5/23/18 - Catcher in the Rye Chapter 5

Today Mr. Rivers asked us to consider how Holden Caulfield would be ranked as far as good fortune and bad fortune would be concerned and to compare him to Ackley and Stradlater.  Our group thought Holden would fit in the middle with Stradlater being at the top because of his romantic success and Ackley being at the bottom because of his physical ugliness and his social awkwardness.  This situation perfectly fits with something called 'The Goldilocks Complex'.  Holden intentionally puts himself in the middle of two opposite personalities.  So, like Goldilocks, he's "just right".  Not too good, not too bad.

Next, we thought about the way Holden might fit into a Romantic tragic figure or a modern tragic figure.  Our group argued about which category Holden fits in.  Some people thought he was a romantic tragic figure because of his tragic flaw of being kicked out of school and being a liar.  Some people thought he was a modern tragic figure because the system was working against Holden.  Since Holden is a student, the system is school.  He's failed out of four schools, so obviously the system isn't meeting his needs.  Our group finally decided on Holden as a romantic tragic figure because in a way he fits that category better.  He has sort of a 'noble' birth because he's part of the upper, wealthy class, and it seems like his life might be ruined (he starts narrating the book from a mysterious place, maybe a mental hospital).  But other groups disagreed and thought his tragedy was Modern so we're still not sure what the definite answer is. 

Then, we read a page when Holden described his brother Allie, which seemed to be the most honest sharing of Holden's true feelings about something.

I think in today's world, Holden would not fit into the middle in 'the goldilocks complex.'  Today, the fact that Holden was failing out of school (and three other schools as well), would rank him much lower than he's ranked in the book.  Sure, he's wealthy, but that wealth can't buy him success.  Also, Ackley's physical appearance might not be considered so gross or disgusting; people might accept him despite those problems.  So Holden might be ranked in the bottom.