1. The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger

2. The novel’s success  Still on the top 100 best seller list  Because…  “It captures the mood of the adolescent who wants desperately to fit in but doesn’t want to seem as if he does, who wants to act flippantly but who, underneath that flippancy, has great sorrow.” - Tom Wolfe

3. The Historical Context – 1950s  “Youthquake”  As rebellious 1950s gave way to radical 1960s – youth culture emerged  Impact on  Movies – AMERICAN GRAFFITI, THE GRADUATE, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH  TV – Dawson Creek  Music – Green Day; Smashing Pumpkins  Generation Gap  Holden Caulfield – represents a symbol of restless American youth – troubled, jaded, hopeful

4. 1950s

5. The Author  Born January 1, 1919  Mother – Irish  Father – Jewish  Flunked out of a prep school  Valley Forge Military Academy  Liked to lie  Army  Married twice  2 children

6. Another Recluse  1953 moved to Cornish, New Hampshire  Ironically, by being a recluse, he insured he would remain famous for being a recluse  Reasons?  Did he burn out?  Could he not better the success of Catcher?  Emotional? Psychological?

7. The Setting  NYC – primary action takes place  “Lost weekend”  Saturday afternoon to Monday afternoon  Opens on cold December day – campus of Pencey Prep in Agerstown Pennsylvania  Just been expelled for failing grades

8. The Style  Modern Fiction  Immediate involvement with character  Use of slang/idioms – “phonies”  colloquial  Male adolescent voice  Full of verbal irony – “a real prince”  First-person flashback

9. Point of View  1 st person narrative  More intimate and personal than 3 rd person  Holden Caulfield doesn’t tell us everything… “I was sort of crying” (52).  Be skeptical – look for gaps between Holden’s words and his actions!  Look for examples of what Holden VALUES  Who does he admire and why?  Who does he criticize and why?  Flashback

10. Salinger and Golding  Disagree – concept of evil/sin  Agree  No one can grow up if they don’t deal with the awful side of themselves…to repress it, is to give it power. To let it out is to control it.

11. This book is about a …  Journey  Odyssey  Childhood to adulthood  Innocence to knowledge  World changing…and how does one cope

12. Censorship and the novel  One of the most frequently banned books in schools between 1966-1975  Reason?  Language  Actions of Holden  The novel’s most famous line… “If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn’t rule out even half of the ‘f…. you’ signs in the world.”

13. Chapter 1 – note…  Use of slang  Use of nouns for adjectives  Exaggerations And enjoy…

14. The End

15. Sept. 12 th : Old School, Old Teachers, Old Friends. IN your journal, answer the Journal entry on the Board. We’ll be reading Ch. 3 in class, so get out Catcher in the Rye, and open the Journal to the ‘Notes’ section of your journal.

16. Sept. 17 th : Holden and You….. Read Chapters 8 & 9 from the Novel in class. Complete as much of the packet given to you in class (group is ok – as long as it’s cooperative, not copying). Complete the Venn Diagram worksheet (due Wednesday) For Homework: Read Chapters 10 & 11.

17. Sept. 18 th : New York, New York…. Turn in “Holden and You” Venn Diagram. Reading Quiz: on a separate sheet of paper, summarize the novel thus far (Ch. 1 -11). The paragraph needs to be 8+ sentences, and use 2 -3 examples from the text. Discussion of New York as a setting.

18. Sept. 19 th : To Change or not to Be…. Get out your LOGBOOK and create a new entry: “To Change or Not to Be”. On the new page of the Logbook, create a T-Chart. Label the Left column: “Reasons For/Against Change.” Label the Right column: “Evidence” In your groups, you are responsible to come up with 2+ two reasons Holden is against change, and 1+ reasons why he can’t avoid it. For each reason find 2 quotes from the text that support it. (Different topics, of course.)

19. Sept: 20 th Glass Cases  Get out Catcher in the Rye and your LOGBOOK.  Open up to the “Catcher Notes” section.  Add any notes throughout our reading and discussion.  Open to Ch. 16 and read in class, while we discuss.

20. Sept: 20 th Glass Cases  Journal: On Holden’s way to the NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, he thinks to himself “Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone” (122).  What does Holden mean by this statement?  What things do you think should be kept in glass cases?

21. Sept 23 rd : Ducks and ….Death?  Reading Quiz: Get out a sheet of paper, and Catcher in the Rye.  “Ducks and Death”  Homework: Read Chapters 21 & 22

22. Chapter Quiz: 12-21 1. What does Holden plan on doing with Sally Hayes at 2 p.m.? 2. Who sits down next to Holden at the breakfast counter? 3. What do Holden and Sally do after the movie? 4. Who is Valencia? 5. Who did Holden Caulfield talk to on the phone, why? 6. Carl Luce suggests that Holden go to a _______. 7. Who does Holden look for in Central Park? 8. What character from Romeo and Juliet did Holden like the most? 9. What do we learn about Allie’s funeral? 10. Why does Holden think he might get pneumonia?

23. Sept 23 rd : Ducks and ….Death?  Get out Catcher in the Rye and your LOGBOOK.  Create a T-Chart  Reread pages 81 - 83 & 154 – 156 to yourself.  There are two topics that Holden is describing during this scene – one in the present and one in the past – what are they?  In the T-Chart, list Holden’s descriptions, and thoughts about the different scenes.  Who are the ducks?

24. Sept 24 th : Coming through the Rye….  Holden’s ‘women’…  JaneHow are these women the  Sallysame/different?  PhoebeWhat about them appeals to  Others??? Holden? Create a ‘comparison chart’ for these three (at least).  Reread pages 172 - 73  “Coming through the Rye”  What is Holden’s ‘dream’?  Why might he want this for his future? (How does this relate to the ‘ducks’?)  Read R. Burn’s Poem – what do you think it means? How does this relate to Holden’s ‘dream’?  Homework: Read Chapters 23 & 24

25. Sept 26 th : Socratic Seminar: Catcher in the Rye  Spend a few minutes developing an answer for the following question. Be ready to discuss it with the class, using evidence from the novel to support your ideas.  What was the symbolism of the Golden Ring and the Merry-go-Round? And why didn’t Holden want to ride it?  Is Holden a Saint or Hypocrite? What do the events that support your answer reveal about his character?  The novel is structured about Holden’s encounters with others. Does anything change in Holden’s interactions through the novel? What causes these changes?