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- Holden, From "The Catcher in the rye"

Pg. 66

“The one thing I hate to do is go to bed when I’m not even tired.”

- Holden, from The Catcher in the Rye. 

Is the motif a noun? verb? adjective?

The motif “moron” is an adjective. 

How does it come up in the novel, and how does it impact what is going on? What happens immediately preceding or immediately following a mention or discussion of this motif?

It comes up in the novel when Holden describes a person for a stupid comment, an action that was phony , or any behavior that led Holden to say that the person is a “moron”. It impacts Holden’s thoughts about a person, so this might change the way he acts towards the person he is calling a moron. After Holden calls a person a moron, conflicts rise no matter at what level. 

What is the mood when this idea or thing is brought up? Would you associate this with times when Holden is content? frightened? frantic? confused? Is this mood consistent with every incidence of this motif?

The mood when this motif is brought up is a conflicted mood. This is because small fights always start afterwards. I would associate this when Holden is frustrated. The mood is conistent with the motif. 

Is Holden alone when this motif occurs? If not, with whom is he interacting? How would you characterize that interaction? Does this motif occur both when he is alone and when he is with other people? Is there a connection to be made?

Holden is not alone when the motif is mentioned. He is usually interacting with his peers or classmates. That interaction is not good, because this motif is an insult. 

 Tie it all together: Did any pattern emerge? Pick out other words or ideas used in conjunction with this motif. Look back on your investigation and come up with a single sentence that sums up what you’ve discovered. Write three or four more sentences supporting your thesis sentence. Use references from the novel, and form an opinion of your own. What does this motif tell you about Holden, in a “big picture” way - Does this suggest anything about his personality? His weaknesses or strengths? His sense of himself?

Holden got his hat for one dollar in a sport store in New York City. Holden wears his hat backwards and forwards. I think he wears this hat maybe because it makes him feel unique , and maybe a message to society saying that he has a good personality and doesn't care what people say about him. "This is a shooting hat... I shoot people with this hat".  I think the color might represent Allie, because his hair was very red as he describes it, or it might represent anger. The purpose of this hat is that when he is wearing he feels different, more relaxed maybe.

"Where did you get that hat?" (Stradlater)

 "I got it in New York this morning. Ya like it ? "(Holden) 

1 - What is the difference between conforming and being a phony?

The difference between conforming and being a phony is that being phony requires lying and being fake no matter what other people say. A conformist is someone who wants to fit in, and they will do anything and pretend to be someone they are not to be like a normal person.