Please compose a letter as Holden to one of the following people:
His Mother
D.B.
Allie
Carl Luce
Mr. Spencer
Ward Stradlater
Jane Gallagher
Sally Hayes
Use this letter as way of expressing Holden's feelings. You can write about Holden's feelings for the person or about his feelings about what he is going through. Perhaps you want Holden to apologize for something or get something off of his chest.
Letters should be a minimum of 250 words in length and are due by Monday, May 23 by 11:59 PM.
Dear Mother,
ReplyDeleteHow are you? You may be wondering why I was not at school. Well, I got the ax again. I deserved it too though. Pency is just not a place where I fit in. Nevertheless, I was not a total failure; I passed English. I am very sorry to disappoint you, especially after all that you have done for me. I have been meaning to thank you for the ice skates. I intend to use them a lot. I will have to take Phoebe out skating this winter. I know that it is frustrating that I keep failing out of school, especially after how well D.B. and Phoebe are doing. I hope that this did not ruin your Christmas. I will not be around Christmas Eve because I will be at Sally Hayes’s house to decorate their tree… hopefully. I have been making many mistakes lately. I really hope that this does not make you any more nervous. I will be fine. If the ducks in the lagoon in Central Park South do not freeze in the winter, neither will I. I will try harder next semester. Or maybe I can just start working, maybe go to Vermont and get a job. What do you think? I really hope that my actions do not hurt you in anyway. Don’t worry about telling Phoebe because I came home one night and told her. She is a good kid, she’ll make circles around me. I’ll be home soon. Do you know if D.B. will be home for Christmas? I hope he is. It would be nice for everyone to be together for the holidays.
See you soon,
Holden
Hey mom i have some bad news to tell you. Before you get mad and all i should tell you that i flunked out of school again, but on the bright side i did pass english soo it wasnt a total fail. right now i am in new york city untill wendsday and am having a blast. i will be home soon i just thought i would let you know what is going on before the school calls and makes it sound worse than it really is. Tell dad this also because i dont need him flipping out when he gets home.The truth is i dont really like school all that much and i find it a waste of time, maybe you can send me to a co-ed school instead of an all boys school or a school with dress codes. those are all phoney. I dont need to be stuck with a bunch of jocks and nerds all day it makes me uncomfterable.If you expect me to be as successfull as d.b then youve got it all wrong, the truth is i miss allie alot and it is hard to concentrate in school, just a few days ago i wrote an essay for my room mate and i wrote it about allie and the baseball glove. He through it right in my face and said it was crap and all, but thats just the type of people that are at this school..a bunch of phoneys who dont do there own work and get all the girls. Truth is you should let me pick where i want to go to school because it would make it a hellove alot easier on me and it wouldnt take me forever to graduate and would be alot cheaper.
ReplyDeleteDear Mom,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to let you know what has been going on before i get home so you can get your anger out now. I have not been in school this week. Pencey ended up kicking me out for failing most of my classes. I know you are going to be mad but its not like I failed every class there. I passed English. Pencey just wasnt right for me. Its hard to concentrate on school when you are crowded with phonies through out the whole school. Plus it didnt help that one of the biggest phonies there was my own room mate. I ended up getiing in a fight with him the night that I left the school because I was so sick of his attitude. Right now I am staying at a hotel in New York City and I will be coming home in a few days, once you get your anger out. I know ill be fine. Im just going through a phase right now.
Love,
Holden
Dear Sally,
ReplyDeleteHello, I hope you are doing well. I'd like to start off by apologizing for what I said to you after our date. I know I already said I was sorry a lot, and you didn't accept my apology then so I don't think you will now. I was just frustrated with how my life was going and I suppose that I took it out on you. I hope that you will forgive me. I would also like to ask for your forgiveness for when I called you drunk. I would imagine that I scared you a little bit, but I just needed to talk to you. Your grandmother also seemed upset with me. I hope that your family doesn't dislike me anymore than they already do because of the phone call. I know that your parents dislike me because they think I'm too wild, and I didn't want to hurt our relations any more. I also wrote to tell you that I'm sorry for putting you on the spot when I asked you to run away with me. It was wrong of me and you should not feel guilty for saying no. You have a good life where you are. I don't even think I would have ran away after all. That would be pretty scary, living on our own. So, I'm glad you said no. It was the right choice. I do not want to mess that up more than I already have. I'm probably not a good influence on you, or on anyone for that matter. Well, that's all I wanted to write. If you want me to come to help you trim your tree, write me back. I understand if you don't, though.
Holden
Dear mom, i wanted yo to now that i love you.And im sorry but i have been kicked out of pency. I failed 4 out of 5 subjects. i passed english though. Im sorry that i did but pency just wasnt for me. I felt very bad when i was there it just wasnt for me. So i have been trying to find what to do from now on. I got kicked out early this week, so i went to nyc for awhile to clear my head. It felt good to just relax and think about life. I feel better that i went there i feel less lowsy about myself. I feel that if i didnt tell you this i would be a phony, witch i never want to be. I now that when you read this that you will be mad, but please dont be i no pency just wasnt for me. And when you tll dad please now have him yell at me as bad. I just want us all to have a great christmas. And now i am home i have just got back tonight im in phoebes room talking with her i mist her alot. She is a good girl so dont be mad at her for me keeping her up. She is very smart , she nows everything that is oing around here. I am still wondering if d.b. is coming home for christmas. Well ill see you when you and dad get back from the party.
ReplyDeleteLove Holden
Dear Allie,
ReplyDeleteI miss you more than i thought was ever possible. You weren't just my little brother. No, you were so much more than that. You were truly my best friend. Life has been so hard lately, i honestly don't even know what i am doing with myself. I got kicked out of Pencey, not that i care much, it was full of phonies. You know how much i hate phonies. Honestly some people are just... ridiculous. You know your old baseball mitt? The one with the poems written all over it so you wouldn't be bored during your games. I treasure that mitt, it's one of the few things that are left of you in this world. Well this jerk of a roommate i had back at Pencey convinced me to write this composition for him.It was supposed to be about something real descriptive. So i wrote about your glove. I'm not the greatest of writers but if i may say so myself it was pretty good. He completely flipped because it wasnt about a stupid room or something. I was so pissed, shows how appreciative he was... That's another reason i'm glad i left Pencey. I'm in New York City now, in this crumby hotel. I've had a few interesting situations happen, but i won't get into that. I'm really not looking forward to going home to mother and father. It would all be so much easier if you were still around. Not a day goes by that you don't cross my mind. Hopefully everything gets better.
I love you Allie, hopefully you don't think too badly about the way i've been behaving
Love Holden
Hello Jane. This is your long lost friend Holden Caulfield. I just wanted to check in to see how you were doing. If u wanted to know I got kicked out of my school, pency. They kicked me out since I was failing four classes out of five. I was only passing English. I have been traveling around new york city just chilling and enjoying all the sights. I am staying at a really nice hotel down town. I have been wishing to talk to you for a long time now but I am always scared to call you since I am deeply in love with you and have no idea what to say to you. You mean the whole world to me and you are the only girl I have ever loved. I haven’t tried meeting new girls or anything and becoming friends. I just don’t have the confidence to start talking to anyone. Only if u could get a hold of me or even if we can hangout I would love that so much. You brighten my day every time I see you or if I talk to you. I have been going to clubs and meeting new people everyday but I never get their numbers or ever try to hangout with them after the club. I almost died in my hotel room when I wouldn’t give this pimp guy his five dollars even when I already gave him five dollars for a throw but the girl tricked me and he beat me up because I wouldn’t give him that five dollars. I wanted to ask you if you knew where the ducks went when the ice would freeze over.
ReplyDeleteSee you soon,
Holden
Dear Jane Gallagher,
ReplyDeleteIt would be really nice to meet up with you again! We used to be so close and what not. When are you going to be back in New York? I am there already because my school let out early. I miss you tons. I heard you had a date with stradlater after that big football game up at pency. How did that go for you? I was going to come down and say hello to you and all; just I didn’t know if you would remember me. After all it has been while since we last talked and all. I mean, not to say that you have forgotten me or anything. I am just saying, that I do not think you would remember me all that well. I have nearly called you twice this week, just to see how you are doing. I mean, I would assume you are doing great. Do you remember last summer? When we would go out golfing a lot, and have a great time? Or when I comforted you after your father flipped? Them were the good old times right there. I miss them a lot. I mean, we used to play checkers a lot. And have tons of fun. I guess the entire point of this letter is to ask you to maybe, go on a date with me sometime. I like you and all. By the way, do you still keep your kings in the back row?
From,
Holden
Dear Mom,
ReplyDeleteHow have you been? I have been doin’ alright myself despite what has happened these past few days. I really am. As you may have already heard, I have not been at Pency this last week. One of the reasons is that I left just before break because I just wanted to get out of there. The other reason is that I wanted to be able to come home after you found out that I was kicked out. To tell you the truth, I hated that school. For one thing, the only class I did well in was English. Everything else I flunked. The other thing is that I couldn’t stand my room-mate anymore and that I was tired of all the phonies running around the school. I really am! Anyway, I just decided to get out of there. I have been staying at a hotel for a few days. A few complications arose, but they all have been dealt with. I tried to buy Phoebe a record a few days ago, but it was broken on account of my being somewhat drunk. I know I have made many mistakes in the past. I know I have failed out of so many schools. I know that you and Dad are trying all you can to help me to succeed in life. I know I’m nowhere near as smart or successful as D.B or Phoebe and you have no idea how hard it is to be the odd one out. I am sorry for some of my ignorance and will try a bit harder to do better in the future. I can’t wait to see you and the rest of the family!
Sincerely,
Holden
Dear Allie,
ReplyDeleteHey kid, I bet you’re doing just fine up there and having a great time. I sure do wish that you were here though. I miss having you around, I miss always having someone to talk to, I miss you Allie. My life right now is a little crazy and to be honest messed up. I don't really try in school because I know that everyone's better than me anyway. It’s screwing up my future. I know that I will never be able to get into one of those phony schools, so I despise them. Most of all I hate phonies. Phonies are the epitome of all people. They don’t act like themselves! I don’t think they even know who they really are inside! Allie I don’t know who I am on the inside! I don’t want to be a phony, but I think I am. Just like with Sally Hayes, one minute I didn’t like her because she’s not very intelligent, she really isn’t, and the next minute I’m asking her to run away with me, I think I’m a madman, I really do. I don’t want to go home, I don’t think I can disappoint mom and dad again. I hope that there over me getting kicked out by the time I get home. I really wish you were here right now. I mean I have Phoebe and all and I talk to you sometimes, but the trouble is you never say anything back. I really miss D.B., I mean it’s nice and all that he’s doing so well, it really is, but I hardly ever see him anymore. I’m just so damn lonely Allie, I feel like I’m all alone.
Yours Truly,
Holden
Dear Mr. Ward Stradlater,
ReplyDeleteI know that we were roommates for a while at Pencey High school. But then we had that big fight of ours, well not so big but I don’t usually fight so it was kinda big for me. So any ways after you left our room I went over to Ackley’s and that’s where I got this grand idea to leave Pencey once and for all. I know that this isn’t really a surprise to you because I haven’t been there for a while know but I thought I would send you this letter to apologize to you for the way I treated you the last time that we saw each other. I know that I was mad at you then but know looking back I just can’t see why I was so mad at you for. The main reason was because of the way you were treating me at the time by not telling Jane anything that I had asked you to tell her for me and its my own fault. I mean that’s just the way that you are and you did give me a pretty long time to go and talk to her before you guys went out on your date. I mean really all I ended up doing though was horsing around with you and then I went and let you borrow some of my stuff then didn’t say anything as you left so it’s all on me. So I’m just saying I’m sorry for all the trouble I cause you and goodbye until next time.
Holden Caulfield
Dear Jane,
ReplyDeleteI know this is a little out of the blue, but I've been meaning to give you a ring. I've been...distracted. I've been thinking about you lately, and your kings, always in the back row. I've been thinking about you ever since I found out that you went on a date with Ward Stradlater. I only know him because he was my roommate at Pency. I hope you don’t see him again. He’s such a phony, and I know I say that about a lot of people. I am sure of it this time, though. I don’t mean to imply that you have bad judgment though, I’m really not. I just think he’s all wrong for you. I think you need someone who, obviously, isn’t a phony. You need someone that will take care of you and someone who always has you on their mind. They need to be good at chess, so they can teach you some moves other than your usual trick. I’m sorry; I shouldn’t be telling you how to live your life. I don’t even know how to live, myself. I’m messed up. I truly am. I got kicked out of Pency for failing four out of five classes, went to New York for a few days to prepare for the guilt I’d get from my parents, went on a date with Sally, which didn’t end well, and I still talk to Allie sometimes when I’m depressed, which is more often than I’d like. The only good thing in my life was you, then that got screwed up too, when I went to Pency. I don’t mean to confess my entire life story to you, I really don’t. What I’m trying to say is that I’m really glad we’ve been pals for so long, and I wish we could see each other soon because I need to talk to you. I can’t say what I really want to say in this letter because this kind of message is too personal. I would feel a lot better saying it to you in person. Please write back, call, or visit me any time. I think I’ll be back home by Wednesday. Hopefully, I’ll see you soon.
Sincerely Yours,
Holden Caulfield
Dear Allie,
ReplyDeleteI miss you so much. I just don’t think it’s fair. You were always there for me, you listened and you were so smart. Why wasn’t it me? I don’t want Phoebe and myself to end up like D.B. He got caught up in the wrong stuff. How can he be alright with being a prostitute? I am afraid Phoebe will end up like this too. Mom and dad have been struggling ever since you left. I am not looking forward to telling them I just got kicked out of Pency. I just wish you were here. You would know what to do. You wouldn’t act like all the other phony guys out there. Will everything even be ok? I know it may seem foolish but I really want to know where the ducks go in the winter. You would know, you would understand. No one else understands though, not Sally, not Stradlater, not anyone except maybe Jane. The world probably got to her too though. Things should be better, I just can’t see that side of things though. Not everthing is swell all the time. I’m thinking about moving out to Colorado to work on a ranch. What a thought that is, that way dad can’t kill me like Phoebe says he will. I am sorry for all that has happened I just wish things wouldn’t have had to change. Everything was fine until things changed. All that is good-you, Phoebe, James Castle, all of it is gone or slowly leaving my grasp. Why do things have to change? I miss you.
Holden
Dear Ward Stradlater,
ReplyDeleteI know we had a fight but it was not why you first thought it was about. That baseball mitt that you made fun of and made it seems like nothing. It really means a lot to me. It was my brother’s Allie’s mitt. Who is no longer with us. He was a great brother and you would have liked him. He meant a lot to me and I carry around his mitt where ever I go. You should have asked about it instead of blowing up on me for doing your home work in the first place. I put a lot of my feelings in that paper about his mitt and you should have just been quite about it. His mitt means the world to me it is the last thing I have left of my baby brother. And then you were being very rude about Jane and she was one of my best friends and you implying you had your way with her did not help the situation. I wished I went down there to talk to her and tell her that you are not a good guy to hang around with. Then I would be heading out with her not you and you could have written your own paper and not complain about my great work. I will never understand why you had to be so rude and treat me so bad even after I lent you my hound’s tooth jacket.
With love , OLD Holden
Dear old Stradlater and all,
ReplyDeleteI miss you and our good old conversations and all. You know, the one right before you beat me half to death and all? Anyway, you really hurt me and all. I didn’t like it how you just made my descriptive paragraph be all insignificant and all. You know, I never told you this in person but you are a phony and all. Every single time I talked to you, it was fake and all. I never actually wanted to talk to you but I felt I had to because I was lonely and all. You are just a jerk that doesn’t even care if Jane kept her kings in the back row and all. I’ll even bet you didn’t ask her or mention me at all to her; you are such a jerk and all. However, I do have a serious question for you and all. Do you know what happens to the ducks in central park during the winter and all? Does some man just take them away and all? I’m sorry about my letter but I am extremely lonely and all. I just walked through the park and wanted to die before meeting my sister again and all. I desperately want to have a friend to talk to and all. My melancholy will engulf me and I hope you reply to me or I might kill myself and all. Oh and if you could please ask Jane if she keeps her kings in the back row for me and all. I would really appreciate that, buddy, and all.
Your old buddy Holden, and all
Dear Jane,
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to call you and talk to you for a long time now but every time I build up the nerve, there is either no answer or your mother answers the phone. I know that I at least should have asked her where you were and left a message for you but, to be honest, I was not in the right mood. I think about you often and the good times that we used to have. My biggest regret is how I did not kiss your lips that one day when you were crying on the front porch of your house. I still wonder what was wrong and I hope that everything has been going much better these days. I heard that you went on a date with Ward Stradlater the other night which also worries me because I know what a jerk he can be and he is usually only in it to win it. He was my roommate before I got kicked out of Pencey Prep so I know firsthand how he can be. I truly hope that he did not try to pressure you into anything because you do not deserve a phony like him. Well, I guess that I have been wanting to reach you because I really miss spending time with you. If you are interested feel free to write me back and we can figure out a date when you are back for Christmas Break. I really do hope that everything is going well for you.
Sincerely,
Holden Caulfield
Jane,
ReplyDeleteDo you still keep your kings in the back row? I’d really like to know. Really, I would. I keep on getting it on my mind, and then can’t get it off. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately, and the summer we spent together, playing checkers and holding hands. I heard you went on a date with Ward Stradlater, a guy I knew at Pencey. I don’t know if you’re still seeing him or not, but I thought that you should know that I told him to ask you if you still kept your kings in the back row. He probably didn’t ask though, on account of how he’s such a sexy guy and all. Ugh, Pencey was full of phonies. Speaking of Pencey, I got kicked out on account of how I was failing all of my classes except for English. But I wasn’t too sad to leave and all. My parents won’t get the expulsion letter until another day or so, so I’ve been roaming New York and killing time until I go back home – letting the news sink in before I return, you know. I’ve been awful lonesome lately. Really, I have. I’ve wanted to call you, but I just can’t seem to get in the right mood. Maybe I’m afraid that you won’t want to talk to me. Maybe I’m afraid that you no longer keep your kings in the back row. I don’t know. Anyways, I was thinking that you could respond when you get this letter and maybe we could see each other sometime or something. Oh, and let me know about the kings.
-Holden
Dear Jane Gallagher,
ReplyDeleteSince the night my roommate Ward Stradlater took you out on a date, I have been thinking about you. I have remembered the times we’ve spent together. I killed me that you always kept your kings in the back row. Sometimes I wonder if you still do. I asked Stradlater to ask you, but I bet he didn’t. Recently I have been trying to get a hold of you. I have called your home phone many times, but you are never the one who answers. Your mother answers or no one does at all. The truth is I just hang up when someone other than you answers. Your mother thinks that I’m wild and she probably hates me so I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble. I miss you, I really do. You are one of the only people that I trust. To be honest, the baseball mitt that I showed you which was my little brother Allie’s I have never shown or talked to anyone else about that other than my family. You are the nicest girl and I know I’m so glad I can trust you with something as personal as that. Allie meant the world to me and he still does. I’d rather not tell you this because I don’t want you to get the wrong impression but I got kicked out of Pency. The thing was that place was full of phonies. Everywhere you looked. Even the teachers! I would really like to talk to you soon. When we do talk I want to ask you where all the ducks go in the winter when the pond freezes. I have been thinking about that a lot and asking some people but no one seems to give a good answer. I should be at my parent’s house over your break, I just need to give them some time to take in the fact that I’ve gotten kicked out of another school. I hope to see you soon
Sincerely,
Holden Caulfield
Dear D.B.,
ReplyDeleteYou are a prostitute. Admit it. Why don’t you go sell yourself a bit more, whore? You say you aren’t, but if that’s so, why are you selling your ideas, a part of you, to all these people and all? You’re selling yourself to make a living. Let me guess, you have a pimp too, don’t you? Oh wait, what do you call them? Oh right, an “agent”. Don’t get me wrong, I still love you and all. Hell, you’re my brother. I just absolutely despise how you’re going about town, selling yourself to the masses and all. Me and old Phoebe miss you and wish you’d stop and take some time off being such a prostitute to hang out with all of us again, I really do. And you barely even right back anymore and all. What’s the deal with that? Do you not like me anymore, is that it? Has becoming a Hollywood sellout really changed you that much? Well let me tell you something, all you Hollywood types are all the same. You get there and are all humble, then right when you make a few bucks, you think you’ve hit the big time. Now you can’t go down the street without hearing “Everyone look, it’s writing superstar D.B. Caulfield!”, or at least that’s what your oversized ego’s telling you that you hear. You know what? I don’t want you to respond to this. You know why? Despite the fact that I’m sending this letter to my brother, I’d only receive a letter back from a complete stranger.
Sleep tight, you moron.
-Holden Caulfield
Dear Allie,
ReplyDeleteIts weird not having you around anymore. Life here has been a pain. I mean that since you died and all, mother has been a nervous wreck. And that's not even the worst of my troubles. I got kicked out of Pency prep school, dad is going to kill me. Oh I wrote a composition on your baseball glove, I still keep around with me, I don't even know why. I just wish that you were here right now, so that you, Phoebe and I could go to the park or do something fun together. Right now I"m in New york. Most of the people here are just phonies so I try to stay away from them. I got drunk the other night for no good reason. I guess I was lonely or something. Anyway i felt like I was going to die. After I crept in the house to talk to Phoebe. We talked and danced. You should've seen her. She has gotten so much better. Anyway my plan is to go up and work for some person in Connecticut. I don't know, the one thing I do know is that I don't want to face Mother and Father. I'm kind of just buying time. D.b went to Hollywood he sold himself. I just miss you and I wish I could talk to you. If you were here that would've made everything better for all of us. The other thing is i still have no Idea where the ducks go in the winter. And I've been giving some thought about a song "If a body meet a body coming through the rye". Then there's Jane, I want to call her but I don't have the guts to do it though. I wish you could help me. I'm all alone. Well I've been seeing Sally Hayes I don't even know why. She such a fool and a twit, but shes pretty. I told her that i would help with trimming her Christmas tree. Her mom doesn't like me so I might not do it. I got this hunting cap, you should see it.
Love, Holden
Dear Stradlater,
ReplyDeleteI bet you're wondering where I went all of a sudden. It's quite a long story that has only been a few days. I just wanted to apologize for getting into it with you that night. I was very heated, knowing you were with Jane. Jane is a very good friend of mine and the thought of you with her drove me mad. As well as your criticism of the composition I wrote for you really got me mad. I wrote about the b aseball glove of my little brother Allie who died a while back and it meant a lot to me. You had the right to know why I came at you swinging, and you a swell guy and I'm sorry about that. If your wondering what happened to me, I ended up leaving Pencey early and made my way home to New York. Well, a hotel in New York. I decided my parents wouldn't have been too hot on me getting the ax. It has been quite interesting, I've been staying out late at clubs, It's like I'm my own man. If you get the chance you should make your way up here. I can get booze at some clubs, it's pretty cool. I got a story you will never believe. After one night at Ernie's, a night club, the elevator boy at my hotel offered me a prostitute for $5 so i decided why not. It was nice, up until she told me it was $10. That was really lousy of that goddam pimp to do. Refusing to pay the extra $5, I woke up later that night with an angry prostitute at my door with an even angrier pimp. Long story short I got shot in the gut, but it'll heal up nicely.
Your ex-roommate,
Holden Caulfield