In the next few chapters in the book, Holden gives the reader more of an idea of what is life at his boarding school, Pencey, was really like. Between the odd behavior of the boy in the room next door and the narcissism of his roommate, it seems as though Holden's dorm life was far from boring. At one point, Holden's roommate asks him to write his English paper for him because he has a date and won't have time to write it. This struck me as odd because Holden was flunking out of school, in all subjects, including English. However, then his roommate continues on to say that Holden can't "do it too good" because their English teacher thinks Holden is "a hot-shot in English." This made me think that maybe Holden does in fact have the potential to do well in school, but he chooses not to try. The essay he ends up writing for his roommate is about his younger brother's baseball mitt. His brother, Allie, had passed away from Leukemia a few years earlier, but Holden had kept his baseball mitt that was covered in poems that Allie had written on it. This story that Holden recounted showed some of the pain and suffering that Holden had been through up until this point in his life. It gives you more of an insight into maybe why he is the way he is.
At another point in the story, Holden talks about how he often horses around to keep himself from being bored. One time he is horsing around, tap-dancing in the bathroom while his roommate shaves, and he says "all I need's an audience." Does his need for an audience, need for attention, fuel his constant rebellion against the school system? Does his getting kicked out of multiple schools have anything to do with this need for attention? His statement of his need for an audience made me think that maybe he doesn't try because he gets attention from it. When he doesn't try, when he fails, he gets attention from teachers, fellow classmates, and maybe even his parents. His parents sent him away to boarding school and maybe he feels that the only way he can get their attention is by doing so horribly in school that they are forced to look for a new school that he can attend.
These few chapters also showed more of the school experiences that the other Pencey students might have had. His roommate is "Year Book handsome" going on dates with girls from schools near Pencey every weekend, while the boy next door hates everyone and everyone hates him. These are two very different experiences of school and Holden's is somewhere in between. By showing more of the lives around Holden, the author helped show how different student's experiences can be even when they attend the same school.
At another point in the story, Holden talks about how he often horses around to keep himself from being bored. One time he is horsing around, tap-dancing in the bathroom while his roommate shaves, and he says "all I need's an audience." Does his need for an audience, need for attention, fuel his constant rebellion against the school system? Does his getting kicked out of multiple schools have anything to do with this need for attention? His statement of his need for an audience made me think that maybe he doesn't try because he gets attention from it. When he doesn't try, when he fails, he gets attention from teachers, fellow classmates, and maybe even his parents. His parents sent him away to boarding school and maybe he feels that the only way he can get their attention is by doing so horribly in school that they are forced to look for a new school that he can attend.
These few chapters also showed more of the school experiences that the other Pencey students might have had. His roommate is "Year Book handsome" going on dates with girls from schools near Pencey every weekend, while the boy next door hates everyone and everyone hates him. These are two very different experiences of school and Holden's is somewhere in between. By showing more of the lives around Holden, the author helped show how different student's experiences can be even when they attend the same school.