Chapter 8

Quote 1: "Women kill me. They really do. I don't mean I'm oversexed or anything like that-- although I am quite sexy. I just like them, I mean. They're always leaving their goddam bags out in the middle of the aisle." (p.63) (ch.8) (C)


Quote 2: "Then I started reading this timetable I had in my pocket. Just to stop lying. Once I get started, I can go on for hours if I feel like it. No kidding. Hours." (p.65-66) (ch.8) (T)

I don't really know what to think about this. I kind of laughed when I first read it because Holden is all over the place in this statement. First he is talking about how he likes girls and how he thinks he has some big sex appeal or something, and then he is basically saying girls annoy him sometimes. When he says they are always leaving their goddam bags in the aisle. This is the part I really laughed hard at because of course girls are going to carry a bag or a purse in a big city, and the way Holden phrases it. Holden always jumps around in the way he talks in the first chapter we learned that he could be having a conversation and be thinking about something else all at once. We can infer that he is very talented and is able to hold a lot on his plat. When he jumps around in his sentences, it lets me know he notices the small things and we already know that he can detect phony from a mile away. He probably thinks it is phony to carry a purse because you may have something to hide in it. Holden is a curious and strange guy we definitely are continuing to see layers peel off and Holden's character is shining bright.
In this second quote from chapter 8, may be one of my favorite Holden lines. The topic comes up again about him lying. I already discussed the differences between a pathological liar and a normal/casual liar in another post. I came to the conclusion that I think Holden is a casual liar. He lies for the fun of it and to see the outcome, we see this in almost every chapter Holden is lying about something. Holden is really starting to show us his true colors. He first off flunked out of school, and now he is lying to this poor kids mom on the train. He lied about his name, he told her that her son was the most popular at Pency, and he tells her he has a small brain tumor. When is the lying going to stop? It is almost hypocritical when he says he hates phony people and he can detect a phony person, but he is telling lie after lie just because no one knows the truth, so no one can stop him. So what does that make him? I think that is makes him a fake too, it makes him look very hypocritical.