Catch Gordon's Rye

The free choice book I've chosen is "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Volume II The Kingdom of Waves". To understand what the book is about and to comprehend the severity of the condition of Octavian(the main character) and his mentor Dr. Trefusis easier, it'd be best if the first volume was read, the book that explains how everything led up to the situation they are in. In the beginning there was Octavian, the African prince. He was raised in Boston as the royal child he was in a place called the College of Lucidity, where he was treated like every other prince (despite the fact that he was black), and at the same time experimented on. The experiment was simple; the professors wanted to prove that a colored human could be taught and possess the same literary skills as well as other fields of academics, manners, and the arts as a white-skinned prince of the same treatment and education. All was well until the College did not have enough money to provide for the needs of a prince and the experiment. Soon, the College had a new owner that changed the experiment and made life miserable for Octavian, attempting to prove that colored humans were not equal to white humans. The story goes on and there's a war and stuff and Octavian flees and helps out the rebels for food and shelter and then he gets caught again by the College and tortured. After that he flees again with Dr. Trefusis. Volume II starts off at a point where the two are trecking and almost dead from loss of energy and food. They get saved blah blah and the story continues and they have no money so Octavian finds a job as a fiddler and the war is still going on and life is tough and he wants to join the King's army because they said they'll set all the colored people free if they join the army and thats where I am at right now. I think the story is really good and writing is very intricately written, which is a bonus to me. It flows very well and transitions seem subtle due the complex form of writing. When I first started the book, I concentrated so hard on the meaning of each sentence that I sometimes lost focus on what was happening in the book. I got used to it though, and the story is actually very realistic and the writing style adds to the detail a lot.

I think these chapters include very important parts of the story, especially towards the end. In chapter 16, you start to see more and more relevant clues on the true meaning/theme of "Catcher In the Rye". I thought that these chapters were the most significant chapters in the story so far, as I have made much more notes and underlining. The concept of "catching or stopping little kids from becoming 'phony'" is hidden behind the lyrics of the song the little kid was singing on the street, the museum glass showcase, the nuns, and the way Holden has been speaking through out the entire story. Until now, his language seemed to be just a characteristic of Holden but in chapters 15 and 16, it proves to have more meaning.