Under the Moon

We met on December thirteenth, 
And a short moment occurred between us where our eyes locked.
It was then that we knew,
When the stars shined so brightly,
Basking the snow in their glow,
We were meant for each other.

You were the star quarterback,
And I was the quiet, shy girl.
Two different types that were never supposed to mix.

Everyone foretold of our demise...
Our destined failure,
But we pressed on; a year in time.
The days went by,
And the two of us became inseparable.

There was just something about the season we met
That made everything alight with a new life.
The trees, though barren, seemed content,
While the snow glossed over the littlest things
To bestow them with a new shine.

But the winter nights were the most lively; the skies.
You and I were naturally drawn to the moon,
A bright ball of hope in the vast sky
Made even brighter by the winter air.
It was our future; it was our guardian.
It would always be our angel.

And it was under that very moon
Where our fingers intertwined, our lips locked.
Our Passion...
A burning sensation.
Fervent emotions molding together in a blend against the icy air.
Snow fell in light sprinkles onto our hats.

"Merry Christmas," you whispered into my ear softly
And I smiled.
You told me that everything would always be all right
As long as the nights carried on.

No one would know of our time spent,
Our moment shared,
Where we first kissed under the moon
On the twenty-fifth,
A perfect little evening.

And no one would care,
Except for our guardian of hope; our angel.

Our winter moon.

In Rememberance of J.D. Salinger

Born on the first of January in 1919, J.D. Salinger was a renowned writer throughout time. He had published other writings in the fiction genre, but it was his first publication for the New Yorker magazine was where he made his first appearance with his best-selling novel (one of his only novels, I believe): the Catcher in the Rye.

It was said that he effectively "...captured the hearts of several generations with his pitch-perfect knowledge of adolescence and his ear for the vernacular..." (New York Times). It is true; as soon as he came out with the story for the New Yorker magazine, it instantly got a lot of followers. The reason it was so popular was because the main character--Holden Caulfield--differentiated from other main characters in literature at the time...especially since he was an American teenager with many problems (quite symbolical to our society now). Holden was rebellious, he was witty, he was sarcastic, and most importantly, he was different from the usual.

Of course, for every positive quality to something there is always a negative to counter it; many critics discouraged the fact that Salinger freely used vulgarity for the language in his book, but even so, most reviews were "exultant" as the Catcher in the Rye remained at the top of the New York Times best-seller list for at least several months, fully establishing the Catcher in the Rye cult.

"For decades the book was a universal rite of passage for adolescents, the manifesto of disenchanted youth.But what matters is that even for the millions of people who weren't crazy, Holden Caulfield, Salinger's petulant, yearning (and arguably manic-depressive) young hero was the original angry young man. That he was also a sensitive soul in a cynic's armor only made him more irresistible." (Time Magazine)

Holden's Dilemma

A young teenage boy and the main character of the Cather in the Rye, Holden is a troubled teenager with many problems. Having been kicked out of (no, excuse me, "run away from") Pencey Prep, he struts off to New York and plans to live his life there for a little while. You find so much about him though that it's mildly scary.

From what I have read so far, Holden is a young man that doesn't quite know which direction he wants to travel in yet though he does know exactly what he wants--and needs--to search out for during his lifetime: phonies. Holden is absolutely obsessed with scoping them out of a crowd; he seems so immersed in the idea as well, but I think I've figured out why that could possibly be...

I've mentioned before that Holden seemed to be a very troubled teenager, and as a result, he tries to look at other things in life rather than himself. Thus, he can easily pinpoint the faults of others; I think that's mainly because he doesn't want to look at his own faults for fear that others might realize them too. To me, it's very hypocritical that he discusses when someone else fakes who they truly are when he blatantly lies to others all of the time; he even states this in the third chapter "I'm the biggest liar you'll ever meet", but we don't know for certain whether he's telling the truth or not about that...

He also has a habit of putting certain people that he holds close to him on pedestals, like Jane, Allie, and Phoebe. He regards those three as people who aren't phony, which is interesting given the fact that Jane goes out with Holden's roommate: Stradlater. You think that knowing he was a flirt and renowned for scoring all of the girls would give her some sort of warning, but she still goes out with him. It's a wonder why Holden still regards her in such high quality. 

My Red Hunting Hat

A hunting hat is a specific type of headpiece usually worn by hunters; the purpose of the article of clothing is not for a stylish appearance or for warmth. The purpose of the hat is to warn the similar hunters--predators--of one's presence and to stay hidden to the eyes of the hunted--the prey. Since animals are notably colorblind, it makes it rather hard for them to distinguish hunters.

Holden's red hunting hat was one that he bought in order to pick out the 'phonies': the fake people who try to put up this front to the public when, in reality, they're actually the opposite of what they want to be. (I find this interesting, however, as Holden is phony as well...very hypocritical.) Really, I think Holden is searching for the fakes not because he doesn't like them, but I think it's more so a matter of finding people who might be similar to him. They don't know that he's hunting them--even though his presence is in plain sight. 

If I had a red hunting hat, it would be worn to differentiate myself from the everyday citizens as I try to scope out the phonies. It would be hard for them to hunt me since I, essentially, present myself at public places the same way I do at home...sometimes I present myself a bit differently in order to appeal to the age group I'm interacting with. Both Holden and I would share the same goals, but most likely for different reasons.