6/12/18

Today in the beginning of class, Mr. Rivers first reviewed important dates and assignments coming up in the next two weeks. The CP English 11 final exam will be on the 26th of June and will consist of excerpts from certain texts from which we will need to extract answers to questions about the passages. The final will have an emphasis on rhetorical devices and your writing style. Rivers also mentioned again to remember to have the book finished and the two themes ready for the Harkness discussion this Thursday (6/14). Today's lesson itself was on the topic of 'Why Does Holden Complain so Much?'. Rivers asked us this question and then let the class discuss it in our groups for a few minutes. At the end of the time, we came together as a class and we came up with the following reasons that Holden complains. 1. In order to cope/insecurity; 2. Points out other people's flaws to avoid his own; 3. He would rather ruin something himself then let someone else ruin it for him; and 4. Anxiety/PTSD (from his brother's death while Holden was young). Additionally, we (the class) came up with other sub-topics and themes within our #3 reason. The topics of #3 are as follows: he does this as an excuse; is this behavior universal to kids? (no it can transfer to adulthood as well); and he pretends to have control over his life even though he doesn't. The class closed with a discussion about one of the few times in Catcher in the Rye where Holden is positive; the museum scene. Holden seems happy with the things in the museum staying the same (likes stability), and we came to the conclusion that Holden is a major ROMANTIC character. This class period can extend to the world at large as it deals with how we, as people, perceive others and other things in our world. Although we can see how people act, such as Holden complaining about almost anything, most of the time we cannot or do not understand why they act in this way. This a very important skill in the modern world that we live in as it can not only be used for deeper reading and/or examination of a book, novel or movie, but can be applied to almost any interaction between people, whether they be fictional or in real life. One of the most prominent examples of how being perceptive can be applied in the real world is the occupation of being a police detective. As a detective, you need to not only use your training but also your perception to almost put yourself in the shoes of the criminal or person you are after in order to be one step ahead of them and arrest them. Additionally, in movies, you are often thinking of what is going to happen next or what will happen in the next movie in the series and by using the skill of perception you can make educated guess based on prior knowledge or facts found in the film itself.