Starting Fresh with "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

              As I just begin to turn the pages of this classic novel, I already see an extremely amazing character build-up taking place. This obvious teenager has an elaborate past to explain in this book, and I already know from just two pages in that he is very unique and out-going, which could end up being a good or bad thing based upon where this book is headed. The first thing that really caught my eye was the title, because it is most likely an underlying message of the theme, like the "Lord of the Flies", because that book isn't actually about a fly lord! The definition of rye is a "widely cultivated cereal grain" (dictionary.com). This could mean that the boy catches the grain or plant as soon as it sprouts instead of catching it later on in life. So basically, he (or she) is fixing their problems first-hand instead of waiting because that never works out well. This is just an assumption of the theme, but I have a feeling that I am becoming closer and closer to realizing the true message. 

           While researching on this book, I decided to ask my mother if she had read it before and what she thought of it. She said that she did read it before and she thought that it was very unusual and weird because the whole book took place in one day. I was very surprised at this statement because this is a pretty long book, so how could it possibly fill only one 24 hour time period? I then asked what it was about and she had no idea. So you can probably guess that I am extremely excited to read this book because if my own mom was confused and baffled by it, then it must be pretty challenging. And I sure do love a good mental challenge!

          To conclude this blog post, I want to make a few predictions for the set-up, climax, and resolution. I first want to start by saying that I am sure that the beginning will be an extensive explanation of this teens previous life, and how it was changed by this one moment. The climax will most likely be full of twists and turns in his/her future that defines them for the conclusion. I do hope that I am close to being correct on those assumptions because I love a great plot twist. "Catcher in the "Rye" seems like such an old classic, that I couldn't help but give it another glance as it sat on my mom's dusty old book case. But I am sure glad that I did because I can already feel it sucking me into the fun mystery yet to come!

 

Example/ Analyzing of Satire

Satire is a way to laugh or make fun of literature, cartoons, or even parodies in videos or pictures. In these two examples of satire, it is quite obvious that Hitler is the victim of the giggles. In this first cartoon, Hitler is portrayed as an ugly beast who wants everything to be about himself, as he displays by saying "...Because apparently they approve of mine!" when responding to the 'Tea Party' proposal, most likely in World War II. A hyperbole is crucial to this cartoon, because although Hitler did want everything in his control during the  European war, it is much more humorous to exaggerate it to the extreme when remembering how much he wanted to hurt others. In the second cartoon, made by Dr. Seuss, who helped make American propaganda during World War II, distorts Hitler's image even more, and puts the United States in an even higher status. In the background of the picture, you can see that some of the trees are labeled 'Greece', 'Norway', 'Poland', and 'France', with the bird (as Hitler) currently chopping down England. Dr. Seuss then shows the United States as an even bigger more powerful bird that Hitler hasn't touched. This shows more of a farce type of satire because of the exaggeration and horseplay shown by Hitler's need for power, and how it didn't effect America. Although the first cartoon displayed a burlesque type of satire, and the second showed a farce kind, they are both equally funny and appeal to human knowledge of humor and World War II's past.