The Catcher in the

Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
Published: 1951
 Jerome David (J.D.) Salinger
• 1919-2010
• Served in WWII
• Literary recluse - rarely granted
interviews, none after 1980
• Wrote several short stories and books
about young adults and the process of
growing up
• The Catcher in the Rye = most famous
and notorious work
Introduction
 The Catcher in the Rye:
Stats
• published in 1951
• has sold over 65 million copies worldwide
• was popular with college students before
literary critics found merit in it
• Time Magazine named it one of the best novels
of 20th century
• frequently challenged and banned in libraries
and schools because of talk of sex and excessive
bad language

Introduction
 The Catcher in the Rye: Why we picked
it

• Holden is (arguably) a near perfect sketch

of an American teenager - one that still
holds true today.
• You will see bits of yourself or your
friends in Holden. (I dare you not to.)

Introduction
 Characters
• Holden Caulfield, age 16
• D.B. - Holden's older brother who is
a "sellout" Hollywood writer
• Allie - Holden's younger brother who died
previous year of leukemia
• Phoebe - Holden's innocent but wise younger
sister
• Stradlater and Ackley - classmates who act as
foils for Holden
• Jane and Sally - girls Holden has dated or is
interested in dating
Introduction
 Point of View and Author Style
• First-person Limited - we only see
Holden's point of view (key question: is he
a reliable narrator?)
• Stream of Consciousness - the book
sounds like the stream of thoughts
running through your head
• Dialect - Salinger replicates the dialect of
a teenage boy
 the language is controversial, but this makes it
more believable
Introduction
 Setting
• Pencey Prep:
Holden’s
boarding
school
• New York City:
a little bit of
everything

Introduction
 Basic Plot: What to Expect
• Holden has been expelled from his private
high school
• Instead of going straight home, he
detours through NYC, trying his hand at
being an adult
• Events and issues include: school,
teachers, music, sex, alcohol, hypocrisy,
family, being a teenager, and growing up

Introduction
 Symbols to look for…
• Carousel
• Red hunting cap
• Baseball
• Allie's Catcher's
mitt
• Ducks in Central
Park Pond
• Museum of
Natural History
• Pencey Prep
• The catcher in the rye

Introduction
 Themes to watch…
• Holden’s Journey through young adulthood: growing up
and what that means, including:
• Loss of Innocence - bildungsroman
• Struggle for Identity
•Alienation
Disgust with Adult Hypocrisy (the phony people)
• Anger as aasShield
a Form of Protection, including:
• Against Pain
•Confusion
Confrontation of Fear
• Elusion ofsurrounding Love and Sexuality, including:
• Love
• Fear of Intimacy and Homosexuality
• Guilt
Introduction
Quick Writing: Respond
• Put yourself into Holden’s shoes. What
would you do if you were expelled from
school, had a little money to spend, and
knew that your parents would not expect
you home for two days?
• Please keep your responses school
appropriate. ( Even though Holden
doesn't...I don't want to have to report
you!) O_0

Introduction
Activity 1: Characterization
Terminology
Review:
• Protagonist The main character (not always the “good guy”)

• Antagonist The character working against the main character

• Dynamic Changing, growing personality

• Static Unchanging personality, doesn’t learn anything

• Stereotype Going along with common impressions or expectations

• External Conflict Man vs: Man/Machine, Society, Nature/Animal, Fate/Destiny

• Internal Conflict Man vs Self (making moral decisions)

• Foil Character who provides direct contrast to another character

 Activity 1: Characterization
Instructions:

Complete each section of the character analysis

sheet for Holden.

Complete each section of the worksheet on foils,

regarding Ackley and Stradlater.

You may work in pairs, but each person must turn

in a paper.
 Activity 2: Author Style

Stream of Consciousness
o narration which follows the unedited thoughts of the speaker
o usually seems jumbled, but relies on association of thoughts and
ideas
o look at the ideas right before and right after a passage to discover
how the narrator arrived at the topic – what reminded him of his
current thought?
o This style often seems immature – why might Salinger have used
it anyways?
Other Examples from Literature
o James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, Jack Kerouac
 Activity 2: Author Style

Narrator and Reliability

o First person: uses I: “I walked down the hallway and waved to
my friend.”
o Second person: uses you: “So you are walking down the hallway,
and you see one of your friends.”
o Third person: uses she or he: “She walked the hallway, searching
for a familiar face.”

Reliability
o Can you trust the narrator’s perception of people and events?
o Is the narrator honest with himself and others?
 Activity 2: Author Style

Dialect
o Local language: coke, pop, soda
o Slang: text speak, age-related language
o Cursing: mild to extreme
Consider
o Does the dialect show setting, including place and
time period?
o Does it show characterization?
o Is it realistic?
Activity 2: Author Style
Instructions:

On your own, complete the worksheet on stream of

consciousness, using your book as needed.

When I tell you to form groups, discuss whether

Holden is a reliable narrator, and whether the
dialect sounds like a real teenager. Provide at least
four points to each argument, with quotes from the
book to back up your opinions.
 Activity 3: Symbolism
Symbols:
o Visual representations of words or ideas
o Some have the same meaning for the majority
of people

o But others can mean different things for

different people
 Activity 3: Symbolism
Instructions:

Complete the chart for each symbol,

including a physical description from the
book, and your own explanation of what the
symbol means to the book.

With a partner, discuss which symbols

might be most important to the work.
 Activity 4: Theme
• The Hero’s Journey by gloveandboots
o What is Holden’s quest? What is he
searching for?
• The innocence of childhood
o Holden wants everything to stay the same as when he was
younger – he isn’t ready to grow up.
• The elusion of love
o Holden is dying for someone to love him – parents, friends,
girlfriends, prostitutes. He finally settles on imaginary children.
• The struggle for identity (bildungsroman)
o Holden doesn’t yet know who he wants to be – he looks at
everyone as phony, but he’s not sure how to avoid that himself.
 Activity 4: Theme
Instructions:

With a partner, complete the worksheet on

theme. Be sure to check the book carefully
for quotations: this is also a good way to
review the plot of the book.

Extra credit: on a separate paper, choose one of the

themes and discuss how it applies to your life. Use
specific examples. 2-3 paragraphs.