Holden Caulfield S Letter of Recommendation

Holden Caulfield’s Letter of Recommendation –

“Would You Hire This Kid”?

Yes, even Holden one day will need a letter of recommendation to land a job or to apply for college. What would you have to say about Holden if he asked you for a letter? How big of a phony would you have to become to make Holden sound good? Or would you be able to find the good qualities in Holden and be able to write a raving letter on his behalf. (This is the dilemma I’m faced with each year).

Pick any character from the novel and write your letter from their point of view. What would you say and how could you ‘creatively’ word things to make Holden not come across as such an ass, liar, anti-social, phony, poor student, lousy equipment manager, and egotist, (and I really like Holden as a literary character).

Your letter must include 5 character references or character traits that you want to emphasize as his good qualities. It all comes down to how you want to spin the character of Holden. Does he lie because he wants to get away with things or is his ‘stories’ a trait of a creative mind thus making Holden a candidate for journalism school? How you spin it can change how we view Holden. What one sees as a flaw could be spun into a unique quality that sets Holden apart from other applicants which colleges are looking for.

A – Your character references were well researched resulting in a deeper understanding of Holden. A thorough understanding of Holden resulted in an original and interesting explanation of your recommendation.

B - The character references were researched resulting in a better understanding of Holden. An overall understanding of your references resulted in an interesting explanation of your recommendation.

C - The character references were researched resulting in an expectable understanding of Holden. Your letter of recommendation lacked depth and originality making it dull reading.

D - Very little time and research went into your letter of recommendation for Holden, making you a phony in his eyes. This was a poor attempt to write a letter on his behalf.