Catcher in the Rye - Chapter 9

The grand clock at Penn Station had struck half past eleven when a tall, lanky boy of an obvious youth had stepped on to the arrival platform. He carried a large suitcase, too big of a size for the boy to be leisurely travelling alone. The Pencey Prep sticker on one of his Gladstones explained everything; he was returning from school. However, no apparent parent was thereto welcome him home. In fact the station was quite deserted. Curiously enough, the boy went into a phone booth.

What he did in the next twenty minutes was even more confusing. He stood inside with the phone grasped by his hands with a face which became increasingly distorted. His fingers would flinch to dial a number every few minutes but then a look of apprehension would cross his face as he thought about it. His fingers ended up dialling nobody. His shoulders drooped and he trudged out of the booth. As sadness filled his eyes, he picked up his bag and caught a cab.

Whether this boy had a destination in the beginning is a good question as the cab driver was told a wrong address at the start. However, the boy only seemed to be fascinated about the ducks or in other words, he seemed desperate to know where they all went when they could not live in the lake anymore. He became upset when the cab driver could not give him an answer. Interestingly, the lost boy did not return home but booked into a small hotel.

Version of Childhood found in Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh, the book by, constructs a version of childhood through demonstrating different aspects in each character as well as communicating a consistent representation through similarities in the actions of all characters. This is created through the text and the visuals.The most significant version of childhood illustrated throught the book is the idea that it is a period when companionship has uttermost importance. This is is closely followed by the construction of childhood as a time of self-aware dependence.

The version of childhood that a child's daily life revolves constantly around companionship and their dislike for isolation is articulated through the characters' response to certain situations. For example, when Piglet's house is entirely flooded, instead of thinking of the dire cicumstances that he is trapped in he only wishes to be with his friend, Pooh. He mutters, "If only I had been in Pooh's house when it began to rain, then I should have had Company all this time, instead of being here all alone." This shows his lack of concern for his survival and naive attitude towards reality. Piglet's desire to be with a friend is communicated most strongly and the fact that his first reaction is to be not alone highlights that childhood is a time of simple longing for interaction with others.

Childhood is also constructed to be a time of dependece of which the child is completely aware and have accepted. Pooh represents this version through innocently admitting that he cannot read and claiming that 'someone smarter' could read it for him. He says, "I must find Christopher Robin or Owl or Piglet, one of those CLever Readers who they can read things and they will tell me what the missage means." This allows an insight into a child's mind that they believe that they are incapable of some qualities in which they admire in others but have no problem of accepting that they cannot achieve it. This is derived from the mindset of children that adults are automatically more experienced and therefore can be depended on. Therefore, the text constructs a version of childhood which entails that it is a time of accepted and required dependence.