The Catcher in the Rye .com



The Catcher in the Rye12/311/11/21/3GrammarIntroductory PP (Take Notes!)1/4Journal "What Does It Mean to Be Sixteen?”Reading TimeHW: Read Ch. 1-61/7GrammarReading TimeHW: Read 7-81/8Chapters 1-8 QuizReading TimeHW: Read 9-111/9Introduce Film Project & Show Sample PresentationPick GroupsHW: Read 12-141/10GrammarReading TimeHW: Read 15-161/11Chapters 9-16 QuizGroup Meeting TimeHW: Read 17-191/14GrammarReading TimeHW: Read 20-211/15GrammarReading TimeHW: Read 22-231/16Chapters 17-23 QuizGroup Meeting TimeHW: Read 24-251/17GrammarReading TimeHW: Read Ch. 261/18Chapters 24-26 QuizGroup Meeting TimeHW: Work on Video Projects!1/21NO SCHOOL1/22Group Work Day1/23Group Work Day1/24GrammarPresent 3 Videos1/25GrammarPresent 3 Videos1/28Choose Prompt, Create Claims and Find Evidence1/29GrammarWork on Claims & Continue Finding Evidence1/30Begin Typing OutlineHW: Work on Outline1/31Review CitationHW: Final Outline due Wednesday, 2/62/1JUNIOR RETREAT DAYWhat Does It Mean to Be Sixteen?DirectionsOn lined paper, you will journal for 5 minutes on each prompt. Let your thoughts flow freely; do not worry about correctness. Do, however, use pen and add an MLA header & a title.PromptsNew Fears: Write about things teenagers begin to worry about that they did not worry about at all (or did not worry about nearly as much) when they were younger.New Problems: Write about conflicts, stressors, or anxiety-inducers that people begin to encounter for the first time (or in more serious ways) as teens.New Complaints: Write about things teenagers begin to notice and find upsetting, infuriating, or confusing about society, the world, and/or other people. INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET INCLUDEPICTURE "" \* MERGEFORMATINET PRO / CONWhy people usually like the novel:It captures existential teenage angst.Holden is an interesting and complex central character.Holden’s “voice” sounds honest and real.Most people can relate to Holden’s feelings, fears, complaints, and problems.His ideas and values are ultimately wholesome and human.Why people sometimes don't like it:They don’t understand the 1940’s slang (This should not be a big deal; just Google words if you’re lost.)They think Holden is self-obsessed (Aren’t most young people—or people in general—a little self-obsessed?)They think Holden “whines” too much or is “bratty” (Isn’t questioning, challenging, and complaining part of a young person’s growth process? And who among us has never acted bratty?)Study Guide/Video Questions Chapters 1-4Describe Holden’s personality.How can readers?tell Holden is an anti-hero?Is Holden right to think Mr. Spencer is being fake when he calls Holden’s parents grand? Explain your thinking.How can one?tell Mr. Spencer actually cares about Holden?How can one?tell Holden is depressed?What types of people does Holden seem to hate?How do Ackley and Stradlater bring out some of Holden’s own qualities (either by being similar or different)?Why won’t Holden go down to see Jane?Chapters 5-8Who is Allie, and how did Holden react to his death?Why is Holden so upset about Stradlater’s date with Jane?Does he have good reason to be worried about it?How can you tell Holden is feeling very lonesome and depressed?Why?is he feeling so down?Why would Holden start thinking about joining a monastery at this point?Describe how Holden feels about Mrs. Morrow.Why does he keep lying to Mrs. Morrow?Chapters 9-12How does Holden feel about sex?Why does Holden call Faith Cavendish instead of Jane?What does Holden emphasize about Phoebe?What is so awful about Bernice, Marty, and Laverne?Describe Holden's relationship with Jane and how he feels about her.Holden keeps asking about the ducks. What deeper significance do you think this has?Explain how the young couples and Lillian Simmons help prove Holden’s point about the place being full of jerks.What bothers Holden about Ernie’s playing?Chapters 13-16Why does Holden think he is “yellow”?Why does Holden kind of want to have the prostitute come up to his room?Is Holden a coward in the scene when Maurice comes to get another five bucks from him? Explain your reasoning.How does Maurice demonstrate Holden’s belief that the adult world is cruel?How does Holden reveal his depression in these chapters?What is Holden saying about class and religion (Chapter 15)?How can one tell Salinger feels children are good?Why did Holden like the museum so much?Chapters 17-19What is so fake about the people in the lobby and George from Andover?What is Holden trying to explain to Sally when they are sitting down at the skating rink?How do Holden’s feelings about Sally change throughout the date?Why?do his feelings for Sally change like this?Why doesn’t Holden like the Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall?How did D. B. feel about the army and the war?How does Salinger portray the way boys learned about sex back then?Is Holden really being childish when he’s talking to Carl Luce? Why or why not?Chapters 20-23Holden is so lonesome and depressed that he cries in chapter 20. Can you find a few things in the chapter leading up to him crying that highlight how alienated and alone he is?After Holden looks for the ducks in Central Park, he starts thinking of Allie being dead and worrying?he may be dying himself. Explain how?these two things (the ducks and death) are?connected.Why does visiting Phoebe lift Holden’s spirits so much?What really upset Holden about Pencey?What happened to James Castle, and why would?Holden be thinking about him now?Look up the words to Robert Burns’ poem/song “Comin thro’ the Rye.” What’s it really about? Now, can you explain why Holden might have misheard the words to the Burns?poem/song?What is the deeper meaning behind Holden saying he wants?to be a catcher in the rye?Why does Holden cry at the end of chapter 23?Chapters 24-26Explain the advice Mr. Antolini gives Holden.Why might Holden have reacted so strongly to Mr. Antolini patting his head?Why might Holden imagine he’s falling through the pavement?Why do the curse words on the wall bother Holden so much?How does Phoebe force Holden to act like a grown-up when she brings her bags to the museum?Why is Holden so happy watching Phoebe on the carousel?Why didn’t Holden get on and ride with Phoebe? What does this show?Is Holden moving forward from his alienation and depression by the end of the novel?Background Information The Story353758516129000Holden Caulfield hates almost everything. He constantly uses adjectives like dopey, corny, lousy, crumby, vomity, and most of all, phoney. Sixteen-year-old Holden is surrounded by phoneys almost everywhere he goes, and it makes him want to puke.Expelled from his prep school for flunking too many subjects, he travels to New York, his home town. He drinks, smokes, orders a prostitute, is punched by her pimp, goes on a date, has a strange encounter with a former teacher, and spends quite a lot of time in cabs, walking the streets, or in the park; really, he doesn’t do that much.Mostly, he ruminates on the people he meets, people he met in the past, and his dead brother. This isn’t a novel with a conventional plot. The Catcher in the Rye is a novel where Holden’s thoughts drive the story rather than the typical climbing action of a traditional plot.In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is suffering. He struggles to make connections with other people and fit in, and he often feels isolated. He is having a hard time dealing with the death of his younger brother, Allie. He is disgusted by the “phoniness” of the people around him and frightened by the cruelty of the adult world. Like Sergeant X in “For Esme,” Holden also suffers a nervous breakdown. In his stories, Salinger often uses the innocence and purity of children as an antidote to the despair and alienation his protagonists feel. Like Sergeant X, Holden also finds healing in the kindness of a young girl, his sister, Phoebe. 952513716000The novel is set in the late 1940s, so Holden Caulfield lives during a time of increasing American prosperity, but it is also a time of repression. This was the era of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, a time when people accused of being Communists lost their jobs and homes and were even blacklisted so they could not get other work. People felt pressured to tow the line, to act as American as possible. They were scared of Communist spies and infiltrators, and they were terrified of a nuclear attack, building bomb shelters in their backyards and practicing nuclear-attack drills in school. 44964351384300095256350The death and destruction of WWII, of a scale never before seen, also left a mark on the psychic landscape of America. Holden reacts with fear and disgust to the insensitivity of other people, the cruelty of the adult world, and the phoniness of the people around him. These issues resonated with young people at the time, and they continue to do so today.The Author-5715016383000Salinger, like Holden, was raised in Manhattan in a wealthy family. He was not a very good student, and he was expelled from multiple private schools before finally graduating from Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania. (Holden also struggles in school and has been kicked out of several private schools.) Salinger continued to struggle with formal education in college, dropping out of two schools before taking a night course in writing at Columbia University. There, the teacher, Whit Burnett, noticed his talent, and his first stories were published in Burnett’s literary magazine, Story.3685540113728500In 1942, Salinger went into the service. He served in the Counter Intelligence Corps through end of WWII. He fought at Utah Beach on D-Day as part of the second wave; over a third of his regiment died that day. He was also active at the Battle of the Bulge. After the liberation of Paris, his division was the first to enter Germany. It suffered nearly 2,500 casualties in the Hürtgen Forest, many due to the freezing cold. Later, his division was the first to reach Dachau, an enormous concentration camp. “You could live a lifetime,” he told his daughter, “and never really get the smell of burning flesh out of your nose.” After the German surrender in 1945, he checked himself in to a hospital in Nuremberg, Germany, for help, but he avoided a psychiatric discharge because he wanted to continue on, after the armistice, as a Nazi interrogator (Salinger spoke fluent German). When it was all over, he had earned five battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation for valor. During the war, Salinger had been working on writing The Catcher in the Rye whenever he could find a spare moment. He picked it back up again in 1949, finished it, and it was published in 1951. The success of The Catcher in the Rye vaulted Salinger to fame. He hated the attention, however, and rejected fame by withdrawing entirely from public life. In the early 1960s, Salinger retreated to a small town in New Hampshire to live in seclusion. He continued to write, but he did not publish anything after that time. (Like Salinger, Holden often expresses a desire to get away from society. He dreams of living in the woods and never talking to anyone again.)Critical ReceptionThe Catcher in the Rye was very controversial when it came out, and it continues to be quite controversial today. The vulgar language in the story and its sexual content upset many; others did not agree with its social criticism—its rejection of traditional American values. People have been banning or trying to ban it from school libraries and school curriculums since it came out, and the novel remains at the top of the list of banned books in public libraries in America. On the other hand, the novel was lauded for its spirit, compassion, and humor, and Salinger was praised for telling a story no one else was telling—a story about a protagonist who is dissatisfied with the repression and smugness that characterized post-WWII America. Today, this novel has sold over 65 million copies, and it continues to sell 250,000 copies a year! In fact, it often makes the top-100-best-sellers list. Salinger’s great novel is, today, praised for its artistic merit, its influence on both the style and content of American writing, and its incredible ability to touch young readers who identify with Holden’s confusion and his ideals. This story of an idealistic young man who is saddened by the corrupt adult world around him continues to resonate with readers today just as much as it did back in 1951.StyleThe Catcher in the Rye was the first novel of its kind. Before this book, there was no such thing as Young Adult Fiction, or the YA genre. Writing a serious novel dealing with teenage characters and their thoughts and feelings was new territory. Holden, the main character, speaks like a normal teenager from his time, using plenty of slang and even some curse words. His voice is genuine and painfully honest. His confusion, his alienation, his sadness, and his humor made his story relatable to young people. Today, readers have thousands of books to choose from if they want to read about a teenage protagonist and get into his or her inner thoughts. However, at the time, this was truly groundbreaking. Some reviewers did not even take the book seriously because of its use of a teenage protagonist and its focus on his thoughts, worries, and concerns.The novel was also interesting because of its use of teenage vernacular language. Mark Twain had introduced writing in the vernacular back in the 1800s (a famous example is Huck Finn). Salinger, like Twain, wrote in the way he felt his characters would really speak, including all the bad grammar, cuss words, and teenage slang one might hear from a real-life sixteen-year-old boy. Some readers find the slang hard to understand, but a quick Google search should clear up any confusion!Readers will also encounter many other interesting literary devices. For example, Holden is sometimes called an unreliable narrator. Holden is often unsure of his own assertions, sometimes unable to fully explain himself, and he repeatedly says he is a liar. The key though, to his unreliable-narrator status is that his interpretation of reality sometimes differs from the world as it is actually presented in the story. Additionally, Holden often addresses his audience, or breaks the fourth wall. He uses second-person, “you,” to talk directly to an assumed reader, which is very uncommon in fiction writing. Finally, Salinger also uses stream of consciousness throughout the story. This means Holden is narrating his thoughts as they occur to him, as though he is speaking aloud his interior monologue. Stream-of-consciousness style allows readers to experience a character’s emotions and thought process in a way that seems more realistic, personal, and uncensored. These thoughts are often not arranged in a straightforward or logical manner; instead, they hop around based on the character’s internal associations, as real thought does.Major Subjects (“Motifs”)PhoninessHolden constantly encounters people and situations that strike him as "phony," a word he applies to anything hypocritical, shallow, superficial, inauthentic, or otherwise fake. He sees such "phoniness" everywhere in the adult world and believes adults are so phony, they can't even see their own phoniness. However, even though Holden is right that people are phony, The Catcher in the Rye makes it clear that Holden's hatred of phoniness is still self-destructive. Also, though Holden is constantly pointing out the phoniness in others, he is himself often phony. At various times in the novel, he tells pointless lies, claims to like or agree with statements or ideas he hates, goes out with girls he doesn't like, all to try to feel less lonely or to avoid direct confrontation. Maybe his version of phoniness is somehow better or less harmful than the phoniness of the people he hates, and Holden is not wrong to say that people are phony—they are. But people can't live up to Holden's wish that the world be simple, straightforward, and honest. In the end, while this "phoniness" is harmful and hurtful, it doesn't make people evil or worthy of hate. It makes them human. AlienationFrom the opening scene of The Catcher in the Rye, when Holden decides not to attend the football game the rest of his school is attending, one thing is clear: Holden doesn't fit in. The Catcher in the Rye was unique in its portrayal of an alienated teen who rejects the culture; the novel gave an extremely accurate and nuanced portrayal of the causes, benefits, and costs of his isolation. His alienation both protects and harms Holden. On one hand, it ensures he will not ever have to form connections with other people that might wind up causing awkwardness, rejection, or the intense emotional pain of losing someone (like when he lost Allie). On the other hand, Holden, being human, needs human contact, so being alienated makes him intensely lonely and depressed. Thus, he gets caught in a terrible and self-destructive cycle. He feels lonely, so he reaches out to various people, but then his fear of human interaction comes out, and he does his best to insult or make angry the very people he wants to connect with. This leads to alienation, which leads to loneliness, which causes him to reach out to another person, which excites his fear of human contact and leads to a terrible experience that convinces him that people are no good, which leads to alienation… and so on.Childhood and Growing UpIn contrast to all adults, whom Holden sees as riddled with flaws and phoniness, he sees children as pure, gentle, innocent, and perfect. The characters he speaks most fondly about in the novel are all children. He constantly dreams up schemes to escape growing up, such as fleeing to a New England cabin or working on a ranch out West. The only role Holden envisions for himself in life—catching children before they fall off a cliff—is symbolic of his wish to save himself and other children from having to one day grow up. However, Holden's view of perfect childhood is as incorrect as his view of the adult world as entirely "phony," and it just helps Holden avoid the fact that the complex issues he will have to face in growing up (such as sex, intimacy, and death) terrify him. Further, this form of delusional self-protection can only last so long. Holden will grow up, whether he likes it or not. Unless he learns to accept the complexities of adulthood, he will end up, at best, bitter and alone.Madness, Depression, and SuicideIf "phony" is the most frequently repeated word in The Catcher in the Rye, "crazy," "madman," and "depressed" rank close behind it. Because Holden is the narrator of the novel and because he seems, in many ways, to be a typical teenager battling typical teenage issues of identity, it seems like he is just using these words for effect. In other words, when he says he's crazy, he seems to mean he's acting oddly, or inconsistently, or stupidly, but not that he's actually going insane. And, likewise, when he says he feels like he is disappearing or that he wishes he were dead, it seems at first as if he's using the phrase as a typical teenage expression to make his emotions seem as intense to the reader as they seem to him. But as the novel progresses, it begins to become clear, through hints and an intensification of Holden's own language, that Holden really is on the verge of losing it; he really is seriously thinking that killing himself may be a way out of a world he can't control or understand. Ultimately, Salinger’s novel is a careful portrayal of a young man’s struggle with depression.Group Video ProjectRequirements:In a group of 4-5 students, you will develop a video presentation (5-10 minutes in length) discussing the study guide questions that go with the chapters your group is assigned. You must each speak for at least 30 seconds (some people may speak more than others; that is okay).You must walk your viewing/listening audience through the answers to all eight of the questions that accompany your assigned section.Provide TEXT EVIDENCE (a quote or quotes) to support each answer. Consider showing this evidence in the video frame while you are reading it—it is hard for people to follow along sometimes otherwise (cite correctly).Good evidence clearly supports the claim (the answer to the study guide question).Good evidence reads clearly and smoothly; do not cut off too much. Good evidence is well chosen and well developed. You may find that for some questions, you will need to use more than one piece of evidence to fully prove your point or show what you want to show.When using font or visuals in the video, be sure they are both large and clear.When you read quotations aloud and/or show them on the screen, the evidence must be cited in MLA formatting.YOUR TEAM MUST INCLUDE A WORK CITED PAGE AT THE END (USE MLA 8).Group Video Rubric (20 pts total)Class Hour: _________Group Number: _________Group Scorescontent (clear, correct, well-supported, and thoughtful answers to all eight study-guide questions) _________/ 8citation (uses in-text/verbal citation, provides a work cited page, & citation is without error)_________/ 4visuals (visuals grab attention, interest the audience, & are clear/easy to see)_________/ 2No Text Evidence ( -4 ) / No citation/Work Cited ( -4 ) / Under 5 minutes ( -4 )Group Score: _________/ 14Individual ScoresNameIndividual presentation(good volume and pace, confident posture, appears well-practiced) 4 ptscooperation skills (teamwork, positivity, kindness, and fair division of work) 2 ptsIndividual Score:_____ / 6Total Score _____ / 20Group Evaluation FormMy name is: ________________________________My partners were:Write your partners’ AND YOUR OWN initials in the appropriate boxes.PoorSatisfactoryAbove-and-BeyondWas kind, collaborative, and helpfulDid his or her fair share; did not slack off or avoid workParticipated equally in speaking during the presentationContributed a fair amount to the content and/or the visual aidI would want to work with these people again! NoMaybeYesAllot 19 points between your partners & yourself. Who contributed slightly more or slightly less?(Rules: You may not give fractions of a point, and you may not give yourself the low score unless it’s lower than the others by 2 or more points.)_________________________________________Points: ______________________________________________________Points: ______________________________________________________Points: ______________________________________________________Points: ______________________________________________________Points: _____________Formal Outline PromptsIn many ways, The Catcher in the Rye is a story about growing up. Is Holden right to fear growing up? Why or why not? RequirementsFirst, use the novel. Looking at the entire story, the people he meets, the events that occur, and especially the ending, answer whether the novel itself suggests that Holden should or should not fear growing up and entering the adult world. Your outline should provide 3-5 pieces of evidence from the novel. (-50% if you fail to use 3+ pieces of word-for-word, cited text evidence)Then, do some outside research. Find 1-2 outside sources (books, articles, webpages) that discuss growing up, adolescence, and the transition to adulthood. Incorporate this outside research into your outline in a meaningful and interesting way. You could put this research into a body paragraph of its own or within a relevant body paragraph that makes some key point about Holden and/or the novel. (-50% if you fail to incorporate outside research.)Some people say they hate Holden. Some people are incapable of feeling any sympathy for him. Are those people missing something? Are Holden’s struggles serious, or is he just a brat? RequirementsFirst, look at the novel. Think carefully about Holden’s mental health. How does his narration illustrate his various struggles (including possible traumas) and the deterioration of his mental state? You must cite from the novel 3-5 times as you discuss his various struggles and whether or not they are serious. (-50% if you fail to use 3+ pieces of word-for-word, cited text evidence)Then, do some research into Holden’s various struggles, which could include teen mental health topics like anxiety and depression, abuse, neglect, grief, etc. You must incorporate research from 1-2 outside sources (books, articles, webpages, etc.) into your outline in a meaningful and interesting way. You could put this research into a body paragraph of its own or within a relevant body paragraph that makes some key point about Holden and/or the novel.(-50% if you fail to incorporate outside research.)3144974114300Formal Outline AssignmentDue: 2/6What is an outline?An outline is a general plan of the material to be presented in a speech or paper; the outline shows the purpose and order of various topics, the relative importance of each, and the relationships among the various parts.Sometimes, teachers will ask for a “topic outline.” This means you can just use single words or brief phrases, rather than writing out complete sentences. The sample on the next page is called a “sentence outline.”All outlines must begin with a thesis statement; a thesis is a complete, specific, concise, and grammatically correct sentence. It should express the purpose of your piece or the position you are taking.How should I begin?First, read the back side of this handout so you know what you are being asked to do.Next, carefully read the essay prompts (on the back page of your packet). Consider what you will write about. What will your thesis be? What will you discuss in your body paragraphs? Brainstorm a bit (perhaps using your notes/packet to jumpstart your mind).Note: most formal outlines do not include the introduction or conclusion; those parts come in the later stages of the writing process.What do I put in, and where does it go?IF YOU ACTUALLY READ THE INFORMATION IN THE SAMPLE OUTLINE ON THE NEXT PAGE, IT WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED/WANT TO KNOW ABOUT HOW TO MAKE A FORMAL OUTLINE.Student NameTeacher NameClassDue DateFormal OutlineThesis: Type out the thesis in bold font; a thesis clearly answers the prompt and does NOT say anything that isn’t clearly proven by the body paragraphs.I. This outline is in “sentence form” and called a “sentence outline.” A. Each subdivision of the outline must be a complete sentence.B. Each subdivision may have only one sentence in it. II. Each Roman numeral should be a claim that supports your thesis (some call these “topic sentences” or “main ideas”); the introduction and conclusion are not typically part of your outline, but you may want to ask your teacher whether and how to include them. A. Capital letters are for the evidence or logical reasoning that supports the claim. 1. Arabic numerals are for sub-points supporting the ideas above.2. Often, this is where one would place his or her analysis (explanation) of how the evidence or reasoning supports the claim.a. Lower-case letters are for sub-points under the numbers.b. If you need even more sub-points, under the lower-case letters, use small Roman numerals (i. ii. iii. iv. v.)B. Each sub-point needs to relate whatever idea it appears underneath. 1. This means capital letters are a subdivision of whatever idea is contained in the Roman numeral above them. 2. Similarly, Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) must refer to the idea in the capital letter above them. III. No sub-point can stand alone. A. Every A must have a B, every 1 must have a 2, and so on.B. You don’t need to have a C (or a 3), but you can.V. Formatting is also important.A. Unless your instructor says otherwise, always use Times New Roman 12 font.B. Check that your outline is all double-spaced, and ensure you have set the paragraph spacing to “Before: 0” and “After: 0”. ................
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