Who do you fear?

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord and He ponders all his paths. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin. He shall die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. (Proverbs 5:21-23)

I climbed the arched bars on the playground in the fifth grade almost everyday, at every recess. Each rung held a special place to everyone, but sitting on the very top was where everyone really wanted to be. You could see the whole world from there. I would find myself to the top and would sit there and think. I was new to the school, I didn’t know anyone, and it was just best to keep it that way. (I thought by talking to myself by the way.)

One day I decided that it was not enough to just sit on the top but it would be better to stand. (There were two of these bars, but one was bigger, of course I chose the big one.) There I was, at what seemed a stifling height from the chips of well-worn bark below. I started by sitting and manifested to kneel. As soon as I gained the courage I slowly crept my wobbly legs from the kneel to a stand, unsuccessfully. The next thing I felt was the thud against the hard ground and the inability to breathe. No, I am not one who is a fan of getting the wind knocked out of me. I don’t think about it, I never look forward to it, and unfortunately I can hardly ever see it coming.

I lay there struggling to breathe for the short thirty seconds that seemed like a lifetime wondering why I even got the idea to stand up in the first place. After that I never did it again. Oh sure I climbed the jungle gym every now and then, but I never stood on it for the rest of my life. And even if I wanted to I couldn’t, because they took the thing out a few years back. I wonder why?

The point of this tale is to not diminish my will to “try, try, again,” But to show what fear kept me from doing. It’s funny how this one small thing in my life kept me from ever attempting it again. A six-foot jungle gym was like a gigantic elephant in the room. Even if I had the idea to try it again, I would remember the rolling on the ground, out of breath Alex who failed the first time.

It’s sad that we can make such miniscule things in our life keep us from doing simple day-to-day things, or achieving our dreams, and yet we don’t have the mindset that we should fear God. We worry that we will fail in a success, rather than what we will look like on judgment day. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather be in fear of God than a tiny playground. The fear of the Lord is a guard in life that can not be taken lightly but must be applied daily. Ironically to fear God is to build yourself even stronger. “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And his children have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to turn one away from the snares of death.” (Proverbs 14:26-27.)

Too many times we fear man, and not God. We fear being caught by man in our carnal nature, doing something wrong, but don’t even realize that God is there with us, even when our family or friends aren’t. We do everything in our power to hide from men, yet don’t acknowledge that God sees all things. (Proverbs 15:3) Why do we fear man and not God? Because man is visible. We must desire the fear of the Lord. We inherit the fear of man.

Keeping the Simple simple

There is no doubt that life is the type of thing that will always surprise you. Just when you think you have the solution to a problem, for instance the enigma of losing the remote, the answer come flying at you, whizzing past your head and brain activity, causing you to therefore see the unexpected. The remote is in your hand. It was not under the couch, or in the couch, or in the pantry, or in the trash, although I am sure that these incidents have occurred. No. The answer to life’s puzzles, which go beyond the simple quest to find the “zapper” are often right in front of us. It’s to bad we search to hard when life, in reality, is simple.

To be honest, if we lived in reality the world as we know it would not exist. Our little “dream” that we pattern to is not even a touch of what is real. Reality is simply defined by God, and by the Word of God, which is God. (John 1:1) Reality is God. If we lived in reality we would not need to give to the widow and the orphan, because the widow and the orphan would not exist. Sin would not either. Who knows where we would be. But since the fall of man we have turned everything to a helter-sketler, Picasso like scope. The God view now seems twisted and upside down. The dysfunction is functional and the functional is dysfunction, putting the validity of God at the bottom of all thought; A scary place to be no doubt, yet as it was said before answers are simply simple.

Interestingly enough simplicity has now found itself in everything. Spiritually perhaps, but even in the visible world it has taken over: Designs for clothes, rooms, homes, colors, ads, products, labels, magazines and so on. Don’t tell me you have not noticed. People want something clean and to the point, with no funny business and doctored speeches. This comes to everything including the church and what God is speaking. What I love about this is that God never really complicated things. He never beat around the bush. He spoke plain and simple, and if people were dumb enough to catch his drift than it was, in my opinion sad. Jesus himself was simple. He was who he was and he brought it to the table, which consequently is God’s table.

It’s funny how we use that expression with such vain attitudes. “How do you feel about Rodger?” “Oh, well he is fine, you know he brings a lot to the table.” It makes no sense. First of all this table would have to be huge, and second of all it would not matter if he did bring anything to the table. (But I really don’t know where I was going with that.)

What I love about the Word is that it does not try and prove the existence of God, but it just simply declares it. There is no scientific chart to map out any sort of random timeline of God. He was just there. It was as simple as that.

Since God is so simple he makes it simple for us. We don’t really take the time to think how simple it is due to our inept way of complicating everything, despite our hunger for the “simple life.” God asks for us to rely on him in all seasons. The command not difficult, it in bold letters, sometimes red, and yet we find it so hard to truly rely on him. A moment comes and goes, things go from good to bad, from bad to worse, and you find yourself in a pit of sin because you fill the void with all the carnal desires known to man, when in reality the remote was with you the whole time. It was not where you thought it would be. We must be dependent on God. Independence only comes from the dependence on God. Without it we over complicate creation itself.

I would like to start out by saying that this movie was not for kids, and although many thought it was, it was not, then again parents should get the hint from Jonze's earlier films like Being John Malcovich, were not for kids either, and that the book was published in the 1960's. That does not mean anything really, but to be honest I do not see a lot of parents reading it to their kids these days.

But the movie is flawless. Unless you are old and you can't stand the sight of artistic vision and the embellishment of a classic story, than it is not for you. But this movie is a beautiful story that even expresses the sad fears that exist in one small child and entire generation.

All the monsters that Max meets are just representations of the monsters that live in him. He is scared of abandonment, people, love, divorce, etc. This movie is a happy yet tragic tale of a young child searching for answers. And yet the beauty of it is beyond my dreams.

What Defines Us?

Lets go back to what I titled this blog after. Normal. I have spent the last year thinking about this word. Normal…. I posted many articles in the school paper about the definition of normal. I came to the conclusion that everyone has a normal, but that there really is only one normal, and that is what God says it is. We can argue and think all we want on what is normal, what is okay, or in a sense justified, but the plain truth is, if it does not line up with him, it is abnormal, and plainly sin.

What is shocking to me, Jesus was the only normal person to grace this planet. It is without a doubt that he was. He lived the life that man was meant to live from the start. He lived in complete submission to the father. After all it was he who said, “Your will be done.” Jesus lived a life of holiness, and purity, and he did not defile himself. Yes he was tempted, but he did not give into it.

We see the same story in the book of genesis, man is tempted, and yet he submits to sin. Why does this happen? BECAUSE WE ARE NOT NORMAL. God’s intent was for us to stay in the lines that he had created, and yet we crossed them, forcing God to take something natural and sacrifice it for our abnormal behavior.

What is even more shocking is that we as humans have become so accustomed to normality that we have literally accepted sin as normal. This is scary. If we become so drowned in the fact that, “everyone does it,” than we are accepting sin as normal, and rebelling against God. We are saying yes to something that God does not see as natural. This is seen in same sex marriage. Or to be more exact homosexuality.(To clarify, I do not hate them, and I have many friends that are, but I do not agree with them, we need to pray for them.) The world no longer views having a sexual relationship with the same gender as sin, in fact it has become so common. People have forgotten that it is a plan of the devil. Satan wants to destroy the very fabric of our existence. The firs thing God established was marriage and the family. Satan knows that if he can get that everything after that will fall apart.

But we have become so passive, that many Christians are accepting same sex couples as God created relationships. The real point is, homosexuality is real, and it is a real temptation. Many men and women deal with it, but just like we view killing, or fornication, it is sin. It’s rebellion. And it is not the only abnormality that is being accepted.

We are in a dangerous state, if we think we can define what is normal. That job is only left up to God.

Dangers of Church Life

I wish that people could see how stupid I can be sometimes, then again… I will leave it at that.

As I wake up in the morning, there are three things that I realize, my room is a mess, I am tired, and God is still God. As I have gone into this year, I have been sucked into a pathway of eternal purpose that even the greatest dreamers and visionaries could think of. This has been a crazy, most annoying, yet stretching and fulfilling, and blessed year of my life.

To be frank, and that is not my name, I do not have it all figured out. There I said it!!!! That feels so much better. But there was a time, not really a time, but just recently where I did. Let me warn you now this is the most dangerous person to be in the world. Once you set yourself there, you become the most empty, selfish, and insecure jerk that ever “graced” the planet. It would be easy for me to say that I have not been there, but the truth is always better to tell, and it is always harder to spit out no matter what you are talking about.

As an elementary student, younger in fact, I accepted the fact that I need a savior in my life. I drew the line, that I am not good on my own, and that by grace I can be more, that God can use me, but most importantly, it is Him who it is all about. I grew up in the church, and I love it. I am proud that my parents obeyed and raised children the biblical way, and built a family that is rock solid on truth. But like all things there are dangers.

Growing up in the church was fun. I knew everybody, I was safe, I was promised watermelon at the 4^th of July BBQ, I was insured in the hug of a pastor or friend, and I was given access to areas and information that no one else knew about. There is much that comes out of growing up in the church, but there are many things that must be identified in these kids, much like me, so that the church does not become a place to go, but a place to be. There is a difference, If you are going somewhere, it means that you “go” out of necessity, for comfort of yourself, and that you may look good. But being, dwelling, is a state where you are there, weekly, daily perhaps, but it is not out of duty, but out of passion and love. To be at the church is to extend God’s kingdom outside the four walls of the church. To go to church is simply to follow a pattern that has been laid out for years by thousands of lukewarm Christians, much like myself for what seemed to long.

What I find odd is that God used me even through my apathy. I was baptized, received the Holy Spirit, and my prayer language, all through the same church. I am proud of that. And I am glad that from a young age that I felt like I had ownership in something of the kingdom. Yet this is where the rub lies. As I began to grow in Christ, I became more prideful. Now I am not saying that pride comes from being a Christian, but there can be a pride that is in the things of God, and even here humility must be demonstrated. As I grew I witnessed the changes in the church, I latched to things, and the church, as I said before was a place to go for my own personal comfort. At this point in my life I was not yet able to notice the seed planted right there that led to so much more than church, but true, undeniable sin.

See, when you latch to something there is much danger. God has built things in this universe to change, sometimes it is in a pattern, and other times it just happens whenever it feels like it. How do I know this? Look at creation… (Seasons, weather, land, water, animals.) We even as humans experience physical change, and lo and behold the church does as well. Ministries come and go, members and pastors, ideas, messages, kids, and so on. The list is endless. Yet here as a Christian a problem lies in us, and not the church, which I, and so many others have blamed. When the church decides to do something different, for instance hire new staff, or paint the colors of the wall from purple to yellow, or whatever, there is bound to be someone getting upset. Now is this the churches fault. No! It lies clearly with the person who is finding the House of God to be a place of comfort, when in reality the body of Christ is never about the comfort of ourselves, it is not about the type of music, or how many flowers are in the front. The house of God is a place of hurt, anguish, agony, and sacrifice. Just because we ended old testament principals, does not mean that they exist. They do, but in a different form.

Here is where the problem hurt me— It was about me in church, and because of that no matter what happened, if I did not like it, it was there fault, after all they should have been thinking of me and how I would feel when they did whatever. Now you must understand, I was a freshman in High School when the true seed was planted. It has taken me four years to get there and back again! Once I became latched and desired so badly many things not happening, I broke. I became bitter, and I did not like the church. I lost trust in my pastors, my parents, my friends, and I wanted nothing to do with them. If they were going to “forget me” I was surely going to forget them. I found myself then not plugged it, no longer serving, and hanging with the wrong group of people, doing the wrong stuff, and so on. (All the while, I am still telling people that I am a Christian and proclaiming him) Ouch!

Finally God stopped me in my tracks and put an end to my foolishness. I remember last spring break was a time in my life where I was picked out of my sin and placed on the threshing floor of rebuke. A few nights before the break I prayed to God, I laid in my bed crying, sobbing, “God I do not know who I am anymore, show me who I am.” I then fell asleep, woke up the next day and forgot about my prayer, and continued an ignorant life. As the first day of Spring Break rolled around I found myself in a foolish pickle. That Friday night, the Lord convicted me, and I disobeyed still. As I smoked my whatever numbered cigarette, and cussed, and spat like a madman, and sat around with my friends, laughing, God was watching. I will never forget my attitude. I was aiming for nothing. I had truly fallen to the level, where I no longer saw my worth in Christ or anything of God.

The next day my wonderful, Christ Like, and saints of parents, confronted me on my behavior. I was changed. And in instant light and exposing of my sins, God pulled me out and I became free, and it took me so long to realize where this all came from. How did I get to the point from growing up in a church, where my parents worked, and pastured, and counseled, and lead at, a church where I served and worked and gave to, How did I loose that passion, because I saw the church in the perspective that it was all for me. This one little seed, destroyed four years of growth in my life. And was it not for the grace of God, I would not be where I am today. In fact I have no clue where I would be.

But the grace of God was sufficient, the friends that I was hanging out with, came to church, they too had their lives changed, one of them who has completely changed and is no serving in the House of God today. God used my sin to change. But that is not the point of the story. This is not a message on grace, but a warning. Stay in the House of God with this mindset, it is all about him and His kingdom, and not your comfort. Do not grow apathetic like me and let it pass by. It will destroy you, and it may not be the same, but you will find yourself going to church after church after church, because you have not shifted the blame onto yourself.

I firmly believe that God got me where I am right now because of the following lessons that he taught me.

1. DO NOT BECOME ACCOSTUMED- you must treat church like it is the most special thing on the planet. Do not get used to anything. Allow yourself to see it His way.

2. DON’T FIND A COMFORT ZONE- you must never be comfortable with spiritual life in the church. Do not talk to the same people, serve, talk to others, love on others, pray, get involved.

3. TRUST THE ATHOURITY OF YOUR LEADERS- if your pastor says you are doing something, no questions ask, you are doing it. Unless it CLEARLY goes against the word of God, you must submit and obey.

That is all that I really need to share with you. Know this, God is still teaching me this, and this process will continue. We must always remind ourselves that God is in control and that we are not.

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A Study on Hamlet and Holden

Im being a advocate for "The Bard" decided I would post a paper that I wrote. I really do not care if it bores you, or if you are interested. It is on here, and there is nothing you can do about it. ---'

All That is rotten in Denmark, or in Pencey

For centuries the human race has been obsessed with madness and its affects on humans. The classic story of one man’s tragic flaw being madness has been used a countless amount of times in literature and entertainment. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye both focus on the aftermath of a death that results in madness for both characters, which eventually leads to the death of Hamlet and the institutionalizing of Holden Caulfield. And yet in their tragedy they are also pessimists, negative about their society and the happenings around them. Both stories describe what sort of madness existed in the contrasting time periods of the Renaissance and the 1950s. For instance the suspicions in Ghosts could have been a reason for Shakespeare’s reasoning in Hamlet’s craziness, and the era of conformity that Holden deals with, along with the death of his brother Allie are deciding factors in Holden’s crazy pessimistic rants.

During the 1600’s a time of discovery, and the Renaissance, many people were fascinated with mental disorders and the supernatural, thus explaining the use of Hamlet’s “antic disposition,” (Hamlet III.iv.190). and the appearance of his father’s ghost. In fact people during the renaissance flocked to asylums to see the patients. “So fascinated were Londoners by the insane that they would go to Bedlam to ogle the fewer than thirty inmates who occupied the hospital,” (Moss and George 139). The use of the father’s ghost to explain Hamlet’s madness is not out of the ordinary for the time period. “This is the very coinage of your brain: this bodiless creation ecstasy is very cunning in,” states Gertrude. (III.iii.153-154.) From this passage it is evident that only Hamlet can see his fathers Ghost, let alone speak to it or hear it. This being the case the question had been raised many times if Hamlet was either pretending to be mad or if he really was mad entirely. Suspicions of ghost in the Elizabethan were very high. “…The debate about ghosts and apparitions grew…Hamlet, like Shakespeare and his contemporaries, may have been unsure if the ghost was real or a figment of his imagination,” (Moss, George 142). Hamlet’s madness, which if acted, would have been put under two different categories in the era it was written. “…the violent madman, and the raving ones who talked nonsensically, the way prince Hamlet does.” (Moss, George 139).

Holden’s state of madness, is however, not influenced by the supernatural, but more by the society around him. To describe Holden’s insanity form a ghost would be far from the norm in the easy going conformed 1950s. In a time where homes were prefabricated, men went to work and women stayed home; to be different from anyone was odd. Holden sees society as “phony” and refuses to conform to the American public as it is. Holden is, “Alienated from friends and teachers, unable to face his parents and disillusioned with society in general,” (Moss, George 73). Even the way Holden wears his hunting hat, with the flaps turned upward, is a sign that he wants to be his own person. The pressure to conform came mostly from the ever so popular prep schools of the time. Holden hated Pency Prep because it was always filled with “Godam phonies.” J.D. Salinger’s own experience in Military School is said to be written into the piece of work. “In real life prep-school students followed a rigorous schedule, with prescribe times for eating, studying, attending class or chapel, playing sports, and going to bed…separating themselves into cliques or groups of their own,” (Moss, George 74). Because of the tight and rigorous course of prep schools Holden’s mental attitude is brought down in his pressure to stay away from conforming, which eventually weighs on his mind. “For Holden the conformity demanded at Pencey may have set the stage and even arranged the props…” (Pinsker, 49).

Although the book never specifies what Holden ends up being, whether crazy or mentally ill, readers do see Holden’s struggle. “Readers of his story realize that he is more emotionally unstable than anything else. Holden in fed up with what he perceives as a world of sham,” (Moss, George 77). Just like the time of Hamlet’s mental breakout people were just as fascinated and even more fascinated with trying to fix it. Holden’s case of not wanting to conform to the world was actually a common mindset. “His inability to adjust and conform to societal expectations is constructed as something of a mental illness, a perception typical of post war society,” (Moss, George 77). During the 1950’s treatment from psychologists came wifely accepted. It was seen as “ a way of changing or modifying human behavior,” (Moss, George 77). And just like in all areas of the 1950’s from entertainment to sexual behavior, psychology was fixed on making people conform. “It was the job of psychologists to help readjust such nonconformists to non societal norms,” (Moss, George 77). Things like homosexuality, something that Holden deals with when he visits his professor were seen as rebellion to the society.

Although both Hamlet and Holden are never really truly stated or even openly admitted to being crazy by the authors, it is no doubt that, even if pretending to be mad, the death of a close relative caused much of their twisted logic and irrational behavior. Hamlet is constantly seen thinking and talking, telling himself things that keep him from ever acting. “Hamlet represents the type of man whose power of direct action is paralyzed by an excessive development of his intellect,” (Bloom, 41). After discovering that his father was murdered by his uncle he discovers Claudius praying, a perfect and opportune moment to take revenge. However, Hamlet then delivers a speech that stops him from what he wants to do the most. “Now might I do it Pat, now he is praying. And now I’ll do’t. And so he goes to heaven; and so I am revenged. That would be scanned; A villain kills my father and for that I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven,” (Act III, Scene III). Instead of taking the perfect moment to make revenge he thinks about the actual process of killing his uncle saying that if I kill him now he will go to heaven. “Hamlet is able to do anything—accept take vengeance on the man who did away with his father and took that father’s place with his mother, the man who shows him the repressed wishes of his own childhood realized,” (Bloom, 41.) Yet, when Hamlet does not think he ends up killing the wrong man, Polonius. “How now? A rat! Dead for a ducat, dead,” (Hamlet. III.iv.27). If it was not for the murder of his father, perhaps Hamlet would have gone on to take the throne. Yet the death of his father is what ultimately brings Hamlet to his demise as Hamlet never acts until he myself is poisoned to die.

The thought of vengeance had also become a dying idea in the Elizabethan Era. At the close of the Medieval ages a more humanistic approach on living became England’s new philosophy. “...Hamlet conveys a growing pacifist sentiment that denounces killing in general…the English were beginning to regard killing—even lawless murder—as a less heroic action than had the people of the middle ages.” (Moss and George 142). Despite the fact Hamlet may think to much, it could just be due to the fact Hamlet has also adopted the popular belief of the renaissance. And yet Hamlet still battles with if he should take revenge or not which builds his turmoil. “Why what an ass am I…prompted in my revenge by heaven and hell, must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words…” (Hamlet II.ii.593-597). Along with Hamlet’s want for revenge there had to come a realization that it was truly what he wanted. Hamlet even detests the idea that he has to do it. “The time is out of joint. O, cursed spite, that I was ever born to set it right!” (Hamlet I.v.207-208). Hamlet’s doubt in himself to even think about making revenge causes his delay and outright true madness. “In order to perform revenge with conviction, you must believe in the justice of your own cause. The revenge seeker will not believe in his own cause unless he believes in the guilt of his intended victim.” (Bloom, 169). For Hamlet even to consider taking revenge he had to stop doubting what he thought and admit that he truly saw his father’s ghost and not be skeptical like the rest of the Elizabethan age.

The death of Allie, Holden’s brother has a relative affect on Holden. Thus proving that death affecting the tragic hero never really changes. Ironically it appears as if Holden notices how much he thinks about his deseeded brother. Although he acknowledges missing him, he never really acknowledges it as a problem. Holden’s dependent thoughts on Allie digress to a moment in which Holden writes an English paper for his roommate Stradlater. Holden writes about his younger brother’s baseball glove, and even if it was a brilliant memory on paper, it does not follow the prompt. “For Chrissake, Holden this ia about a goddam baseball glove…You don’t do one damn thing the way your supposed to….” (Salinger, 53). Holden’s inability to conform to even a simple prompt for an English assignment is based on his brother’s death which raises the question if that is why he does not conform to society as well. Besides the essay, the novel tells of Holden’s reaction to Allie’s death as well. Holden talks about his rampage in breaking windows in his garage with his hand. All Allie is to Holden in a grasping tool. Something that Holden can remember in all the “phony” society. “Allie is associated with the theme of death, but his role is not that simple. He also represents hope and the gifted innocence of childhood, which is tenuous and sometimes short lived,” (Cliff Notes, Wiley Publishing).

Furthermore the tragic heroes do not only rely on death as a main factor in their demise but the role of negative thinking also comes into play. Hamlet and Holden alike are constantly making statements that defy any hope within them. Hamlet states that God should lift the ban on suicide, “…Oh that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into a dew, or that the everlasting had not fixed his cannon ‘gaisnt self slaughter.” (Hamlet I.ii.131-134). Hamlet even wears black to his own mother’s wedding because he is still in mourning for his father’s recent death. “Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off and let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark…” (Hamlet I.ii.69-70). Elizabethans even believed that grief could cause death and mental disorders, and that it was a mental disorder in and of itself. “ …Doctors, preachers, and dramatists spoke about grief and insanity in their works. These shapers of public opinion warned especially against excessive grief, which, they believed, could drive people into distraction…” (Moss, George139). Holden opens his story by saying, “…If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like…” (Salinger,1). Literature and Times, describes Holden as “the novel’s cynical protagonist…” (Moss and George, 76). Tied into the historical context of the work, negativity was once again seen as another reason for psychologists to do their work. Robert Lindner stated, “The goal of therapy should not be conforming the patient to sick society but working to transform the negative protest and rebellion of the patient into positive expression of the rebellious urge…” (Moss and George 78). Therefore it soon was seen as the person’s negative attitude that should be changed to conform them to society. Nonetheless the negative attitudes of Hamlet and Holden are like bricks to their own life trap.

Much of the famous used tragic hero is all based on his or her tragic flaw and in ability to fix it or even better fix it when it is too late. Both Hamlet and Holden are faced with the pressures of society, both of which cause them to conform to something they see as not real or fake. As for Hamlet he is in inner turmoil as to take revenge on his uncle for killing his father for the throne. Holden’s first cause of madness comes from the pressure of not wanting to conform and stay innocent; whether that be at his prep school or in Manhattan, he refuses to be like everyone else, just look at his hat. The next dilemma for the both of them is that they clearly are influenced by the deaths of a close relative. Hamlet losing his father is the first motive in his journey for revenge. Hamlet is talking to a ghost, one that could highly be doubted of either existing or not existing, especially in the Elizabethan era. Holden constantly holds on to the memory of Allie, his dead brother as a grip of innocence. His tangent on the baseball glove proves that Holden grasping his brother so tightly causes his him to refuse society and see it as “phony.” Hamlet’s constant state of mind and thinking causes him to dig into a “madness” as well. When given the opportune moments to act on his fathers behalf he talks himself out of it, and when he does not to think he does the irrational by killing Polonius. Both characters constantly speak negatively and never say anything good to help their situation. Furthermore both time periods attempted to fix grief and a negative out look on the world in order to help or even conform the “mentally ill” to the society. The creation of Hamlet and Holden Caulfield hold the true essence of the struggle for revenge and the difference between what is real and not real. Without denial “All the is rotten in Denmark, or in Pencey,” (Pinsker, 49). truly has value in today’s society.