In The Catcher in the Rye b J.D. Salinger, Holden Caufield takes on the role as the universal teenager. For starters, he hates school. He is kicked out of several institutions, mainly for not applying himself. When describing why he's leaving Pencey he says, "They gave me frequent warnings to start applying myself- especially around midterms, but I didn't do it, so I got the ax" (4). Like many teenagers, Holden doesn't try in school and hates education. This is one way Holden represents the universal teenager.

Another way Holden represents the universal teen is his chronic depression and his overexaggeration. Holden is depressed about his life. Phoebe describes his situation by saying, "You don't like anything that's happening" (169). This is a slight exaggeration because no one truly dislikes anything, but Holden is very pessimistic about most things. Most teenagers can relate to this because they don't like a lot of things and feel like they know better than anyone about how things should be. He also threatens to commit suicide several times because of how depressed he is, but would never do it. He is an over-exaggerator like most teens who make everything out to be ten times worse than they are. THese are only a few examples of how Holden represents the universal teen in The Catcher in the Rye.

McMurphy vs. Nurse Ratched

In Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, two characters are predominant in the power struggle over the hospital ward. These two characters are Nurse Ratched, overseer of the men, and Randle McMurphy, a patient in the ward unlike any they've seen in a long time. Throughout the book, each character tries to convey their dominance, or flex their muscles, to show the ward who has more control.

Before McMurphy arrives to the ward, Big Nurse has total control. McMurphy explains her control by saying, "The flock gets sight of a spot of blood on some chicken and they all go to peckin’ at it, see, till they rip the chicken to shreds, blood and bones and feathers. But usually a couple of the flock gets spotted in the fracas, then it’s their turn. And a few more gets spots and gets pecked to death, and more and more. Oh, a peckin’ party can wipe out the whole flock in a matter of a few hours, buddy, I seen it. A mighty awesome sight" (Kesey 55). Big Nurse's therapy sections aren't very therapeutic. Rather, she uses these times to emaculate the men, and that does not help them. McMurphy takes on his own form of therapy session by taking the men on a fishing trip. In doing so, he made people like George feel needed, and for Chief, "I smelt the air and felt the four cans of beer I'd drunk shorting out dozens of control leads down inside me: all aroung, the chrome sides of the swells flickered and flashed in the sun" (209). McMurhpy's tactics were much more therapeutic than anything Nurse Ratched could do for these men, because McMurphy made them feel like men.

The battle for power and authority in the ward is a constant theme throughought the book. It ends with a series of powerful plays to win total control. When McMurphy strangles Big Nurse it is though that he won, because he has scarred and changed her forever. However, she comes back swinging when she orders a labotamy on McMurphy. This appears to be the final straw. A labotamy would ruin McMurphy and give Ratched control over him, and the entire ward once more. But when Chief suffocates McMurphy in his sleep, it probes the question of who really won. I feel as though McMurphy won because in the end, he is in a better place where she can't control him, she has a constant reminder around her neck of his effect on her, and her most loyal patient, Chief, went against her by killing McMurphy so he wouldn't have to live in misery.

Mad Girl's Love Song Analysis

“Mad Girl’s Love Song” Analysis
By Sylvia Plath pg.387

“Mad Girl’s Love Song” by Sylvia Plath is a poem about a girl who spent her whole life waiting for a man she gave herself to, against her beliefs, who was never to return. The most visible device the author used in this book is repetition. One phrase the narrator repeats is “(I think I made you up inside my head).” The emphasis repetition puts on this quote is that the narrator is wishing that this man is made up, and trying to convince herself of it. The quotes signify that these are thoughts to her, and not out loud, which means she is trying to convince herself it is true. The narrator also repeats the line, “I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.” This, along with the reference to God, Satan, and Seraphim, mean that getting “into bed” with the man the narrator was speaking to was a sin, and therefore they never married. When the narrator tries to sleep, “All the world drops dead,” which could represent nightmares and visions of hell because she feels guilty for her sin. Plath uses repetition to emphasize certain phrases so the reader can decipher the true meaning.

Another device the author uses is personification. In the second stanza the narrator describes “the stars go waltzing out in blue and red, And arbitrary blackness gallops in.” Clearly, stars can not waltz and blackness can’t gallop. Stars “waltzing out” and blackness galloping in are used to describe how they are leaving her without a second thought, self-assured, easily, and quickly, as the man who left her might have done. The narrator continues to say “I should have loved a Thunderbird instead; At least when spring comes they roar back again.” The narrator is giving a car, Thunderbird, the personification of being able to love and return to its lover, as she wished her man had done. The narrator is also relaying the message that the car is a better man and companion than her lover is. Personification in this poem is very meaningful and powerful to the underlying theme.

The first thing that struck me with this poem is the title, “Mad Girl’s Love Song.” The title has two underlying meanings. One, the girl is mad, or angry, about the love in her life. This is true, because the narrator is very upset that she gave herself to a man who left her. Also, that the girl is mad, or insane, over convincing herself that this lover is “made up” and does not exist. The second thing about this poem that caught my attention is the author, Sylvia Plath, who is extremely emotional and troubled. I liked the religious undertones of the poem, which represent that sex before marriage is a sin to the narrator, and she is regretting her actions. “Mad Girl’s Love Song” is cynical view on a bad relationship, and I enjoyed reading it.

The Red Hat Analysis

“The Red Hat” Analysis
By Rachel Hadas pg. 367

“The Red Hat” is a poem about the emotions a parent goes through in letting their child go and gain more independence. The author expresses these emotions using such tools as symbolism. The narrator of the story is describing the event in which their son started walking to school on his own. However, this event is connected to the bigger event of letting their son grow up and gain independence. Hadas creates this symbolism by stating, “Parallel paths part, he goes alone from there” and “Already ties are feeling and not fact” meaning their connection and bond is no longer concrete. The author continues to use symbolism to make the red hat symbolic of the son. “Since the red hat vanished from our sight” is a symbol of the son walking on alone without his parents. Hadas continues to use symbolism when she wrote, “He now is hustled forward by the pull of something far more powerful than school.” This pull is symbolic of the son’s new independence and the emotions, excitement and fear, that come along with it, causing him to move quicker than usual to school. Hadas uses symbolism as a good tool to reveal the emotions of letting go of a child.

Another device the author uses in “The Red Hat” is imagery. In the first stanza, the narrator visibly describes how the son and his parents walk “semi-alone.” Hadas includes details of where they walk, “He walks up on the east side of West End, we on the west side,” to portray the struggle the parents are having with letting go and to explain to the author in clear detail what happens every morning. The detailed walk continues to “Straus Park…where these parallel paths part.” The narrator depicts that “Glances can extend (and do) across the street; not eye contact.” The reader can visualize the image of the mother of father peeking up occasionally to just catch a glimpse of their son walking. This also reveals that there are rules set up, “Not eye contact,” which allows the reader to assume the independence was the boy’s idea. Hadas continues to create an image with, “The watcher’s heart stretches, elastic in its love and fear.” The parents’ love continues on with the boy, and one can visualize the mother standing there stretching to catch the last glimpse of “The Red Hat” before it disappears. Hadas’ excellent use of imagery depicts the morning walk this family endures and the love the parents have for their son.

I enjoyed this poem very much because I feel it is easily related to any loving parent, or any child that has had a loving parent. It is a true sample of how a family struggles with the maturity of a child. I love how the author adds small details such as “Two weeks ago, holding a hand” to not only show how big of an independence gain it is for the son, but also how long the parents have been dealing with this situation and trying to allow their son freedom. The symbolism of the red hat is also effective because as a reader, I can see the bobbing red hat in a crowd of people, as the mom stands their heartbroken. “The Red Hat” by Rachel Hadas is an artistic, heartfelt poem that is beautifully written and perceived.