For your final test on Catcher in the Rye by J.D.

Salinger, you are going choose one of the topics below and write a well-developed and coherent essay.

1. Compare the male characters in the novel to Holden and describe what he wants in himself and what he does not want. Come to a conclusion about your findings.

2. Is Holden mentally deranged, or is he a normal teenager? Explain why or why not discussing specific examples from the story.

3. The Catcher in the Rye was published in the middle of the 20th Century (1940s). Is the novel still relevant today? Do some teenagers continue to face the kinds of problems Holden faces? Be specific in your argument and support it.

Want regents type questions? Try one of the following two critical lens topics. Write a critical essay in which you discuss two works of literature you have read from the particular perspective of the statement that is provided for you in the Critical Lens (Obviously, one of the books MUST be Catcher in the Rye). In your essay, provide a valid interpretation of the statement, agree or disagree with the statement as you have interpreted it, and support your opinion using specific references to appropriate literary elements from the two works. Avoid plot summary. Instead, use specific references to appropriate literary elements (for example: theme, characterization, setting, point of view) to develop your analysis.

1. All literature shows us the power of emotion. It is emotion, not reason, that motivates characters in literature. paraphrased from an interview with Duff Brenna

2. What lasts is what is written. We look to literature to find the essence of an age. Peter Brodie (adapted)