*Monday 2-16*

Atticus has left Jem and Scout for 2 weeks to go to some business thing in a different town. Calpurina is watching over them. Jem is now 12 years old and he is beginning to become a man. He doesn't want to do anything with Scout anymore. Scout and Dill hvae a thing for eachother. Tehy go to church with Calpurina and it is a nigger church. They don't feel comfortable or welcome from the other church members but they stay beacuse the preecher tells them to. The preecher, during the church service, thanks people for bringing their "company". When they were singing their hyms, Scout was confused becaus they didn't have any hymnals, but everyone knew what they were singing. Later, Calpurina explains that the reason they didn't have any hymnals, was because there were only 4 people in there that could read, including herself.

Response

I used historical criticism to look at this section of the book because it really tells a lot about the education of the blacks back in the time this was written in he 50s and 60s. Lee wrote this book right at the high point of the Civil Rights movement.

*Thursday 2-12*

School is over and it is summertime. Dill has come back with his family. One day, Scout grabs 2 pieces of gum out of a tree that she isn't supposed to be near. Jem yells at her. Jem tells her and Dill about the Hot Steams. Later on, Jem pushes Scout while she is in a tire nd she ends up in Boo Radley's fenses. She gurries to get out and Jem hst to go back in and get the tire.

Response

Jem was yelling at Scout about being near those trees, but he can push her into Boo Radley's fenses? Doesn't make sense at all. Did Jem just want to yell at her?

*Monday 2-9*

I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird. This story is told through the eyes of a little girl, Jean Louise Finch, Scout. It starts talking about her family. The first family member she talks about is her brother Jeremy Finch or Jem. She is talking about the events that lead up to him breaking his arm. He was so worried that he wasn't going to be able to play football anymore. Then it starts talking about her mother. She died when Scout was about 2 and when Jem was 6. She doesn't really miss her because she didn't really know her or remember her.The other family members that live with them are Atticus Finch, the father who became a lawyer in a nearby town called Maycomb. Jack Finch, Atticus's brother who went to med school, and their sister Alexandra Finch who stayed to manage the farm and keep things running. Jem, Scout, and Atticus live in a house in Maycomb on one of the main streets with their cook whose name is Calpurina.

When Jem and Scout get a little older, they have some neighbors move in. There was a little boy who called himself Dill, but his real name was Charles Baker Harris. They get bored of it one day and Dill has an idea to lure Boo Radley out of his house. Radley was a mysterious neighbor that never came out of his house. Arthur "Boo" Radley got in trouble with the law one time and his father imprisoned him in the house for punishment. Boo stabbed his father, but his father refused to put him in an asylum. No one heard from Boo for 15 years, and when his father died, his brother Nathan came to live with him. He still refused to leave his house.

September comes around and Dill and his family move back to the town that they came from. Scout goes back to school and her and her teacher, Miss Caroline, don't get along very well. Scout realizes that Mrs. Caroline isn't very good with children. A boy named Walter also goes to school. He has a big family and they are really poor. Scout tries to explain that to Miss Caroline, but she doesn't want to hear it and she gets so sick of it that she slaps Scouts hand with a ruler.

Scout gets mad at Walter for getting her in trouble and she rubs his nose in the dirt. Jem comes over and gets Scout off of him. Jem invites him over for supper and Walter and Atticus sit there and talk about farming like grown men. Walter puts molasses all over his vegies and meet and Scout makes fun of him. Calpurina calls Scout into the kitchen and scolds her. Then the next day at school Miss Caroline is startled by cootie that comes out of a boys hair. This boy, Burris, and his family are even more poor than Walter's family. He only makes an appearance so that he doesn't get in trouble with the law. He leaves school and makes the teacher cry.

Response

• I think that this book is going to be good. I think that this being told in a girls point of view will be easier for me to understand than if it was told in Jem's point of view. It'll be interesting to find out how Atticus and Calpurina take care of these children.
  

*Chapter 26*

Holden ends the story. He didn't want to finish it. He is now in a asylum. He is sick. He said that he wants to start school up again in the fall. He said that he misses all of the kid/ people in his story.

I think this sucks. Haha. I wish that he would have finish this story. I wanted to know what happened. Did he actually leave? Did he see his parents? AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!

*Chapter 25*

Holden spends the night at Grande Central Station. He then goes to Phoebe's school and wants to talk to her. He sends her a note that tells her to meet with him. To kill time, Holden talks to the secretary. Then Phoebe finally shows up a few minutes late. She is carrying a suit case and tells him that she is going to go with him. He says no. She gets mad at him and he doesn't talk to him. She said that the only way she will talk to him is if he takes her to the zoo. So he takes her to the zoo and then she talks to him again. Phoebe and Holden are getting really close.

I think that it's good for Holden to have a support. This will start to make everything better if someone is holding his hand during this adventure.

*Chapter 24*

Holden gets to his old teachers apartment. They have supper and there are dishes and glasses everywhere. Holden can tell that he is drunk. He tells Mr. Antolini why he got kicked out of Pencey. He said that they are to strick. Mr. Antolini writes something down on a piece of paper and gives it to Holden. Then Holden goes off to bed. He feels his Antolini touch him and he gets out of there real quick.

Whoa. Mr. Antolini is a creeper. I think that I would have done the same thing. He trusted Mr. Antolini to let him stay there. Then he betrayed him.

*Chapter 23*

Holden calls up one of his old teachers, Mr. Antolin, and asks him if he can spend one night there. Mr. Antolin says that he can. Holden tells Phoebe that he is going to a town in Colorado. They are dancing to a couple songs and then they hear a door slam. It's his parents!!! He hids in her closet just in time. Their mom comes in to tuck Phoebe into bed. When he is ready to leave, she gives him the rest of Christmas money and he gives her his hunting helmet.

That's so cute, she just wants her brother to get better. How is he going to get to that place in colorado?

*Chapter 22*

Holden goes back into the appartment and finally gets Phoebe to listen to him. He tells her why he was kicked out of school. He also tells her all the things he hates. She tells him to focus on all the things that he likes instead of the things that he doesn't like. He said that he likes Allie. She said that he can't do that because Allie is dead. She asks him what he wants to be when he grows up and he tells her that he wants to be a catcher in the rye.

I think that Phoebe did a very good thing in the way that she made him think about the stuff that he likes rather than the stuff that doesn't like.

*Chapter 21*

When Holden gets to the appartments, he goes to the elevator and goes up to his appartment. He is glad that it's a different elevator operator because then he wouldn't tell his parents that Holden is home. He tip toes into the house and to his sister's room. She is sound asleep but he wakes her up and she is so incredibally happy to see him! She realizes that he is home two days early and she know that he has been kicked out of his school again. She tells him that their dad is going to kill him. He doesn't want to listen to this anymore so he goes out for another smoke.

Not a good idea to go out to relieve your stress by smoking. His sister is obviously worried about him too... I think she is just trying to help.

*Chapter 20*

Alright... this gets good. So Holden stays at the bar for a while longer after Luce leaves. He goes outside to a phone booth and calls Sally. She becomes furious with him because she know that he is drunk. Her grandma, who answers the phone, is also mad. She tells him to just go to bed. He goes back in the bar and gets his coat and tries to sober up a little more before he leaves. Then he takes a walk in Central Park and see some ducks on a pond. As he's walking, he drops the record that he had bought for his sister and it shatters. He sits down on a bench and he is really cold. He thinks that he is getting sick. He is imagining his own funeral and he feels guilty because he missed Allie's. He missed it because he had punched a window with his bare hand. He finally decides to go home and hopes that his parents aren't still up.

Good idea Holden! It's about time for him to go home. No matter what, his parents are always going to love him.

*Chapter 19*

Holden meets Luce at the bar and sits down with him and they start talking about stuff that they used to talk about. He asks Luce questions about sex. Luce says that he is dating an older woman and is going to Colombia University. Holden just keeps asking Luce questions and he gets annoyed so he picks up his things and leaves.

I don't think that Luce should have left because all Holden needs is someone to talk to... What a jerk!!

*Chapter 18*

Holden finally calls Jane, but no one answers, so he hangs up the phone. So then, Holden decides to call his friend Carl. He likes talking to Carl because he thinks that Carl is smart. To pass the time till him and Carl go out for drinks, he goes to a movie, by the way, he doesn't like it. Then he goes to the bar right afterward to wait for Carl.

It's good that he is going to talk to someone, but i don't think that it should be over a couple beers.

*Chapter 17*

Holden meets up with Sally and they go to the movies. On the way there, they make out. After the movie, they go skating and then they decide to get a couple drinks. Holden starts to freak out and he is yelling at Sally. He says that he just wants her to go far away with him and they can start a new life together. She says no. She doesn't want to.

I think that it's good that he wants Sally to be with him, but running away and trying to start a new life together isn't the right thing to do. You don't forget the past and then sometimes the past can catch up with you.

*Chapter 16*

He goes on a walk and he is trying to think of a way he can talk to his sister, Phoebe, without his parents knowing that he is home. He remembers that she wants a record and he goes out and buys if for her. He asks a girl at the park if she would know where she is and she knows her but she doesn't know where she would be. She suggests the museum because that's where they go sometimes on Saturdays. Holden gets to the museum but decides not to go in because he is too depressed.

I think that it is good that Holden wants to talk to his sister, but i think that if he has the chance to talk to his parents, he should do that as soon as possible.

*Chapter 15*

Holden checks out of the hotel. He can't stop thinking about his parents and how they are going to take the news about him being expelled. On top of that, his mother is still stressed about his brother's death. Holden goes into a sandwhich shop and has a bite to eat with a couple nuns. He then gives them 10 dollars.

I think that a nun would be a good person to talk to about your problems. They could help you and pray for you.

*Chapter 14*

Holden. Gets. Robbed!... Holden stays up a little longer after she leaves. Then he is woken up by a loud knock on the door. It is the elevator man and Sunny. They want their money, 5 dollars, that he owes them. Holden refuses to pay it and then the elevator man pins him up against the wall and punches him in the stomach and then takes all of his money. Then he goes back to bed.

I think that Holden should have just paid him. He wouldn't have been robbed.

*Chapter 13*

Holden walks 41 blocks back the hotel, and when he gets there, the elevator man asks if he wants a prostitute to go to his room. He tells him yes. The prostitute goes to his room and all Holden wants to do is talk to her. He doesn't want to do anything. The prostitute gets annoyed and asks for her money and then leaves.

I think that all Holden wants is someone to talk to. He wants someone to talk to so bad, he is willing to pay them.

*Chapter 12*

Holden takes a cab to a club so he can see Ernie play the piano. There, he sees someone he knows. Her name is Lillian. She used to go out with his brother, but he doesn't like her very much. He says that she is annoying, so he leaves just to make sure that he doesn't have to sit at the same table as her.

I doubt if Lillian was really that bad, I bet that he didn't like her very much because she isn't Jane.

*Chapter 11*

Holden is leaving the hotel and when he gets to the lobby, Jane pops in his head. He remembers that when they were younger, they used to hold hands. They would go to the movies and they would hold hands the whole time. They would never do anything physical though. He just likes to remember that they were best friends. He even showed her Allie's baseball mit.

I think that Holden could be a better person, or at least get through all his troubles, if Jane would be there with him. I think that he needs the support from someone.

*Chapter 10*

Holden is still wanting to find something to do. He decides to go downstairs in the hotel to the Lavender Room. This is a dance club that sells drinks too. He wants to order a coctail but the waitress refuses to get him one. He thought that he would have been able to because of his height and his gray hair. He finds 3 girls and he dances with them and then pays for their drinks and goes upstairs to his room all by himself.

I wonder if Holden looks young or old. I would think if he is 6' 2'' and has gray hair, that would trick me.

*Chapter 9*

Hodlen is trying to think of someone that he can call to tell them that he is at the train station. He thinks about calling his brother but then decides against that. He was gong to call his sister, but she is too you. he gets a hotel room and then decides to call a girl whose name is Faith. He asks her to come up to his room, but she doesn't want to, so he hangs up.

I think that Holden should have called someone. Even if it was his brother, at least someone would have known where he was.

*Chapter 8*

Holden gets to the train station and he only has to wait about 10 minutes before the train comes. He is one of the only ones on the train that night until a lady, one of the moms of a boy who goes to Pencey, sits down in the seat next to him. He tells her that his name is Rudolph and he is leaving Pencey because he has a small brain tumor and he needs to get an operation.

I don't really know what to think about this chapter. I think that Holden is just trying to get some attention. I think that it was good for him to talk to someone older, but i don't think that he should have lied to her about who he was.

*Chapter 7*

Holden is falling apart. He goes into Ackley's room and wakes him up. He starts asking him a bunch of questions. He gets really mad and he goes back to his room and packs his bag and walks out of the school. While walking out he says " sleep tight ya morrans".

I can't even imagine what Holden is going through. He doesn't have any support from anyone. He is torn apart because Jane is going out with other guys and he just wants her for himself.

*Chapter 6*

In this chapter, Holden is way mad at Strandlater because he tells Holden that they stayed in the car the whole time because they didn't go to New York. Strandlater punches Holden and then pins him to the ground. Holden keeps talking and then gets hit one more time.

Obviously Holden has feelings for Jane and I think that Strandlater just needs to realize that.

*Chapter 5*

Holden meets up with Ackley and Mal Brossard and they all go to the movie. They realized during the movie that they have already seen it and they decide to go pinball and eat some burgers. Then Holden goes back to his room and goes right into writing that paper that Strandlater asks him to write. Holden writes about Allie, his brother, who has died, and a glove that he used to play baseball. The baseball glove has poems written on it so that he wouldn't get bored while he was playing.

I think that it was funny that Allie decided to write poems on his glove so that he wouldn't get bored. That glove means a lot to Holden and I can see why.

*Chapter 4*

This chapter talks about the date between Strandlater and Jane. Strandlater walks to the bathroom to shave for his date with Jane and Holden follows him. Strandlater tells Holden that he has a date with her and Holden tells him that he knew a Jane very well back when he lived at home. Strandlater asks Holden to write a paper while he is out on his date.

I think this chapter was better than the last one because I think that there will be some conflicts between Strandlater and Holden because of the fact that Strandlater is going out on a date with Jane.

*Chapter 3*

In this chapter, Holden buys a book and a new hat. The hat represents when Holden is scared and it is kind of his security blanket. A boy named Ackley starts to bother Holden and wouldn't let him read his book. Ackley starts to pick stuff up around his room and starts to move it. He is distracting Holden and won't let him read his book. Ackley finally leaves because Holden's roommate, Strandlater, walks in, and Ackley doesn't like him.
I wasn't really interested in this chapter because nothing that exciting happens. I think that it will get more interesting. This chapter was probably just in there to show that he got a book and a new hat.

*Chapter 2*

Holden sees himself the closest to old Spencer and his wife. His wife is a hard hearing older lady, as well as himself. Holden goes back to old Spencer's "sick room". There he sees Spencer sitting in a chair with his bare legs showing and his chest is showing also. Old Spencer tells Holden that life is a game and that he needs to play by the rules. They start talking about how Holden is failing all of his classes, especially history, but then old Spencer tells him to go get his final exam. Holden goes and gets it and takes it to old Spencer. Old Spencer reads it outloud and Holden isn't very happy about this. Holden just messed the whole exam up. Old Spencer tries to convince Holden to think about his future a little more than he is.
I liked this chapter because it makes you think about your future too and how important your grades are. I think that this book is easy to read and you actually want to read it because it is talking about a boy our age. Wouldn't the school have told his parents that he is going to be kicked out?

*Chapter 1*

Holden Caulfield is a teenage boy who has a lot of problems in his life. He mentions his brother, D.B., who is a writer in Hollywood. Holden has flunked out of at least 4 schools so far. He has been in public and private schools. There was a big football game against their school's rival. Holden sat up at the top of Thomsen Hill to watch it even though he really doesn't like the game all that much. In this chapter, he is trying to figure out how is going to leave and make it feel as if he is leaving. He want's a good goodbye. He leaves the game in order to go see old Spencer, his history teacher. He runs all the way to old Spencer's house, but he has to stop at the gate because he is a heavy smoker and is unable to run any longer.
I think that i am going to like this book. It started out good and i think that it will be very interesting to learn about this boy. To know what he is going through and to know how good we actually have it will be interesting to see the differences.

*Chapter 9*

Nick felt as if he needed to take responsibility for the arrangements of Gatsby's funeral. He gets ahold of people who he believes would want to come, but no one, not even Daisy, wanted to come to his funeral. There were very few people who ended up showing at the funeral. The relationship between Jordan and Nick didn't work out because Jordan had been engaged to another man.

*Chapter 8*

Mr. Wilson is looking for revenge on who ever had killed Myrtle. There are many people there who trying to comfort Mr. Wilson. When everyone leaves, Mr. Wilson leaves himself to go to the West Egg. Later on, Wilson uses the pool that is regularly never used, and tells the butler to only bother him if he absolutely needed to. Nick walks in later and sees that Gatsby is laying face down, dead. He had been shot.

*Chapter 7*

Gatsby calls off his parties!!!! In order to keep the rumors down too, he also fired his servants. Tom finally realizes that Daisy and Gatsby are completely in love. While they are in New York, Tom and Gatsby argue for a long while about who does and doesn't love Daisy. Myrtle dies!!! Yes, She's dead. They find her on the road. It happens that Daisy was the one that hit Myrtle in a hit and run.