Holden's Schooling Experience

Holden Caulfield has just succeeded at being kicked out of another great, expensive prep school and he knows that his parents will be furious and disappointed. He was able to flunk four out of five subjects. English is the only class he passed because he likes it and he does not think it is too ridiculous for him to concentrate in and he does not think it is a phony subject. Now I do not understand why he only has five classes. I guess he may not have to take a physical education class at a private school but where are his electives? It is possible that he would have been able to better at school if he could choose some of his classes, ones that he enjoyed and that he knew he would exceed in. Holden was also the manager of the fencing team. "I was the goddam manager of the fencing team. Very big deal."(Salinger,6). I wonder though, why was he not a member of the team? It is possible that you had to keep certain grades to be eligible for extra-curicular activities and maybe he was just found to be not very good but they wanted him to have a place on the team because he tried. That happens at our school when sports season comes around and there are tryouts. Only a few people have to be cut but they are almost always offered a spot on the team as a manager or something similar and I think that this is more embarrassing than being cut. During the games everyone knows "He must not have made the team" or something similar and people do pick them out. It is sad to see and they are made fun of. That could be another reason why Holden hated school. He left school at the first opportunity he had and he just picked up his stuff and left. Holden did not like many people there. Only a few teachers and a few kids and he thought what the hell, why not leave?

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print