4B+Grief

Place your citations (in MLA format) and explanations below. Each group member should include at least two citations.

Our questions: is love recycled? Do things that you lose take new forms in your life? if this is true, why has Holden's love for Allie not transferred into something new? do you think that there is a person who has the potential to fill the void left by Allie in Holden's heart? do you think Holden is purposely blocking Jane from filling this role? If yes, why? Does he not want to replace Allie? Does he think finding new happiness will make him lose sight of Allie completely? Is Holden also just afraid of new happiness because he thinks he might lose it? does he have trust issues from all of the pain in his life?

5 Stages of Loss and Grief by Julie Axelrod  Axelrod, Julie. "5 Stages of Loss and Grief." //Psych Central //. N.p., 2006. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .  This article, 5 Stages of Loss and Grief by Julie Axelrod is all about the signs of knowing you are carrying grief. The five stages include, denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These stages are clearly shown in Holden's life, mainly due to the loss of Allie. He demonstrates almost all of these stages throughout the book except acceptance. He has a hard time accepting that Allie is gone most of the time. For example, on page 171, Pheobe accuses Holden of not having a like for anyone, and he responds by saying he likes Allie. Pheobe gets annoyed with his response because Allie is no longer alive. Holden gets tense and replies by saying, "I know he's dead! Don't you think I know that? I can still like him though, can't I? Just because somebody's dead, you don't just stop liking them, for God's- sake- especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than people you know that are alive and all." Holden has a hard time accepting the fact that Allie's death has changed him. I feel as if when he says this quote, that people were nicer to him before he let Allie's death change him into a different person. Because of this, Holden's attitude and his relationships with many tend to effect his everyday life. How We Survive by Mark Rickerby  http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/how-we-survive
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 "How We Survive." // How We Survive //. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print. This poem, "How We Survive" by Mark Rickerby closely relates to the theme of Grief. It is about the loss of a loved one and the feelings that can overwhelm a person when they lose this loved one. It explains how you have an upsetting take on life once someone close to you is gone. It reminds us that "nothing is permanent" but the most important thing is to look at something like this with a "loving reflection" and be able to take out the good in the bad. Holden mourns over Allie throughout the book and it is evident that years later, he still hasn't gotten over his brothers death. Dowdey, Sarah. “Reincarnation in Buddhism.” HowStuffWorks. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .

Most buddhists also believe in reincarnation, kharma, and moksha although they have different names. However, Buddhists have a different way of achieving salvation. They belive that following the eightfold path will release them from the cycle of rebirth rather than just going with the flow. They pretty much attempt to achieve a perfect being. The eight aspects of the eightfold path are: correct view, correct intention, correct speech, correct action, correct livelihood, correct effort, correct mindfulness and correct concentration. Following these aspects led the first Buddhist to enlightenment. Buddhists believe in living a modest life in between indulgence and self-deprivation. This balance can lead a Buddhist to enlightenment. Holden, with his hatred for most people and himself, constantly deprived himself of happiness both actively and subconsciously. He didnt allow himself to be happy because he didnt want to resemble a "phony." A Buddhist would tell Holden to balance himselp between being a phony and not allowing himself to be happy at all. Maybe then he would have realized his equivalent of enlightenment. Embracing his love for his sister, applying himself in school, trying to understand the views of others and not judging them, and allowing himself to release Allie and embrace Jane. All of these things would have constituted the enlightenment of Holden, but he did not take the "middle way."

Dowdey, Sarah. “Reincarnation in Hinduism.” HowStuffWorks. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .

This source is about the belief in reincarnation that is shared amongst all hindus. Hindus believe that once you die, you undergo rebirth and your new life's quality is dependent upon your actions in your last life. Karma, they believe, is positive or negative energy that built up in your soul when you conduct yourself well or poorly, respectively. This karma energy is what decides the quality of your next life. So, hindus are successful in life in order to make their next life even better. They believe that they will be reborn in a higher caste. The caste system is their social hierarchy that is very hard to change levels within, except through birth. The ultimate goal of hindus, called moksha, is to release yourself from the cycle of rebirth and experience salvation. The only way to do this is to not try for it, to go with the flow. This connects to Catcher in the Rye because if we change the rebirth of life into the rebirth of love, then we can use hinduism to understand Holden's problems. A Hindu would most likely blame Holden's unhappiness on his negative behavior. He is unable to find new love because of his own actions, he is not going with the flow when he feels like calling Jane, he says i dont feel like it.

Atimetogrieve.org. "Denial and Grief". N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. < [] >. This article basically states how denial is a stage of grief. It also summarizes the way to do it in a healthy manner. This could be connected to Catcher in the Rye because I believe that no one would say that what Holden is doing is healthy so this could relate to him. If Holden were to grief in a healthy way then maybe he would get over Allie's death and move on from that stage of his life.

Concluding Paragraph: In summation, Holden mourns greatly throughout the book over the death of his brother Allie. Our group agrees upon the fact that Allie's relationships aren't as strong because of his attitude. He has a hard time letting people in, for he thinks it will be like recycling Allie's place in his heart. We believe that Holden doesn't put effort into loving Jane because he is scared to replace the open, wounded spot in his heart he has left for Allie. Holden is afraid to connect with people again because he can't take the thought of losing someone he loves dearly again.