Catcher in the Rye2014.doc

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The Catcher in the Rye

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-2-PRE-READING ACTIVITY #1

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In front of you are seven novel covers designed for The Catcher in the Rye. Your group must come to a consensus on which one is the best cover. Bringing visual terminology into your sales pitch is expected, and you will present your group's argument to the rest of the class. After all arguments are presented, we will have a full class vote on the best cover.

Use the space below to jot note your supports for your argument.

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PRE-READING ACTIVITY #2

Discussion only.

 Holden is “out of step” with the rest of the world. Do you think that feelings of loneliness and alienation are normal for teenagers? For people generally?

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 Catcher in the Rye is narrated by Holden Caufield as a flashback. What other movies and books have you experienced containing flashback? Do you like that technique?

-3-A. BURNS POEM AND BOOK TITLE/CHARACTERIZATION

Here is the Robert Burns poem mentioned on pages 115 and 173.

Comin' Thro' The Rye

by Robert Burns

O Jenny's a' weet, poor body,

Jenny's seldom dry;

She draigl't a' her pettiecoatie,

Comin' thro' the rye!

Comin' thro' the rye, poor body,

Comin' thro' the rye,

She draigl't a' her petticoatie,

Comin' thro' the rye!

Gin a body meet a body

Comin' thro' the rye;

Gin a body kiss a body

Need a body cry?

Gin a body meet a body

Comin' thro' the glen;

Gin a body kiss a body

Need the warld ken?

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CHARACTER OF HOLDEN

A. What does Holden make of the poem (it causes him to have a mental picture)? Why does he bring it up? What do you think the poem means?

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-5-B

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MINOR CHARACTERS

C. Identify the significance of the following minor characters. QUOTES ARE ESSENTIAL:

Stradlater

D.B.

Mr. Spencer

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Ackley

Allie

Mrs. Morrow

-6-Phoebe (irony in their relationship?)

Bernice

Lillian Simmons

Ernie

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Sunny

What common element does Holden find in these characters?

Sally

-7-James Castle

Luce (Does he have any qualities in common with Holden?)

Mr. Antolini

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C. SETTINGS

An interesting website can be found at the following location

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http://www.cmi.k12.il.us/Urbana/uhs/english/salinger/biography.htm#SEY

This website summarizes some of the settings where Holden may be found:

Pensey Boarding school: This is where we first encounter Holden, a troubled youth. Pensey is located at Hagerstown, Pennsylvania.

New York City: New York City is bustling city with no time to slow down. The city itself is cold and unforgiving and full of dark places. In New York City, Holden goes to a show as well as many bars, including a nightspot in the infamous Greenwich Village. He even visits tourist locations like the National Heritage Museum.

Central Park: Holden spends some time here, risking hypothermia. Central Park still stands today and is still the original 150 kilometers that it once was. The carrousel that Salinger mentions is still there today. This is where Holden puts his sister on the carrousel. The time is around 1945.

-8-D. SYMBOLISM

There are a number of symbols in Salinger’s book. A case can be made for the following objects and people representing something else in Holden’s life, and in general. That is, they are more than just what they are in and of themselves. The red hat is more than just a red hat in the book, and so on.

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What meaning do you think these symbols might have? QUOTES ARE ESSENTIAL. And did you see any others that I’ve missed?

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the red hat

Holden's name (other names too????)

Holden’s snowball

Allie (& Allie’s baseball glove)

the ducks 

-9-the nuns 

the catcher in the rye 

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the museum 

Phoebe’s notebook (and Phoebe for that matter!!) 

James Castle

the carrousel

-10-D. THEMES

The popularity of Salinger’s book among teen readers is likely due to the very relevant themes, themes such as those below. Make notes,

remembering that QUOTES ARE ESSENTIAL:

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Maturation

Phoniness of people, esp. adults

-11-Reality and what it entails

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Write some notes on these themes as you see them presented in the novel. Are there other messages that you felt were coming out of Holden’s story?

E. OTHER WORKS

Comment on the connectedness to Holden of any of these classics that you have read. All but one are movies.

1. The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald (p.141) 2. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (p.141) 3. Hamlet by William Shakespeare (p.117)

4. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy (p.18 &110 ) 5. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

6. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (p.111 )

-12-F. HOLDEN’S VIEW OF WOMEN

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Gallagher, Mrs. Morrow, Faith Cavendish, and Sally Hayes. QUOTES ARE ESSENTIAL.

G. WHAT WOULD HOLDEN’S PSYCHOANALYST SAY?

What is an inferiority complex? Does Holden have an inferiority complex, as some readers have suggested?

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-13-Do you think that Holden isolates himself? What might his diagnosis be? (PTSD? Depression? Schizophrenia? Social anxiety? Other?)

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Conclude with your own opinion here.

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Based on the handout provided in term one, attach a note on the writing style of this literary work.

-14-I. THE AUTHOR

Research the man behind the book.

“Salinger flatters the very ignorance and moral shallowness of his young readers”. - George Steiner

"The reclusive JD Salinger is known as a voice of youthful innocence and alienation". - Nicolaus Mills