Catcher in the Rye: Reading Schedule

Discussions are on Thursday each week

Week/Pages Theme
Week 1: 1-59 (Chapters 1-8) - Phoniness
Week 2: 59-113 (Chapters 9-15) Connections to Characters
Week 3: 114-166 (Chapters 16-21) Controlling the Identity we project
Week 4: 166-214 (Chapters 22-The End) Social Media Challenge vs. Isolation
Catcher in the Rye - Questions for Section 1 - Phoniness
Note: phony = not genuine
1)Before you get started answering novel-specific questions, think about the these
issues that are related to phoniness:
a)What sorts of behaviour do you see as phony?
b)How critical of other peoples phoniness are you?
c)Is phoniness always a bad thing?
d)Why do people lie? What do they gain from it?
e)How is power connected to lying?
2)Why does Holden see Hollywood films as phony and what does Holden mean when he
says that his brother D.B. is out in Hollywood "being a prostitute"(2)? Do you agree with
Holden at all? Explain your answer to this question.
3)What point does Holden try to make about people when he talks about Stradlater and the
"commas" and Ackley's description of the basketball player? (bottom of page 28, top of
page 29). Again, do you agree with Holdens point?
4)Who is Allie, and why is his baseball mitt so special to Holden? Youll find his description
of both these matters starting on page 38. Following up on that, identify and explain an
example of you or someone in your life (or perhaps in another book youve read or movie
youve seen) reshaping her/his personality after suffering a loss.
5)In chapter 6, what do Holden and Stradlater fight over? In what ways is Stradlater being a
phony in this situation?
6)(According to Holden, all teachers are phonies. How is this true? ) -->not here yet. Think of
at least one example from the book and one from your own life (though if its a GRCI
teacher, please leave out the name) and explain how the phoniness plays out in the
situation.
7)What are some of the lies Holden tells Mrs. Morrow on the train? On a scale of 1 to 10 (10
being fabulous), how good of a liar is Holden?
8)Holden spends a lot of his time worrying about how people in his life are phony. In what
ways is he himself a phony? Make sure you identify and explain at least two
examples--with page references--from the novel.
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Blog Entry 1: The Catcher in the Ryeand Phoniness
Your first blog entry is dealing with the idea of phoniness. Your blog entry should include
your own ideas about some of the questions below. Your blog should also use the novel
to inform some of the discussion points you are making.
A strong blog entry will contain your own thoughtful and well-considered opinions. It
will also contain specific reference to parts of the novel that help develop (by agreeing
with or contrasting) your ideas.
Please remember to pay attention to the clarity of your writing and try to use voice and
tone effectively and appropriately.
GUIDING QUESTIONS = Everything you've already done before and during the
discussion.
1. What you might talk about in the novel:
A) Who are the people Holden tends to criticize as phony?
(B) What kinds of behaviour does he criticize as phony?
(C) How do Holden's experiences and character traits affect what he sees as phony and
unacceptable?
2. What you might discuss about yourself:
(A) How critical of people's phoniness are you?
(B) What sorts of behaviour do you see as phony?
(C) What are some experiences you've had in which YOU have been phony? What
about that situation caused you to react that way? In hindsight, do you feel that your
phoniness was or was not justifiable? Why or why not?
(D) Is being phony always a bad thing?
(E) What interesting observations, comments or questions can you make regarding
1. phoniness online in 2014?

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Catcher in the Rye - Questions for Section 2 - Connections to Characters (59-113)
1.Answer the following questions about Holden:
a.What does Holden think of his sister? (see 67-68)
b.Holden attempts to flirt/socialize with Bernice and her friends in chapter
10. On a scale of 1 - 10, how good would you say Holden is at flirting with
women? Support your answer.
c.What do we learn about Holden's relationship with Jane in chapter 11?
d.Why does Holden cry in chapter 14?
e.What point does Holden make in chapter 15 about the nuns' suitcases--in
other words, why do they bother him so much?
2.What are some similarities between your personality and perspective on the
world and Holdens? Think about the following list as you are coming up with
similarities:
a.The sorts of things Holden lies about and why he lies (to others and
himself).
b.How he feels about other people and the world, and why.
c.His good relationships (what makes them good, why does he think they are
good) and his bad ones.
d.His loneliness, his refusal to open up, and his inability to accept the past.
e.How his lying (to others and himself) is related to his feelings of
powerlessness.
3.Do you see Holden as a realistic teenage character? What parts of his personality
and thought process do you see as realistic? What parts seem far-fetched to you?
Please explain your answer.
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Blog Entry 2: Connections to Holden
Thinking about the work you did for this section of the novel, answer the following two
questions:
- What are some similarities between your personality and perspective on the world
and Holdens?
- Do you see Holden as a realistic teenage character? What parts of his personality and
thought process do you see as realistic? What parts seem far-fetched to you? Please
explain your answer.








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Catcher in the Rye - Questions for Section 3 - Controlling the Identity We Project (114-
166)
Note: the idea of controlling the identity we project might require some explanation,
though perhaps it sounds more complex than what it really is. All of us, in our daily lives,
attempt to control how others see us through what we say, how we talk, how we walk,
etc. Besides looking at how we do this, for our discussion this week and during your
reading, think about how conflict between people often comes from times when the
identity you are attempting to project to other people gets questioned.
For example, an English teacher spells a word on the black board incorrectly, a student
points it out, and the teacher becomes sour and nasty towards that student. In this case,
the teacher is busy trying to project an identity based on skill with the English language
and because the student questioned that identity, the teacher reacts strongly.
Anyhow, here are the questions:
Questions About Holden:
1. In what way can Holdens conflicts with others in this section be seen as attempts on
his part to control how others see him and how he sees himself? See if you can think of
and explain at least three different conflicts.
2. Why is it so important to Holden to believe that he is the person he wants to project?
3. How does he use the memories of Jane and Allie to help him feel like this person?
4. Some plot-focused questions:
(a) Why does Holden want to take off with Sally now instead of after college? What is the
difference in his eyes? (133)
(b) Why did Holden get mad at Luce for calling his (Luce's) old girlfriend the "Whore of New
Hampshire" in Chapter 19?
(c) What does Holden find so intriguing about Phoebe's notebook in Chapter 21?
Questions About You:
5. . In what way can conflicts you have had with others be understood as a struggle to
maintain control over the image you wish to project?
A.Why is it important to you to project this particular idea of yourself?
B.Why do you think the people you had a conflict with didnt believe in the image
you wanted them to see?
C.In what ways could understanding conflict as a result of struggling for control of
your identity be a helpful (or unhelpful) understanding to have?
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Blog Entry 3: The Catcher in the Ryeand Controlling the Identity We Project
Basically, for blog 3, I would like you to write about your answers to question 5 above
and talk about how they relate to your answers for questions 1-4.
In other words, answer these questions:
1. To what extent does conflict in the novel come from people fighting for control of
their identities?
2. Take a conflict that you have had and explain how it the heart of this conflict is
actually about a battle for control of your (and the other persons) identity.
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The Catcher in the Rye- Questions for Section 4 (166 - The End) - Social Media Challenge
and Isolation
Note: while you are reading this section and working through these questions, you will be
asked to take on a social media challenge, by which we mean that you will attempt to
avoid texting, tweeting, instagram, snapchat, facebook, etc. for, if you can, up to a week.
As you do so, think about why you do or why you do not find it to be a challenge.
1.On page 174, Holden refers to the story of James Castle. This is something he talked
about earlier in the novel as well. Why does this incident bother Holden so much?
2.Explain what happens in the incident with Mr. Antolini and answer this question:
what is the impact of the episode on Holden?
3.Why do you think Holden is so bothered by the F--- You written at Phoebes
school?
4.Why do you think Holden pretends to get shot in his guts as he is walking across
the street at the end of this section?
5.To what extent does Holden care about what others think of him? Make sure you
explain your answer.
6.To whom do you think Holden is telling this entire story? (He makes references
from time to time that make it seem like its a particular person--for example,
when he says, Youd have liked him on page 38 when talking about Allie)
7.To what extent is Holden isolated from the world around him by the end of this
section?


Blog Entry 4: The Catcher in the Ryeand the Social Media Challenge
In your fourth blog entry, I would like you write about the experience of taking on
the social media challenge and then relate this experience back to the novel. In
order to do so, you may want to think about the answers to some of the following
questions:
- Why do you think you were asked to stop using social media and texting for a
week?
- What insights did you gain from trying and/or failing at doing this?
- Do people use social media so that they dont feel isolated?
- What events from the novel relate to the reason why people do well or dont do
well at taking on this challenge?
- Do people use social media to build up their reputations?
- How meaningful is friendship through social media vs. friendship in person?
***How does all of this connect to Holdens isolation and relationships in the novel?

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