Third Blog: "What does it mean to be a phony?"

The meaning of being a phony, according to Holden, is to act or portray yourself in a fake way. Basically in the book "Catcher in the Rye" Holden calls just about everyone he sees and or talks to a phony. It seems that Holden has a short temper and everyone that does something to tick him off will be known as a phony. An example of this happening would be when Holden calls Sally H. to invite her to a matinee. Sally's father is the one who answered the phone, and Holden told him who was calling for her, and when he put Sally onto the phone and she asked "who is this", Holden bascally started going on how phony she was, and how he was having doubts about inviting her for saying "grand". In the book though, Holden is quite the cumpolsive liar, which in fact puts him into the definition of being a phony. Holden throughout the whole novel has lied to just about everyone, for instance when he meets someone new and pretends he is someone else, or when he acts up around others. One time, when he calls for the prostitute and later ends up getting beat up by the pimp, he pretends that he has been shot and how he would go on this ganster rampage killing for the pimp who did this to him. So technically Holden is also guilty of being a "phony" and so it seems that Holden is accusing people of things, which he are to try and hide the fact that he is all the things he hates.

Second Blog: "Is life a game"

Life is a lot like a game, since just like a game there are rules to follow. If you break a "rule" you will get punished one way or another. You are in complete control of the moves you make, and if you screw up you have no one but yourself to blame. Everyone has different tastes on what should be done, and how they will "play". You are the one to set your standards, and expectations of goals that you would like to have or get completed. The harder you try, the better you will be. At times you will fail, but never give up and try again. In the book "Catcher in the Rye" Holden, the main character is currently going down the wrong path, not completing his education, trying to run from his issues instead of trying to get everything back together. In the end, Holden is going to have to try and get his life together because where he is heading now is a dead end.

First Blog: "What does it mean to be true to yourself"

In my opinion, being true to yourself means to be yourself, and not what people want or expect you to be. It means to not give into peer pressure, and do things that you would rather not do, or know that aren't right and would regret in the future. It means to live life the way you want to, and not the way other's tell you to. Being true to yourself means to not care what people think of you, and to not force yourself into "trends" just to try and fit in or follow other's "footsteps". In the book "Catcher in the Rye" the main character,Holden doesnt succeed his parents expectations in school, and he flunks out of a few schools. His parents are wealthy and want Holden to follow in the family's footsteps, but thats not what Holden wants. Therefore, Holden is living his life the way he wants to and not what people expect him to do. In my life, i have made the mistake of falling into peer pressure and a started smoking and drinking just to fit in with all the others, but after some time i realized thats not the way i wanted to be, and i tried for some time to try and straighten everything out. Until this past year everything was looking good, and i was still enjoying my life, the way i wanted to. All was good, until i found out my girlfriend was pregnant, with my child. The worst of it was that i had giving into peer pressure once again, otherwise i wouldn't be living with a child in my hands.