Ninth Grade Accelerated English Option for

The Catcher in the Rye

(along with The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian)

As the class reads The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, you will also read
and take notes on the novel The Catcher in the Rye. Due dates and specific assignment
requirements are listed and detailed below.

1. Reading Schedule: Due for Wed. 10/15/08: Chapters 1-13 (to the end of 13)

Due For Wed. 10/22/08 Chapters 14-26 (end of book)

2. Dialogue Journal: 5 entries are due on Wed. 10/15/08

5 additional entries are due on Wed. 10/22/08
(see below for explanation of “Dialogue Journals”)
DO NOT write your dialogue journal in your composition notebook.
Write it on loose-leaf paper (or type it) that can be handed in to me.

As you read Catcher in the Rye, take notes on it using the questions and format presented below.
The general idea is that you are locating and responding to passages in the novel that seem to deal
with Holden’s sense of identity, his sense of who he is and how he fits into his community and the
larger world, and how he deals with his problems). You should copy down passages from your
novel and then write about how these passages demonstrate how Holden sees himself and his
sense of identity, and how he maintains hope or a positive attitude in the face of challenges and
set-backs. Additionally, note any similarities that you see between Arnold and Holden

Some questions/issues that you should address in your responses are:

• Write a brief summary saying what is happening in this passage and what is going on in
the novel at this point
• What is/are the problem(s) Holden faces?
• How does he deal with the problems (do he ignore problems, face them head on, lash out
at others, try to change the situation, try to change himself, etc.?)
• How does he view himself? How does he fit in or not fit into his community (either at
school or in the city or in his family)?

Some themes and symbols that you might consider as you read the book and take notes are:

 Alienation as a form of self-protection

 The painfulness of growing up
 The phoniness of the Adult world
 Loneliness
 Relationships, Intimacy, and Sexuality
 Lying and Deception
 “The catcher in the rye”
 Holden’s red hunting hat
  The Ducks in the Central Park Lagoon
The Museum of Natural History