Thursday, May 14, 2015

Holden becomes Uncle Nelson

Today in class we spent a good deal of time talking about Benji’s crazy uncle, Nelson. Throughout our discussion of his ideals and place in society, he began to sounds a lot like Holden. While in my semester project, I presented a path for Holden in which he could make a turnaround and become successful in life, but an equally probable outcome is that of Uncle Nelson.
The similarities that I have noticed are plentiful. They act in many of the same way. Holden talks about avoiding adulthood and does not enjoy talking with adults. Nelson is the same way, realizing he does not get along with other adults. The older generation seems to have a mentality that neither of these characters share. Because these actions generally do not go well, both of them are rejected by the respectable society. For Nelson, this is the family who refer to him with disgust, and for Holden this his school expelling him. Additionally, Holden spends some time talking to friends and Phoebe about his whimsical plans for going off and having fun, living life outside of traditional bounds. Well Nelson appears to have done just that (from what we hear from Benji). These adventures allow them to express their passions that do not fit with traditional society.
Beyond their actions, the feelings and values of these two characters are very similar. An example of this is when they identify with children. Nelson tells the boys that he is one of them while riding in the car. This reminds me of when Holden sees little kids with their parents and contemplates their life and admires them. Going along with that, they both have a connection to their childhood, For Holden, this takes the form of his sister who he spends time with and enjoys her company and enjoys her for being young. Because he is older, this takes a more nostalgic role in Nelson’s life. This is evident when he is staring at his old house and remembering growing up in Sag Harbor. These two characters both seem to cling to their memories of childhood.
With uncle Nelson as a possible trajectory for Holden to follow, would you consider this to be a failure on his part? Is uncle Nelson an inferior person because he did not follow the rules? Would you like Holden to follow this track? Here are some comment prompts to help you tonight.

Monday, May 4, 2015

One Car to Rule Them All

In Sag Harbor, Randy, Benji’s (sort of) friend, obtains a car, that changes their world. He thinks of this as an amazing improvement for their mobility and independence and facilitates adventures. However, I do not see this as a good thing for them and it does not mirror the benefits that the automobile brought to america as a whole.
The first reason that this car is bad, is that it is an isolated improvement. Whenever something happens to only one kid out of many among teenagers, things rarely end well. In this case, the car availability accentuates social strife in their group and creates an exclusive set of kids who are allowed in the car. This group is limited to 5 and Benji describes having to leave one kid out. This is part of some bigger social issues, as he points out. Additionally, this is making the kids suck up to Randy to get to one of the ones he drives, arguing over who is better friends..etc. Some of you are probably realizing that I was in Randy’s situation to a lesser degree, being one of the first to get a license. This process of deciding who to drive is uncomfortable for all parties. Lastly, I am not sure how much having the car is actually improving their life. They now do less wondering and more planned traveling. I think their exploratory missions, walking or biking, were more valuable.

One of the things that was the result of the acquisitions of cars in America resulted in was mobility for the common man. It made things run smoothly because everyone could travel and had great benefits. But in this case, with only one kid owning a car, it is not nearly as positive as it may appear.