editorial Board
g h
Editor in Chief
Adam Silbert
Assistant Editor
Ms. Gokturk
Contributing Editors
Harvey Breit
Alan Nadel
Robert Coles
J.D. Salinger
BOOK REVIEW
The Catcher in the Rye
by
J.D. Salinger
The continuing decline of American
Morality in the 1950s continues with the publication of this rub-bish from J.D.
Salinger.
Assaulting us with lan-guage that is
better suited for a sewer rather than polite society, this novel purports to
tell the story of a young man, Holden Cau-field, who is on a rapidly
es-calating descent into mad-ness. It can?t come soon enough for this reviewer.
The author has actu-ally had stories
printed in this publication prior to the release of this book, but those
stories were well though out and did without the vulgarity that permeates this
offering.
One can only guess at what the meaning
of this novel is, but it might have something to do with a young man?s aversion
to growing up.
Caufield finds continu-ing refuge in
proclaiming everyone who tries to get close to him as, ?a phony.? This literary
ploy makes it easy for the author to avoid confronting the real faults in the
character?s person-ality. By merely labeling anyone who comes into contact with
Holden in this manner, Salinger dis-appoints the reader by not taking the time
to examine the real reasons for Caul-field?s characterizations.
Further muddying the book is the
continual por-trayal of adults as hostile or potentially evil. Even Nuns that
Holden meets in Grand Central Station scare him because he fears they will ask
him if he is Catholic.
Mr. Antolini seems to bor-der on
pedophilia when he is discovered merely stroking Holdlen?s brow. Horwits, the
cab driver, appears to be yelling his answers to Holden?s ques-tions. Salinger
paints a bleak picture of adults as being insensitive and omi-nous throughout
the novel.
While if may be fashionable in these
times to attack the ?status-quo? we at the Saturday Evening Post take offense
to Salinger?s dark portrayal of misguid-ed youth and feel confident in saying
that this book will justifiably be a fail-ure, soon to be forgotten.
PERSONALS
FOR THE LITERARY
SEEKING COMPANION:
I am a mature (53 yrs. old) author who has been living the life of
a recluse for many years fol-lowing the unapralleled success of my novel.
Al-though much of my work has characterized adults as unsavory, I am seeking
the companionship of an 18 year old writer who can melt my heart of stone.
Alone in New Hampshire
Dear Alone:
I feel your anguish. Although I am only eigh-teen, I have just
published my ?memoirs? to much literary accalim. I obvi-ously have incredibly
little self esteem as I am very interested in starting a tor-rid affair with a
person old enough to be my father. I anticipate a hearbreaking association that
will al-low me to write a ?tell all? book about you many years afterwards that will
put me back in the spotlight after years of anonymity. Picture enclosed.
Joyce
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK. IT?S
A HELL OF A TOWN FOR HOLDEN
The adventures ( or are they
misadventures?) of Holden Caufield play out with New York City as the backdrop.
Cer-tainly the author?s experi-ences growing up in Man-hattan served to shape
his vision of the world in which his character should inhabit. But what are we
to draw from the specific locales Holden visits? What significance do they hold
for a reader and what can we, as con-cerned New Yorkers, con-clude from Mr.
Caufield?s visitations in these post World War II times?
Manhattan comes to represent an entire
cos-mos for Holden Caufield. Its neighborhoods repre-sent class distinctions,
its bars and restaurants high-light social divisions and cultural institutions
and parks become oasis for his troubled mind. In short, New York is the world
for Holden and it is one he does not largely care for. It ultimately seems to
suffocate him to the point that leaving its borders is his goal (according to a
conversation we had with his sister, Phoebe).
Although he is cur-rently under
treatment in California for a mental breakdown and little can be directly
confirmed as a result, it is safe to say that New York represent-ed a ?home
town? envi-ronment for Caufield. His family lives ?uptown.? This locale is
where those with money live and Holden does not think much of those, like his
father, who have wealth. In fact, he says all that his lawyer-father does is,
?drink Martinis and look like a hot-shot.? Adding to the impression that uptown
holds little ap-peal to him is the fact that Mr. Antolini lives there as well and
Holden fears that he may have been some sort of pedophile.
Radio City Mu-sic Hall, long a favorite
with tourists is also a setting and target for Holden. It is the center of
?phony? entertain-ment that he believes even Jesus would hate its Christmas
Pageant.
Grand Central Sta-tion figures into
Holden?s travels in the city. This fits in well with his phi-losophy of life.
After all, it is filled with transients. There is no long term com-mitments
required here. His encounter with two nuns here will be, as it is with most of
his encoun-ters, temporary . Again, the setting foreshadows the events for
Caufield.
Central Park, how-ever, is a type of
oasis for Holden. This is where he finds a semblance of peace and solace. He is
able to relive his early experiences visiting the Museum of Natural His-tory
nearby. He is able to visit the lagoon where he has expressed concern about its
resident ducks. Perhaps most importantly, it is the home of the Car-ousel.
Phoebe?s ride on the ride brings Holden?s New York adventures to a close. His
sense of rev-erie at watching his sister brings him to the conclu-sion that
being , ?a catcher in the rye? may have been unrealistic. He realizes that life
holds risks that children must take and it is impossible to pre-serve innocence
forever.
Holden Caufield may not be a poster boy
for any travel brochures for New York but his story does an admirable job with
blending place and story together. His environments add color and texture to
each of the segments of his od-yssey. It is quite likely that New York will
ben-efit from Holden?s story.
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Project Summary
For my final Catcher in the Rye
project I emulated a Post magazine. This was a very popular magazine at the time in which the
book takes place. There are some
errors due to the transfer from the Adobe In-DesignŽ file in which I did this
in and then putting it into Microsoft Word so it could be posted onto the
internet. This is however the best
way and as far as I know the only way it could be done.