Another Episode

Another Episode





I don't know how, or why I did it. All I know is that I needed to get into the fresh air. To this day I still don't see what made me do it. I left the stuffy hotel room, where I couldn't get a wink of sleep. I wanted to walk. I slowly unbolted the door and stepped out into the dark, musty–smelling hallway. I'd guess it was about 3 in the morning. Just out of curiosity, I listened at a door to see if I could hear anything. It seemed like the whole world was asleep except for me. I pushed open the stairwell door, feeling the cold updraft from the lower landings on my face. I started descending the stairs, feeling each step in my knees. It was so quiet that I almost walked on tiptoe, to preserve the almost holy stillness. I finally reached the bottom, a 2-story walk, but it felt much longer. I stepped through the lobby, avoiding a snoring drunk lying on the floor. He had probably been lying on the ratty and threadbare couch, but fell off. I pushed through the old doorway that didn't look like it had seen a fresh coat of paint in a very long time. Seeing the sky calmed my heart, and cleared my mind. Something nagged at me then, to start walking, do something, to move. I strode along the sidewalk, seeing the city in a whole new perspective. There was no noise, and the lack of cars made the air taste fresh and clean. I didn't know where I was going, and I didn't care. I walked for about 3 blocks, not caring where I turned, not knowing where I was. I saw the central park wall, and realized I was in the middle of the city. Almost before hearing the scuff of feet, I sensed it and whipped around. I was on guard for what might happen. There was a lot of crime in the city after dark. The peaceful air of the night was suddenly broken. I saw a figure step out from the shadows of a tree. The person that had surprised me so much was just an old homeless man. He looked at me with eyes that had seen too much sorrow and sadness.
"What are you doing out here so late at night?"

I replied: " I couldn't sleep and wanted to take a walk, so what?"

"I was just wondering, most people don't take walks at night"

He was a sight to see, clad in old rags with a large backpack overflowing with junk. I asked how it was you are able to live as a homeless person among this rich city. He said: "I had to learn. I wasn't always like this, you know, I came from a fine family, and I just couldn't stay in school long enough to get a degree." He went on saying that the same unwillingness to stick with anything kept him from keeping a job, and he became homeless, rummaging in trash cans for the last chicken McNugget someone didn't want. After he said that, my mind went into overdrive. He was a regular guy who just didn't have the will to succeed in life. I began seeing parallels that seemed too similar for my liking. I realized that I was on the same downward spiral: dropped out of school, running out of cash, can't get a job. I was going to end up like this guy, without family or friends to love. Then my head finally clicked. I knew what I had to do. I had to get my life into shape, and I was going to do it now. I said goodbye to the homeless man, and set off back the way I had come, with a sense of urgency in my stride.



Analysis


I decided to show Holden in another episode, separate from the book.

He cannot sleep one night, and takes a walk. As he is enjoying the night, he is startled by a homeless man who inquires into Holden's intentions. Holden starts a conversation with him, and realizes he was not always a man without a home. The problem that the homeless man had was that he lacked the sense of direction to go anywhere in life, and he eventually has to look through trash cans to feed himself. As he talks about himself, Holden begins to see strange but similar parallels into his own life.

As a struggling student, Holden hasn't realized that his life is going down the drain. He flunked school, his cash is running out, but he refuses to get a job. He prefers to let life pass him by until he is startled enough by his predicament to try to escape. But by then it is too late. He will be trapped in a vicious circle.

But now, seeing what his life will be like, he is galvanized into starting his life anew. He is rebellious to begin with, but now he is rebelling against his fate.