The Catcher In The Rye

The Catcher In The Rye

J.D Salinger

My Relation

     In The book "The Catcher In the Rye" by J.D Salinger. There a main character named Holden.

He is very negative and lives his life with a chip on his shoulder. His hatred of the world seems to stem from no where. Even when I go back and reread parts of the book, it still confuses me why Holden is so upset all the time. He comes from a good family, it may be because his brother was always the golden child. Where as, Holden hasn't even made a future for myself. I think that Holden is depressed because of this, or some other thing that he has going on in his head. I have heard that a definition of depression is, not being able to make a future for yourself. Which is exactly what happens to Holden throughout the book, he goes to NewYork to try and find a future for himself, and ends up getting into an even bigger mess with his life. He ends up in a mental hospital in the end, which according to some people its a step forwarding. I think it is a step forward for Holden.  

     Being in a group while reading this book what very useful because I got to see the book from different views. And I got different input on thoughts about Holden and other characters in the book. It having partners allowed me to question myself, and the way I think about things verses the way they think about things. For example, my partners thought that Holden wasn't aware of his negative thinking, but I think that Holden is fully aware of his negativity, and unhappiness. When Holden has his "Vision" about being the catcher in the rye, he points out that he is happy. A normal happy person would point out when they are sad, instead of when they are happy, because they would usually be happy so it would be too much to point out when they are happy. But this book is in 1st person, so it shows that Holden knows what it is to be happy, and it is something special for him when he is happy.

Which it really sad, because it means that he is usually so sad, that when he actually is happy, he has to point it out.

     I relate to Holden, which I regret. I often find myself thinking very negatively. And over judging people just as Holden does, and it really stems from a seed of a little bit of self hatred inside. Which I think, everyone has a little bit of in them. Really, its a problem of saving myself from my own head, and catching myself when I start to make a judgement of someone or something and thinking about, why I am thinking this about that person.And I have to think of ways to fix my flaws, before I point out other peoples flaws, and so does Holden.

MAKE UP – HOMEWORK Nonfiction

Nonfiction

"Hypothalamus:Brain Region May Hold The Key to Aging"

science daily.com

     Scientists have always wondered wether or not people aged by their tissue in their body, or if it was another thing. They recently learned that the aging a human goes through comes from the hypothalamus, which is an organ in the brain. Scientists have done experiments on mice, and have found that they can alter the aging time in mice and make their life span longer. 

     I think that this discovery is amazing, and it could help the elderly with diseases, because it could make their life span longer, if they have their hypothalamus changed in anyway. I think that this could bring new possibility in younger people, stopping their aging at a certain age, and being young forever, maybe even living forever! This could also help people with diseases such as heart disease, arthritis etc. because, there are many diseases that come with age. I also think, that it would take a very LONG time for this to work for humans because, even if this works for mice, Humans and mice are similar in there bodies and there build. But, there are a lot of obvious differences, they are completely different creatures. But I do think that this could be a major break through in scientific studies of aging.

Nonfiction - Reading Response

Science Research

Lily Green

811

Question: Do preservatives affect the speed at with mold grows?

Preservatives in food are made to kill bacteria and enzymes that cause the food to go bad, and mold. There are generally 3 types of preservatives,antimicrobials which prevent the growth of mold,bacteria,and yeast.Then, there are antioxidants that prevents the food from “rancidity.” And the last preservative type fights enzymes that cause the fruit to ripen after being picked.

Sulfites, these preservatives prevent the growth of certain microorganisms that disturb the growth process of a cell. Propionates are antimicrobials and are used to keep baked goods fresh.(According to Hassan Gourama Ph.D associate professor of food science at PSU.) Propionic acid grows naturally in some fruits,but is essentially used to keep bread from going bad, and stop mold from invading cells.

I believe that preservatives do affect the speed at which mold grows.Food without

preservatives will mold more quickly.

READING REFLECTION

#1.)
1.) Push-Saphire
2.) Blink-Malcolm Gladwell
3.) The Giver
4.) The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

#2.)
I need to work on reading stamina, and read at least 30 minutes every day.I also need to read more nonfiction, and some other books that aren't depressing, or science fiction.
I also need to work on frequently logging, and reading more, in general. I also need to find a quiet place to read, and when reading, work on absorbing the book and find a little bit to relate to within it.

#3.)
The 3 books I want to read next, are the rest of "The Giver" books.
book 2 3 and 4 : )
And I have a couple of John Green books that I am working on.

#4.)
For non-fiction I would like to read articles on science, about the human body. And also about natural disasters like earthquakes and such.

#5.)
I need to improve on taking direct quotes from the book and adding them to my response.
I also need to improve on writing more meaningful responses.
As well as, working on making my reading responses more interesting by relating the book/story/article to the real world.

Nonfiction Reading Response

Nonfiction Reading Response

New Research Suggests Bacteria Are Social Microorganisms:

September 6th 2012

Certain bacterias are found to be able to create and send out a chemical compound that can kill other bacteria's around, except for their own. Some scientists say that having a “social” class, for bacteria nay be able to keep different bacteria colonies easily in order. Then again, this new discovery dis-proves many things that scientists already know about plants and humans. And the types of bacteria that they inhabit. Scientists have also found that this strategy of a bacteria sending out a chemical compound, is usually used for self defense. Or when 2 or more different bacteria colonies are fighting for the same space to live. The creating of chemical compounds and sending them to kill other bacteria, really only works if all of the other bacteria's are closely related. This entire study brings up the question of, why doesn't the toxic chemical compound kill the releasing bacteria? If all of the bacteria are similar, what is the difference in the one bacteria that doesn't die, how is the bacteria build not affected by a potentially toxic compound?

                         I think that it is very important to answer the questions listed above because, if we don't figure these things out, the bacteria could grow stronger, and make compounds that could harm humans. For example, say a person has some sort of bacterial infection somewhere in their body. If the body sends “good” bacteria to go and fight that “bad” bacteria... The bad bacteria, could possibly have become strong enough to be able to create a chemical compound that can harm bacteria's that they aren't that closely related to. Therefore the person wouldn't have the strength to fight again a bacteria that just kills of the bodies immune system tactic. I also think that it is very interesting that the bacteria featured in this article are considered part of a “Social Class” where, there are the bigger bacteria colonies, with tons of clones, that will kill things that stand in their way. And then there's the smaller bacteria colonies with not such a great army of clones, that will easily be killed by the chemical compound created by a larger, and more powerful bacteria type. The fact that bacteria are already living, and not scientists believe that they organize themselves in social groups, just as humans do can pose a threat, as well as a wonderful opportunity to study certain bacteria's more in depth.

                          In conclusion, this topic really interests me. And I would like to do more research on bacteria, and be able to create my own hypothesis on the subject. 

"The Color Red" By: Lily Green

          The book that I am reading are not worth responding, seeing as I just started it. But, I hope its alright if I write about a song I wrote. I called it "The Color Red" you see, where it got its name... Was from my mom. I couldn't think of anything to write about. And I asked my mom, she gave me a list that she had printed out earlier on things to write a song about. # 5 said, The Color Red. In capital red letters. I began writing the song with first writing my piano piece. I thought I would write a very simple piano piece because the song was going to be complicated in its own melody.

          I wrote the main song about how the color red can get you through something when you're down. It may not be true about me, but I have learned a lot. From my sister, and a lot of other people. I wrote about the color red because I found it was really bold once I looked at it closer. I also found that, in all its integrity. The color red can be a very soothing color. My favorite line in the song. Is "It's so cold in nowhere right now." Its about, when you're in a  place of sadness. And when you're lost, ,its "cold". Meaning your lonely, or inside, your cold. I wanted to write this song because i thought it was time I wrote about what can happen when someone is sad. What pulls them through that time?

Maniac Magee/ Social Awareness issue

     when I was in 5th grade, I remember reading for the first time, my favorite book ever! It's called " Maniac Magee"  by: Jerry Spinelli. The reason I loved this book so much is because it felt so fast paced. But at the same time, it felt like I was living this struggling boys life with him.

     I think that main idea / problem in the book " Maniac Magee", is that the boy loses  his parents, and after running away from his grandparents who had been taking care of him. He meets many inspiring people on the way. Maniac, meets people that he loves, and meet people that don't believe in him, or end up leaving him. I think that Maniac is misunderstood, and really just wants to find stability in someone. often people in the world want everything to stay the same and don't care for change. Maniac also seeks for things to stay the same. But, only when he is in a good time in his life, Maniac met a man, that was later nicknamed Grey [ all I can remember] He grew very close to this man "Grey" and he moved in with him. Grey served as a father figure to maniac and helped to get his life back on track. But, later on in the story, Grey dies and Maniac is left alone ONCE AGAIN! :( I think that this relates to a real world problem of children that dont have anyone to depend on. Or that don't have anyone that can rightfully take care of them. 

     In conclusion, I think that Maniac is misunderstood from the grape vine. And that he really just wants someone that will always be there to take care of him. And to make sure that he gets the love  that he needs. Maniac goes through many loops that relate to real world problems that need to be worked at in order to be solved.