#d.b. caulfield

[imyoursoftfuzzymann]

holds and phoeb

[gangles-toybox]

it's me i'm the catcher in the rye 2023 (2024 soon) fandom i love the way you talk about holden you have the realest thoughts how are you

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!! THE CATCHER IN THE RYE FANDOM EXISTS STILL?? OMGG GUYS THIS IS A MOMENT IN HISTORY!!

but fr thank you so so much!! :D it means a lot when ppl like my silly lil thoughts on a character from a book from like the '50s hehe

I'm doing quite good myself thank you!! As a little treat, I will provide some headcanon fodder:

Holden loves to go see scary movies for 2 reasons:

1(fake/edgy reason): they show how messed up the world really is and how you can never trust people...damn phonies

2(real reason): he just likes feeling something other than emptiness for once...plus if Stradlater's there with him, he likes seeing how scared he is out of his mind and making fun of him for it.

Also!! I saw you liked my agere headcanon for Holden and I just imagine his age regression is just like him sitting there, in his hat, thinking about life and then it just hits him like a ton of bricks and he's like

:0

Also he doesn't have a lot not only cuz #embarrassment + it just generally being the late 40s/early 50s but one of his favorite things in the whole wide world is probably like a stuffed animal that Allie got him when he was little. He probably got one from D.B too but he threw it away after...yk...

He clings onto this stuffed animal for dear life, especially if he does something to trigger a memory from his trauma. Now, what animal is this? I'm not entirely sure...it would have to be "scary" enough to not be seen as *entirely* weird for a 16 soon to be 17 year old still having it, but also cute enough to still bring him comfort and joy. Maybe like a bat or something, since OH MY GOD I JUST LOOKED IT UP AND BATMAN HAS EXISTED AINCE 1939??? Yea it's definatelllyyy a bat Holden loves batman because edgy.

Anyways-getting back on topic-if anybody ever caught him while he was age regressed I feel like he would just try to hide under the covers or try to respond harshly as he normally does. However, if he's deep into it, his voice might still reflect his age regressed age and he might get made fun of for it :(

Maybe Stradlater wouldn't? After he got used to it of course.

Uh...but yea!! Thank you for the ask and allowing me to braindump...more.

[girl4music]

Now that I’ve gotten to watch the entire reaction, Naj really said it all. Everything that matters anyway.

And this is why I hate ‘Empty Places’. And why I think it’s just written in as drama for the sake of drama and has no organic development whatsoever as far as character interaction consistency goes.

If I was honest, I don’t really like the entire season but there are some good episodes so I can’t say I hate it. But it’s just that ‘Empty Places’ aggravated me so much that it’s hard to praise anything about Season 7. This is the bottom line: You do not kick the fucking hero out of her own fucking house!

But Naj, I don’t even know why you’re giving Willow a break because Willow’s entitlement and arrogance as the leader at the start of Season 6 is something else. She’s all “You do what I tell you to do. No questions asked.” Yeah, you’re the leader but calm the tude Miss Thing. This is what I mean about her being a stricter General than Buffy and that to have her say “I’m worried about your judgement” in ‘Empty Places’ about the controlling way she leads is Grade A hypocrisy considering how she led them.

You’re worried about HER judgement? Hers? 😑

Okay, maybe Anya does have a point.

Buffy didn’t earn her role as Slayer in the traditional way. But she sacrificed for it when it mattered and therefore she earned it in the long run. She could have just given up and she was tempted to. And absolutely nobody would blame her for succumbing to that temptation. But the fact is that she is still here doing it day by day. The Slayer’s responsibility. And I can’t believe Willow never defended her against Anya in that scene when that is exactly what she said in ‘The Weight Of The World’ when Buffy was punishing herself for even thinking of giving up. She tells her to snap out of it, she tells her to get a grip and be a hero like the supportive best friend she is. Now THAT’S in character for Willow, not this coward act where she’s even afraid to tell Anya off, let alone her girlfriend for the absolute load of shite they’re expelling in saying that Buffy doesn’t deserve to be the leader. Willow knows that SHE IS!

She more than earned it considering she didn’t even want it to begin with. Anya needs to reassess her thoughts a little bit because she’s missing the point.

They all do. They’re scared and they’re in pain. I understand that. And I do think many of them had valid arguments… I understand their point of views too… but they took it way out of proportion in kicking Buffy out of her own fucking house!

As for Buffy. She should trust in her team. They’ve earned it too. That’s my only gripe there. I felt it would have been better if both Buffy and Willow led. Were both General. Commander-in-Chief. Because Anya was right about that. It didn’t have to be Slayers only to lead. I think Willow earned it too. Without a leader, there is no direction, no aim, no trajectory and two heads are better than one.

And I don’t know about anyone else in the comments section but for me, what makes this episode the worst episode for me - why it’s so infuriating to watch - is because team work is not being considered. It’s not about who is wrong or right - which side to take/not take blah blah blah. It’s about understanding and trusting each other as team members. A team leader is still a member. They’re not “above” or “better” than anyone. But the reason why all team members take direction from the team leader is because there must be somebody that takes command or things get out of control very quickly and loss happens as a result. And while you can argue that this happens with the direction of the leader as well - which is true, - you’re still better off being led than being not led because at least something is happening in effort to rule out one option over another for being unviable. You’ll quickly find out that without a leader leading, this doesn’t happen and time and resources/rations are both being wasted as well as running out. They’re in a war. They fully know this. The last thing they should be doing is doing nothing about it and force-relieving their leader who is doing everything they can - albeit not in the best way they could.

[gangles-toybox]

Imma answer with my Holden Caulfield playlist because erm why not >:]

1: um...not really any...but the most plausible to happen in like an au would be Hansel by Soddiken or dumb dumb by maize

2: Your New Home by Gooseworx and His Theme by Toby Fox(my only explanations are your new home is just him realizing like holy shit I'm growing up and his theme reminds him of Allie :])

3: ok literally just added didn't know it was on Spotify but It'll be OK from fiw...ik what the song is about but the only part that applies is the "I always wanted my own brother" esp the "but then he signed that record label, a cute quinet of boyish sound. But now that everybody loves him, I'm just a face out in the crowd" when D.B got into Hollywood and kinda left their family in his opinion yk?

4: Monster by Skillet/This is not a Christmas Song by NEFFEX, enough said

5: Soft Bitch by Rio Romeo and God it's so good, his ass would never listen to it but I view it as him getting soft around Stradlater cuz yk I ship em

6: My R by Lollia with him wanting to be the catcher in the rye and stuff

7: Nobody Likes Me(Think I'll go eat worms) by ABC Kids. I can't explain it other than he would be an animation meme kid

character playlists always should have the following:

song that is pretty accurate to the character’s story

song that doesn’t fit the character at all but i was thinking about them while listening to it on loop

song that has one or two lines accurate to the character’s story

song that just kind of is the character’s vibe

song that i desperately wish they would listen to because i personally like it

song that fits the character so well that it’s scary

unsure why this song is in the playlist but it’s so ingrained in my mind as 'part of the playlist' that it would feel weird to remove it

[its-holden-caulfield]

do you think Holden Caulfield = teenager J. D. Salinger?

Hmm this is an interesting question! I’m sure J.D. Salinger put some aspects of himself in Holden, that is without a doubt. I know Salinger himself also went to boarding school and was said to have some of the same quick wit as Holden, but I often think about how J.D. Salinger probably put a lot of himself in the character of D.B. (Holden’s older brother). We don’t know too much about him, but in the novel he is a writer of short stories (as Salinger was) and Holden tells us he was a soldier and hated the people in his unit and the false idealism of war espoused by the US military and I know real life J.D. Salinger was said to have felt that way too after fighting in D-Day. In some of Salinger’s earlier stories he wrote in the first person not as Holden, but as a different character, named Vincent Caulfield, who was a solider and the older brother of Holden -- who some would argue later was turned into the character of D.B. Idk just some food for thought! Here’s an article about Salinger’s time as a soldier if you are interested in learning more! 

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have Buffy the Vampire Slayer : The Complete Seventh Season 2003

[bohemian-rhapsody-in-blue]

Hi my name is Holden Dark’ness Dementia Raven Caulfield and I have black hair in a crew cut with millions of grey streaks on the right side of my head and a lot of people tell me I look like Ring Lardner (AN: if u don’t know who he is get da hell out of here!) I’m related to D.B. Caulfield but I wish I wasn’t because he’s a major goddam phony. I’m six foot two and a half and a heavy smoker but sometimes I act like I’m just about thirteen. I have pale white skin. I’m also a student, and I go to a phony school in Pennsylvania called Pencey Prep where they’re kicking me out (I’m flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all). I’m a cynic (in case you couldn’t tell) and I wear mostly black. I love New York and I buy all my clothes from there. For instance today I would have been wearing my camel’s-hair coat with my fur-lined gloves, but instead I was only wearing my reversible with no gloves on or anything because Pencey is full of crooks. I was wearing a red hunting hat with the peak way around to the back. I was walking outside Pencey Prep. It was snowing and raining so there was no sun, which I was very happy about. A lot of phonies stared at me. I put up my middle finger at them.

[florencescamander]

Owl 🠒 Hayden Ward

Delivered to Hayden Ward. 30 March 1980

Hayden,

This book is actually lousy. If you want to read a good book you should read The Secret Goldfish by D.B. Caulfield.

xx

@whiskeynward

[miraayyalcin]

Class essay - WRT 201 0204

WRT 201 0204 

March 20, 2021 

Miray Yalçın

                            Sibling Relationship in Catcher In the Rye 

Humans are social creatures who build connections with others and thrive as companionship increases. Catcher in the Rye, a novel by J.D. Salinger, describes two days in the life of 16-year-old Holden Caulfield, who experiences much frustration in his inability to form long-lasting connections. Holden Caulfield has major problems and Salinger creatively infused his work with varying themes. This novel is sophisticatedly written in a manner that allows us to see all the themes clearly. Throughout the novel Catcher In the Rye, there is a sense of delaying adulthood, Holden's inability to stay in focus in education, the inability to form relationships or stay in the same place all seem to tie to the idea of avoiding adult notions, such as responsibility. It also shows Holden’s struggle against growing up. Holden's enemy is the adult world and the cruelty and artificiality that it entails. Holden’s story is full of failed attempts such as lack of communications, messages never delivered, uncompleted phone calls and more (Sandock). The people he admires all represent or protect innocence. With all of these situations, Holden's siblings Phoebe, D.B., and Allie play key roles in developing our perceptions of the books themes. Each character gives a different sense of personality. Holden’s differing relationships with his siblings not only influence him but also gives him different attitudes throughout the story. The relationship between Holden and his little sister Phoebe is probably the most significant in the book. Phoebe is Holden's favorite person who can truly communicate with. Phoebe's perspective is amusing and refreshing, and she is also emotional and affectionate. She is ten years old, skinny, and has reddish hair similar to her deceased brother, Allie. Holden elaborates on the positive personality traits of his younger sister by mentioning that she is extremely intelligent and funny. Interestingly, Holden says, “I mean if you tell old Phoebe something, she knows exactly what the hell you're talking about” (Salinger, 37). Phoebe's ability to understand and connect with Holden is what he cherishes the most. Throughout the novel, Holden's immaturity and cynicism prevent him from developing authentic relationships with people his own age. Unlike the "phony" adults, Phoebe is genuine and innocent. In another saying, ​Phoebe ​is a representation of innocence in Holden's mind and the one person he loves unconditionally (Tolchin). Their relationship is different than others.​ ​It seems like Holden looks up the Phoebe in a way, even though he is the older sibling​. ​Holden's affinity for ​Phoebe​ and Allie​ reflect his love for children and childhood in general. Holden feels like Phoebe can truly understand him, and he sees his younger sister as a genuine, compassionate person.The fact that Holden relates to Phoebe the most also reveals his immaturity. As an adolescent suffering from anxiety, Holden fears entering the world of adults and feels more comfortable around his younger sister. ​Phoebe represents to Holden the pure and ideal. However, Phoebe’s character is described from the standpoint of Holden, who is biased, unreliable narrator ​(​Takeuchi).​ ​He chooses to view her in this way. However, Phoebe plays a larger role than just this. Phoebe is independent, straightforward, and a catalyst for Holden. She does not share his disenchantment with the world and scolds him for not liking anything. For2example, when she asks him if there is anything that he likes a lot, Holden struggles to answer. She calls her brother out on his depressive tendencies and glum outlook, and she pushes him to recognize his inability to answer her clearly. Although Holden cannot come up with a positive idea right away, he does eventually say he likes his younger brother, Allie. Phoebe angrily reminds him that their brother is dead. Phoebe is still only 10 years old and it is hard to expect her to understand Holden’s life. When he bares his soul to tell her of his dream of bein​g "The Catcher in the Rye," she is quiet for a long time but then simply states, in reference to his expulsion, as he says in the book "Daddy's going to kill you," illustrating that despite their great friendship and connection. Although they both have totally different personalities, their relationship is so deep and strong.Allie, Holden's younger brother, died of leukemia when he was just eleven years old. Holden was thirteen at the time, and had to be hospitalized for breaking his hand while destroying every window in the garage. Allie's death causes Holden's descent into depression, where he hits rock bottom during the three days this novel takes place. ​​Although Allie has been dead for about three years, he is a mystic presence in the book. Holden thinks of him often and speaks to him when things are darkest in his life. Allie is associated with the theme of death, but his role is not that simple. He also represents hope and the gifted innocence of childhood, which is tenuous and sometimes short-lived. Holden clearly loves his brother. Only two years apart in age, they were close friends. Holden, distraught over the loss of his brother, broke his hand punching the windows out of the garage of their summer home. Holden missed Allie's funeral because he was in the hospital, apparently for a psychiatric evaluation as well as for attention to his hand. It has thrown him into a deep depression (​French)​. ​Holden reacts to Allie's death in a3way that alarms his parents about his mental health: “I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage... It was a very stupid thing to do, I'll admit, but I hardly didn't even know I was doing it, and you didn't know Allie” (Salinger 21). Even when Holden gets depressed about events that, on the surface, aren't directly about Allie, the state of being depressed leads him to think about his dead brother. This suggests the root of all his depression is Allie's death and the survivor's guilt he feels over it.One of the first relationships that is mentioned in the story is Holden’s relationship with D.B., his brother. Throughout his childhood, it is obvious that Holden has idolized his older brother. Now that D.B. is a writer for Hollywood, Holden considers him a phony, and accuses him of prostituting himself by agreeing to work for the film industry.​ D.B.’s just one more phony in a world full of phonies. What really matters about D.B. is that he was in the war and was apparently quite traumatized by the whole thing. ​For Holden, Hollywood epitomizes everything he hates. It stands for all that's phony, fake, and insincere. He positively loathes the movies, and he isn't in the slightest bit impressed at his brother's becoming a screenwriter. More significantly, Holden wants to live life on his own terms, however difficult that is. His brother, like every adult he's ever come across, doesn't do that. He simply goes with the flow, acting the way that people expect him to, working for someone else, and doing their bidding. In other words, D.B. is no longer an individual in Holden's eyes, and Holden can't respect him for it. Because D.B.’s different life style doesn't fit with Holden's point of view, Holden doesn’t feel that D.B. understands him well. Thus, their relationship becomes toxic in a way that Holden reflects the reader through the novel.4Throughout J. D. Salinger's ​The Catcher in the Rye​, it is a book about Holden Caulfield's crises and interactions with society (Dhasti). The way he talks about, or to each, gives the reader some idea of whether he thinks they are "phony" or normal. A few of his accounts make it more obvious than others to discover how he classifies each family member. From the very first page of the novel, Holden begins to refer to his parents as distant and generalizes both his father and mother frequently throughout his chronicle. One example is: "...my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything personal about them. They're quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They're nice and all - I'm not saying that - but they're also touchy as hell" (Salinger 1). Each relationship among siblings are different and special. He describes his relationship with his siblings in very different ways and expressions​. ​For Phoebe, Holden describes her by saying “She was somebody you always felt like talking to on the phone.” For D.B. and Allie, Holden describes him by saying “My brother D.B. is the writer and all, and my brother Allie, the one that died, that I told you about, was a wizard.” He says that he is the stupid one of the four.​ Holden compares himself, it seems, in a negative way to his brothers and sister​ ​until the end of the novel. Each relationship embodies various attitude and approaches of Holden.

[thundergrace]

Sandra Oh is heading to Netflix. The Killing Eve star will play the titular role in The Chair, a six-episode dramedy about the chair of an English department at a major university.

Amanda Peet (Togetherness) co-created the series and will write, executive-produce and serve as showrunner. Game of Thrones creators David Benioff (Peet’s husband) and D.B. Weiss, Thrones veteran Bernie Caulfield, and Oh will also have EP titles.

[...]

Oh remains attached to BBC America/AMC’s Killing Eve, which was renewed for a fourth season ahead of its April 26 Season 3 premiere. Peet can be seen next in front of the camera in Season 2 of USA Network’s Dirty John. She’s also set to begin filming HBO’s The Gilded Age.

---

All Sandra Oh fans do is win!!!!

[imyoursoftfuzzymann]

Holden Caulfield (with D.B.) headcanons

-writes a diary

-enjoys writing stories in his free time

-poems are interesting

-HE hates movies especially adapted from the book/novel

-has those fancy pens from D.B. but ends up using pencils

-shit ton of notebooks

-D.B. used to teach Holden to read, write and speak when he was a kid.

-careless

-he passed English because English is his favorite subject (probably because of D.B.)

[gangles-toybox]

Phoebe Caulfield doodles based on something with my older brother recently but first the Caulfield family

And now comic, they shopping for D.B's birthday because Phoebe insisted(clackerboard bc he in Hollywood btw)

Phoebe: Hey Holden! Look! A clackerboard!

Holden: What *is* it?

Phoebe: I don't *know*, but we should get D.B *something*

~Empty~

Holden: Well...it's something

Phoebe: Yea cuz we'll just be like-

Phoebe: -happy birthday! Here's an empty box!

So proud of her for learning sarcasm but also trying not to *die* of laughter

Phoebe: c'mon, let's get him something to put *in* the box

Btw not final design for Phoebe just kinda doodled one up :3

[takaraphoenix]

My Ultimate Website Wish

Okay, there is a particular thing that I wish would exist.

Basically, a TV show database in the style of AO3. Particularly the new upgraded search-function, as well as the tagging-system.

The main thing we scold antis about is the fact that they can just blacklist tags and avoid content to their dislike. And what that really did was remind me just how wonderful that’d be for actual canon content. Because none of those things apply to canon. You don’t get warning tags to tell you this will feature something you’d love to avoid.

Just imagine there to be a database of TV shows where you search for specific tags, or a TV show’s title, and get search results in the style of AO3.

Let’s take, for example, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

You got the name at the head of it, the character-tags would be replaced by actor-tags, then come the additional tags, followed by a summary, whether or not it’s part of an expanded universe and then with some additional information.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Joss Whedon

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head, Charisma Carpenter, David Boreanaz, Seth Green, James Marsters, Emma Caulfield, Marc Blucas, Michelle Trachtenberg, Amber Benson

The Chosen One (Trope), Supernatural/Fantasy (Genre), Comedy (Genre), Vampires, Werewolves, Demons, Canon Lesbian Character(s), LGBT Representation

Buffy Summers is the Slayer, one woman chosen with the burden to fight demons and defend humanity. She fights her battle with the help of her friends.

Part 1 of the Buffy-verse

Land: America, Seasons: 7, Status: Completed

I mean, a more detailed summary and more tags, but just as an example.

I don’t even need to be able to click onto the show’s title and for that to do anything. I really just mean the bullet-point information on the outside.

You can click on the Joss Whedon and be linked to all shows made by him.

You can click the actors to have a list of TV shows featuring them in major roles.

In case of a larger universe, you’d have the same series-function as on AO3. You can now click “Buffy-verse” and will get to a page that lists both Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as its spin-off Angel.

And, of course, the most important ones, the additional tags.

You’re specifically looking for Supernatural/Fantasy shows? You can filter by that! You want to be even more specific? You can include the tag “Werewolves” and, say, you don’t actually like vampires? Exclude “Vampires”. Buffy the Vampire Slayer will no longer show up, but instead you get an assorted list of Supernatural/Fantasy shows specifically focusing on werewolves, without vampires.

Because that in particular is what I have recently been looking for and all you get when it comes to lists are weird, not overly helpful IMDB lists.

Or the LGBT Representation, with additional individual tags for what representation - so you can seek not just general rep, but also specifically representing you. Bisexual characters got their own wikipedia page to catalogue shows featuring them, but when you’re specifically looking for lesbians? Tough luck. I know, I tried finding something just the other day. Or, say, a combination of more representation than just riking that ���this is our obligatory one token gay”.

But I don’t even want it just for the sake of things that I’m specifically looking for.

I would also want it to avoid certain things I dislike. Let’s take an example with more problematic themes in it.

Game of Thrones by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, etc (listen, I don’t have that much time for an example, but you get the gist)

Book Adaptation, Supernatural/Fantasy (Genre), Medieval Times (Setting), Magic, Dragons, Brother/Sister Incest, Aunt/Nephew Incest, Rape/Non-Con, Torture, Zombies

In the land of Westeros, whoever sits on the Iron Throne rules. The houses Stark, Targaryen and Lannister fight for the right to rule.

Land: America, Seasons: 7, Status: Incomplete

Because honestly, had I known from the get-go there were going to be fucking zombies in this, I would have never actually started watching the show. By the time the damn zombies came around, I was too invested too abandon it. Now I just... fast forward through every zombie-scene.

But there are certain themes that people are just not comfortable with. And you won’t find explicit warnings about those things on DVD covers or on wikipedia.

Not everyone is comfortable with incest. They should have a safe way of being able to avoid shows prominently featuring incest without having to watch it.

Same goes for literally everything.

Because every person has things they are uncomfortable with, or things that might even be triggering, and no one should have to sit through it in canon, or even be ambushed by it because it’s an element not immediately introduced in episode one.

So you can safely search for fantasy shows and exclude tags that make you uncomfortable and then watch the shows that feature tags and tropes that you, personally enjoy.

But not just tropes and genres. I’d love things like a “Book Adaptation” tag because I really love TV show book adaptations. Or “Tie-In to a Movie”. Say, looking for shows focusin on “Greek Mythology” and you get Atlantis, Troy, Disney’s Hercules, Hercules: The Legendary Journey, or the “Fairy Tale Adaptations” bringing you a list including things like 10th Kingdom, Once Upon a Time, Grimm. You could have a list of “Comic Adaptations” with one click instead of having to filter through things and have different lists for DC and Marvel.

There are many very specific things that cover many, many TV shows and that it’d be awesome to filter by.

And while I have the knowledge to fill many, many such TV shows entries for such a website, I do not have the skills to actually make such a website.

But gods, would I want it.

[getlitwithliterature-blog]

Do you want to journey through the adventures of an angsty teenager whose favorite adjective is phony? Let’s talk about Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger. But before we do, how about some basic information about the author?

J.D. Salinger hasn’t written very many books; at least 8 books that we have record of! His most notable novel is the one we will be discussing today, however he is also known for works such as Franny and Zooey and Nine Stories, a collection of...nine...short...stories :) Also, J.D. Salinger was born in 1919 and only recently passed away in 2010! I’m getting carried away. Let’s begin our discussion. 

The book takes place sometime in the 1950′s. The narrator is a teenager named Holden Caulfield-yes, the angsty one whose favorite word is phony. We’ll get to that in a little bit. Holden is undergoing some sort of treatment in a location close to Hollywood, which is where is friend D.B. lives. About halfway down the first page, he says, “I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy” (1). Note the word choices the author made. Words and phrases that can be comprehended easily are choices authors make for the story to be more accessible to a broader audience. Let’s continue. 

The bulk of the story is told through flashbacks as Holden is in treatment. The events that Holden talks about in the body of the book takes place between the end of the fall semester at school and Christmas. Holden is 16 years old.

So, it’s the end of classes at Pencey Prep and we are now following Holden on a Saturday. We learn that this is Holden’s fourth school! He did so poorly in the other three that they kicked him out. Pencey Prep was his last resort. But, he isn’t doing so well at Pencey Prep either. Holden failed four out of the five classes that he was taking. From the school, Holden has received a letter stating he will be expelled due to his poor grades. It’s Saturday and he isn’t due to go home to Manhattan until Wednesday. He decides to go on a little journey to his History teacher’s house. He goes to his house and they talk a little. Holden says his goodbyes, since he isn’t going to see Spencer, the history teacher, anymore. Spencer, being the good teacher that he is, reprimands Holden for his terrible academics. Holden becomes annoyed and leaves, because that’s what a spoiled teenager does! Anyway...

We are now back in the dorm room that Holden shares with another boy named Stradlater. He is very unclean and this further annoys Holden. He is also annoyed by his unhygienic and unclean neighbor Ackley. Wow. Doesn’t take much for Holden, does it? We learn a little about Stradlater. He spends most of his time in the evenings going on dates with a girl named Jane Gallagher. Holden used to date Jane and we get the sense that he still has strong feelings for her. A love triangle a brewin’? How can we tell that Holden still has strong feelings for Jane? Well, when Stradlater returns home from his date one evening, Holden begins asking him if he tried to have sex with Jane. Stradlater, being Stradlater, teases Holden and makes him believe they had sex but doesn’t give him a straight forward answer. Remember, it doesn’t take much to make Holden angry. He attacks Stradlater. Stradlater pins Holden down and punches him, bloodying his nose. Holden decides he doesn’t want to wait until Wednesday to go back home for the holidays. He wants to go back to Manhattan three days early, stay in a hotel, and not tell his parents that he’s back. What a sneaky little angsty teen Holden is. 

Holden’s on the train heading back to Manhattan when he meets the mother of one of the students at Pencey Prep. Holden isn’t fond of this kid...is he fond of anyone, really? He thinks the woman’s son is a bastard, possibly a phony. However, Holden tells fake stories to this lady about how wonderful and well-respected her son is at Pencey Prep. The poor woman buys it! Holden gets off of the train and makes his way to a phone booth. There are several people Holden wants to call, but ends up not calling any of them. He hails a cab, gets into the car, and begins to ask the driver where the ducks go when the lagoon freezes. This annoys the driver. Boy, does everybody in this town have below-average patience?! He asks the cabbie to drop him off at Edmont Hotel, where he will be staying until Wednesday. 

From his hotel room, Holden can see other guests in their rooms from the adjacent wing of the hotel. One guest, a man, is seen putting on silk stockings, high heels, a bra, and a dress. In another room a man and a woman are seen spitting drinks in each other’s faces and laughing hysterically. Being an angsty AND horny teen, Holden is both annoyed and aroused by this sight. He phones a woman named Faith Cavendish. He has never spoken to her before, but has her number from a friend at Princeton. He remembers her being a stripper, so he decides to try and get her to have sex with him. She says that she can meet him the following day, but Holden is impatient and wants. sex. now! So he hangs up the phone without making an arraignment. 

Holden goes down to the Lavender Room, where they refuse him service because, you know, he’s underage! He begins to flirt with three women, all of them in their thirties. Holden thinks they’re from out of town and only want to see celebrities for the entire time that they are here. Why is this important? It feeds into Holden’s personality. He doesn’t like anybody, thinks everybody is a phony or a bastard, gets annoyed very quickly, and now we learn that Holden kind of thinks he’s better than everybody else. He dances with the women and thinks that he is “half in love” with the blonde one because of the way she dances. The women leave the Lavender Room and leave Holden to pay for their entire tab! Wrong place, wrong time, my dude!

While in the lobby of the hotel, he begins to think about Jane. 

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have Buffy the Vampire Slayer : The Complete Sixth Season 2002

[pangeanews]

Quel porco di Salinger a 53 anni se la faceva con una di 18, sedotta & abbandonata dopo pochi mesi. Ora la diciottenne ha 64 anni e asfalta il movimento #MeToo. “Da vent’anni subisco le conseguenze di aver raccontato una storia proibita”

Il morso del mostro. In questa storia, all’apparenza, c’è un vecchio che abusa di una ‘ninfetta’, la trama, in effetti, pare quella di Lolita. Il mostro, in questa storia, è uno degli scrittori più celebri, celebrati, letti al mondo, di cui, per altro, attraverso l’autobiografia della figlia, sappiamo le turbe, le bizzarrie, l’ansia padronale, il terrore di proteggere la proprietà privata della propria vita.

*

Questa storia potrebbe chiamarsi sul relativismo dell’abominio. Se, oggi, ci pare chiaro che un vecchio – seduttore impenitente – abbia abusato di una giovane appena maggiorenne è meno chiaro l’uso del termine abuso. Ha abusato della sua ingenuità, direi, del suo desiderio di essere sedotta da un uomo famoso quanto segreto. L’abusata, però, vent’anni fa fu detta selvaggia arpia, la fatale che ha stordito a suon di prestazioni sessuali il vecchio, per rapirne il talento.

*

Joyce Maynard farà 65 anni il 5 novembre, all’epoca dei fatti ne aveva 18: è una scrittrice di un certo successo, tradotta anche in Italia (il primo libro, Baby Love, è stato pubblicato da Mondadori nel 1982, l’ultimo, L’ombra degli Havilland, è stato pubblicato quest’anno da HarperCollins, riguardo a Un giorno come tanti, edito da Piemme nel 2015, Francesco Motta, sulle pagine del ‘Domenicale’ del Sole 24 Ore, giudica la Maynard “una scrittrice di razza”), da un suo libro, Da morire, è tratto il film di Gus Van Sant, nel 1995, con Nicole Kidman e Matt Dillon. Nonostante la buona volontà, per tutti, però, Joyce Maynard è quella che a 18 anni, nel 1972, s’è messa nel letto di J. D. Salinger, la leggenda vivente della letteratura Usa, lo scrittore del Giovane Holden, che, tra l’altro, il primo gennaio del 2019 compirebbe 100 anni.

*

La storia è questa. Joyce Maynard è una diciottenne di talento che manda articoli e racconti ai quotidiani del corteo. Il talento c’è davvero, visto che il 23 aprile del 1972 il New York Times gli pubblica un pezzo, An 18-Year-Old Looks Back On Life. L’incipit del pezzo è buono, ed è inquietante quanto ciò che è stato scritto 45 anni fa valga pari-pari oggi: “Ogni generazione pensa di essere speciale – i miei nonni perché ricordano cavalli e passeggini, i miei genitori perché hanno vissuto la Depressione. Chi ha più di trent’anni è speciale perché ha visto la Corea, Chuck Berry, i beatniks. La mia sorella più grande si crede speciale perché appartiene alla prima generazione dei teen-agers (prima, si era semplicemente adolescenti), quando essere teen-ager era divertente. E io – io ho 18 anni. La mia è la generazione delle attese insoddisfatte”. L’articolo è arricchito da una fotografia a pagina piena di Joyce. Ragazza pulita, più matura della sua età, pare, informalmente sexy.

*

Diciamo che J. D. Salinger è stato attratto dalla fotografia – ma già che c’era ha fatto credere a Joyce di essere intelligente. Morale. Dopo breve scambio di lettere intrise di fuoco e di labirinti, “mi ha spinto a lasciare il college per andare a vivere con lui (avere bambini, collaborare a spettacoli che avremmo dovuto realizzare a Londra) e diventare (così credevo) la sua donna per sempre”. A Joyce non pare vero che il più celebre scrittore americano abbia scelto proprio lei. Ai genitori di lei neppure. Così, Joyce rifiuta la borsa di studio a Yale, lascia tutto, e diventa la geisha di Salinger. Dopo un po’, però, al vecchio di 53 anni – anzi, ora 54 – la giovinetta sta sulle palle: durante un viaggio in Florida, “con parole devastanti”, le dice di andarsene, mettendole in mano due pezzi da 50 dollari, “di prendere le mie cose, di sparire”.

*

Joyce non omette di dire che s’era trasferita da Salinger “con una valigia piena di minigonne”, il che significa che il rapporto non era esattamente sotto l’ombra della letteratura. In un libro pubblicato vent’anni fa, nel 1998 – e stranamente inedito in Italia – At Home in the World, Joyce, che nel frattempo ha scritto, si è sposata e ha fatto figli, racconta i suoi sette mesi nella casa di Salinger. Racconta anche di come il vecchio obbligava la ragazzina – in preda ad anoressia – a prenderglielo in bocca (“descrivevo sommariamente l’esperienza di un rapporto orale forzato con un uomo di 35 anni più vecchio”).

*

Come Salinger si è liberato di lei, così Joyce, vent’anni fa, si è liberata di lui. Prima pubblicando un libro, poi mettendo all’asta le lettere che Salinger le aveva inviato. Un tardivo, fruttuoso (furono acquistate da un fan dello scrittore per 156.500 dollari) rogo. Dalle righe del New York Times, ora, 45 anni dopo la fine della fulminea relazione con Salinger, 20 anni dopo la pubblicazione del suo libro, Joyce Maynard piglia la penna e in Was She J.D. Salinger’s Predator or Hid Prey?, pone una domanda maliziosa. Vent’anni fa fu accusata di essere una predatrice, una che voleva la fama sulla pelle del più famoso scrittore degli Usa. Ora, in era di imperante #MeToo, come sarebbe letta quella vicenda, in cui un uomo potente di fama usa la propria rapacità seduttiva per ghermire una giovane? “Lo scorso autunno, quando è dilagata sulla stampa la notizia degli abusi perpetrati da Harvey Weinstein su donne dell’industria dello spettacolo, seguita da rivelazioni quasi giornaliere di uomini importanti che avrebbero compiuto violazioni simili, ho pensato che la mia vicenda potesse tornare alla luce. Ho pensato che qualcuno mi telefonasse. Ma il telefono non ha squillato”. Il #MeToo adotta, cinicamente, la dinamica dei ‘due pesi due misure’, a seconda dell’utilità pubblica c’è abuso e abuso.

*

Nel suo articolo, poco velatamente, Joyce accusa Salinger di essere un predatore di diciottenni. “Ho ricevuto lettere e email di donne della mia età con una storia assai familiare: attorno ai 18 anni ricevettero una lettera – accattivante, addirittura magica – composta da una voce che riconoscevano essere quella di Holden Caulfield, sebbene fosse un nome, posto in calce alla pagina, ben più familiare, ad aver scritto parole che potrei recitare a memoria, tanto le conosco bene”.

*

Il morso del mostro, del genio, ha marchiato per sempre Joyce. In fondo, racconta, quando presentava i suoi libri, agli interlocutori interessava vedere la faccia di quella che ha visto la leggenda nuda, che ha svelato le pudenda dello scrittore più venduto ed enigmatico di sempre. Spesso le chiedevano, alla fine della presentazione, se era vero che Salinger avesse lavorato a dei romanzi, per ora ignoti. Il genio, in qualche modo, vampirizza le sue prede – non c’è scampo al suo morso. Nonostante il rogo, egli risorge. Una manciata di mesi al cospetto di una leggenda mutano una vita intera: chi vede la nudità del dio ne è marchiato per sempre.

*

La vera colpa, ad ogni modo, è che Joyce non si sia dimostrata una scrittrice più geniale di Salinger. Questo è l’unico abuso che la letteratura concede. (d.b.)

**

Si pubblicano alcuni passi dall’articolo di Joyce Maynard, “Was She J.D. Salinger’s Predator or His Prey?”, pubblicato il 5 settembre 2018 su The New York Times.

Di me è stato, sulle pagine di questo giornale, che sono una predatrice. L’autore di quella considerazione non è stato l’unico a pensarla così. Nel 1998, quasi vent’anni prima del movimento #MeToo, pubblicai un libro in cui raccontavo la mia relazione con uno scrittore famoso e venerato, che mi ha sedotto quando aveva 53 anni e io 18.

Non voglio catalogare gli epiteti – da ‘donna sanguisuga’ a ‘opportunista un tempo ninfetta’ – caduti su di me e sul mio lavoro (“la confessione da uno squallido boudoir”) per una stagione. La storia raccontata nel mio libro, At Home in the World, è stata accolta dalla stampa culturale con una condanna pressoché universale. Questo non ha distrutto la mia carriera o il mio equilibrio emotivo – ma quasi. Il mio crimine – che mi è valsa la discutibile opinione di un importante critico letterario di essere l’autrice del “più brutto libro mai scritto” – è stata la decisione, dopo 25 anni di silenzio, di scrivere un libro di memorie in cui racconto la mia relazione con un uomo vecchio e potente. Nella primavera del 1972, dopo aver pubblicato un saggio accompagnato da una fotografia particolarmente innocua (bluejeans, capelli all’aria, niente trucco), ricevetti una lettera da J.D. Salinger che denunciava la sua ammirazione, la sua amicizia, offrendomi la sua guida spirituale – in successive lettere e telefonate, mi ha spinto a lasciare il college per trasferirmi a vivere con lui (avere bambini, collaborare a spettacoli che avremmo messo in scena per il West End di Londra) e diventare (così credevo) la donna della sua vita. Rinunciai alla borsa di studio e a Yale, ho interrotto la comunicazione con i miei amici e mi sono mossa (con una valigia piena di minigonne e dischi che mi era precluso ascoltare) dal New Hampshire per stare con lui. Sette mesi dopo, durante un viaggio in Florida, con parole devastanti rispetto a quelle accattivanti e ammalianti di prima, mi ha messo in mano due pezzi da 50 dollari, ordinandomi di tornare nel New Hampshire, di pigliare la mia roba e di sparire. Credendo che Salinger fosse l’uomo spiritualmente più elevato che avessi mai conosciuto, accettai il suo giudizio, ero una donna indegna, e per il quarto di secolo successivo parlai a malapena della mia esperienza, anche con l’uomo che infine ho sposato e da cui ho avuto tre figli. […]

Da vent’anni subisco le conseguenze di aver raccontato quella storia proibita e anche se ho pubblicato nove romanzi e un’altra autobiografia, e nessuno di questi libri riguardi Salinger, soltanto poche recensioni non accennano al fatto che quando avevo 18 anni ho dormito con un grande scrittore e che in seguito, commisi l’imperdonabile offesa di raccontare quella storia. Lo scorso autunno, quando è dilagata sulla stampa la notizia degli abusi perpetrati da Harvey Weinstein su donne dell’industria dello spettacolo, seguita da rivelazioni quasi giornaliere di uomini importanti che avrebbero compiuto violazioni simili, ho pensato che la mia vicenda potesse tornare alla luce. Ho pensato che qualcuno mi telefonasse. Ma il telefono non ha squillato. E sebbene io creda che quello stesso libro pubblicato vent’anni fa oggi sarebbe recepito diversamente, non mi pare che l’attenzione sugli abusi degli uomini di potere si estenda retroattivamente alle donne che hanno scelto di parlare di queste cose molto tempo fa e sono state svergognate perché lo hanno fatto. […]

Ecco una scena che si svolge ogni volta che parlo del mio ultimo lavoro in una libreria. Dopo aver letto un pezzo e passato una ventina di minuti a discuterlo, un uomo, in fondo alla stanza, alza la mano e mi pone la domanda che per lui è decisiva più di ogni altra. ‘Cosa può dirci dei manoscritti che Salinger teneva chiusi in cassaforte e che sarebbero stati pubblicati dopo la sua morte?’. Questa persona mi riduce a una donna il cui unico valore risiede in una lontana intimità con l’unico scrittore davvero importante, qui dentro. Che briciole di informazioni posso dare? Non conosco manoscritti, dico, anche se è vero che durante i mesi che ho passato con Salinger, ogni mattina, lui spariva in una stanza a scrivere. So che stava davanti alla macchina da scrivere e che scriveva. […]

Ho 64 anni, ora. Nei decenni trascorsi da quando ho pubblicato la storia di quei giorni e il loro effetto duraturo sulla mia vita, ho ricevuto molte lettere dai lettori. Alcune provengono da donne con storie simili alla mia, agghiaccianti, di uomini vecchi e potenti che, quando queste donne erano molto giovani, hanno conquistato la loro fiducia estremamente ingenui e il loro cuore, alterando il corso della loro esistenza. Ho anche ricevuto lettere e email di donne della mia età con una storia assai familiare: attorno ai 18 anni ricevettero una lettera – accattivante, addirittura magica – composta da una voce che riconoscevano essere quella di Holden Caulfield, sebbene fosse un nome, posto in calce alla pagina, ben più familiare, ad aver scritto quelle parole che potrei recitare a memoria, tanto le conosco bene. Almeno una dei destinatari, ho scoperto, intratteneva una corrispondenza con Salinger in quello stesso inverno in cui vivevo con lui, così attenta a non disturbare la sua scrittura. Da qualche parte in questa storia c’è un predatore. Lascio ai miei lettori – che hanno oggi una visione più ampia, forse, dei lettori di vent’anni fa – decidere chi sia.

Joyce Maynard

  L'articolo Quel porco di Salinger a 53 anni se la faceva con una di 18, sedotta & abbandonata dopo pochi mesi. Ora la diciottenne ha 64 anni e asfalta il movimento #MeToo. “Da vent’anni subisco le conseguenze di aver raccontato una storia proibita” proviene da Pangea.

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