Themes in "The Catcher in the Rye"

Themes

Aesthetic features/Positioning techniques

Isolation: -          In relation to teenagers especially. Most teenagers feel alone in what they are facing and therefor feel a strong sense in isolation.           Loss and Death; -          Something you can’t avoid, painful, happens to everyone and no one really understands why it happens.             Adolescence:   Innocence: -          Something that Holden values the most, very precious thing, he sees it as the opposite of phoniness, he sees it exemplified by childhood and that when you have lost it you have lost it forever.

·         Characterisation of Holden ·         The red hunting hat – used as a symbol of Holden’s need of protection because of his feelings of isolation. ·         Language choices in the things Holden says ·         The motif of the ducks – the reason Holden is so worried about where the ducks go when the pond is frozen over is that this mirrors his own sense of isolation. ·             -          Holden’s experience with Allie’s death -          His reaction and the effect it has on him -          Use of first person narration -          Language choices -          The story he writes about Allie’s baseball glove -          Holden’s loss of his friend Jane to Stradlater through her date             -          Through the characterization of Phoebe -          Through Holden’s view on Phoebe -          The metaphor of the catcher in the rye because through it we know that Holden wants to stop children falling out of innocence into phoniness -

Characters in in "The Catcher in the Rye"

The Catcher in the Rye – what do we know?

 

Characterisation

Aesthetic features/Positioning techniques

Holden: -          Teenager -          Trying to figure what life is all about -          Opinionated -          Pessimist -          Cynical -          Has difficulty fitting in -          Negative -          Sees childhood as the ideal phase of life -          Sees adults as ‘phonies’ -          Sees adolescence as a scary phase -          Vulnerable -          Unenthusiastic about life   -          Does Holden develop as a character and move to a new understanding of himself and the world? If this is a coming-of- age novel, does Holden grow up? Does he change?                                         Stradlater:   -          Athlete -          A ladies’ man -          Views on sex differ from Holden’s -          Just interested in sex -          Self-confident -          Too minor -          Doesn’t write his own essay -          Doesn’t appreciate what Holden does in writing the essay for him -          Doesn’t have Holden’s morals or ideals         Phoebe: -          Little girl -          Holden’s sister -          Innocent -          Happy -          Perfect child image -          Loves Holden -                    Allie:

-          Written from Holden’s point of view: allows us to see his thoughts and opinions -          The symbol of the red hunting hat: tells us that Holden is vulnerable and needs protection. Shows us how scared he is of the adult world. -          ‘Catcher in the rye’ motif: tells us how he feels about the transition from childhood to adulthood. Supports the notion that Holden sees childhood as the perfect phase of life, the most positive aspect. -          Language choices tell us how cynical Holden is and how negatively he views the world: swearing, repetition, digressions etc. -          The motif of the ducks: shows us that Holden feels isolated and frightened, and unsure of a safe place in his life. Also tells us that his future is uncertain for him. -          The motif of disappearing at crossroads: it tells us that his frightened of the future, frightened of change. p.190: ‘The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.’ This contradicts the ‘catcher in the rye’ motif and suggests that Holden has realized that children have to grow up and have to face the dangers involved.   The red hunting hat - “I got pretty soaking wet, especially my neck and my pants. My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way, but I got soaked anyway. I didn’t care, though. I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around.” This suggest he has come to a new realization that he can’t always find protection from the frightening world, but that this is not a problem.           -          Holden’s voice -          Dialogue -          Holden’s descriptions of events -          Holden’s language choices -          Holden’s attitude to Stradlater                                         Holden’s voice -          Language choices -          Holden’s views of childhood and Phoebe -          Dialogue -          Phoebe’s writing -

Essay practice

While we are hearing oral presentations in class, you can work on essay practice with the following question. Writing by hand, including planning, will be better practice for your test.

"Because The Catcher in the Rye explores a range of universal issues, it is not just an interesting adolescent novel, but a true classic, able to be enjoyed by all age groups."

To what extent do you agree with this statement? Write a well-structured essay in response.

Essay Writing

To give yourself the best opportunity to answer an essay question effectively, it is important to work with a clear structure. If you follow this step-by-step process, it should help you to stay on track with your argument.

Step 1: Read the question:

 

Step 2: Highlight/underline/circle the main points

 

Step 3: 'This question is asking me to...'

Step 4: Brainstorming - write down anything that comes to mind about the topic.

 

Step 5: Pick out important parts in brainstorming and expand/organise to form what will become your main points.

 

Step 6: Write your thesis statement. Your thesis statement must involve and answer the question. Basically, it states what you will be basing your whole essay around.

 

Step 7: Write your topic sentences - work out what your main body paragraphs are going to talk about and then write your topic sentences.

Remember, a topic sentence must

a) tell us what the paragraph will be about

b) link back to thesis statement.

 

Step 8: Decide what quotations and evidence you will use for each body paragraph - make sure your evidence is relevant to your main point and ultimately supports your thesis statement.

 

Step 9: Plan what you want to say about your evidence and how it supports your points - this is your synthesius and it where you can include discussion of the positioning techniques.

Step 10: Write your concluding statements or linking sentences - optional. Some people like to do this in planning as it is one more way to ensure that they stay on track in their argument. Others prefer to wait until the paragraph is complete so that they can come to a logical conclusion in that part of the argument. Experiment to see what works best for you.

Step 11: Start writing your essay!

Introduction - thesis statement

- outline of main points

- include title of the novel and author's name

- can include very brief background about the novel to set the scene

- consider and mention positioning techniques, e.g:

 

Main Body Paragraphs - repeat for all paragraphs

Topic sentence
Expand/Elaborate

Evidence

Evaluation

Concluding sentence

 

Conclusion - revisit thesis statement

- revisit all main points

- mention author and title

- DO NOT BRING IN ANY NEW INFORMATION

- leave reader with something to think about

 

Step 14: Proof-read and edit - do not stop until you get told to put your pen down.

 

When proof-reading and editing, consider the following things:

 

Punctuation

- Have you used commas effectively?

- Have you put full stops at the end of sentences?

- Have you used quotation marks to indicate quotations?

- Have you used possessive apostrophes where needed?

- Have you used capital letters at the beginning of sentences and for Proper Nouns (i.e. a person's name, etc.)

- If you have used a semi-colon, colon or hyphen, have you used it correctly?

 

Spelling

- Have you spelt the author's name correctly?

- Have you spelt the characters' names correctly?

- Have you looked for incorrect spelling of homophones (words that sound the same but are spelt differently, e.g. 'to', 'too' and two'?

- Have you ensured that you are using Australian (British) spelling rather than U.S. spelling, e.g. 'analyse' instead of 'analyze'?

 

Sentence structure:

- Do they make sense?

- Do you have a variety of sentence structures, i.e. simple, compound and complex?

- Do you avoid sentence fragments?

- Do you begin sentences in a variety of ways or do they all start the same way?

 

Expression

- Have you phrased things in the best way?

- Do you avoid colloquial expressions?

- Do you avoid slang and contractions?

- Does the way you have worded your argument make sense?

- Do you avoid using first person (I, me, my, we, our)?

- Do you avoid using second person (you, your)?

 

Word choice

- Have you repeated words too many times?

- Have you used words in the right context - i.e. does it make sense the way you have used it?

- Do you know what the words you have used actually mean?

- Have you tried to use words that demonstrate that you understand the positioning techniques, e.g. 'imagery', 'characterisation', 'positions', etc.

Grammar

- Have you checked that you are writing in present tense?

- Have you ensured that you are not making mistakes with subject verb agreement, i.e. if the noun is plural so is the verb OR if the noun is singular so is the verb? E.g. 'There are two chairs." (Correct) "There is two chairs." (Incorrect)

- Do you use definite and indefinite articles appropriately? ("The" - definite article. "A" and "An" - indefinite articles.)

Content

- Do you answer the question?

- Is your discussion relevant?

- Are the claims you are making about the book/characters/events correct?

- Are your quotations relevant to your argument?

- Do you reference your quotations?

- Do you take the time to synthesise your evidence?

- Do you mention positioning techniques in your synthesis?

Structure

- Do you have a clear thesis statement that answers the question?

- Does this intro outline your main points?

- Does the intro mention the author and book?

- Do you avoid using quotations in your intro?

- Do your topic sentences link back to your thesis statement?

- Do you have evidence in each paragraph?

- Do you have closing statements or linking statements at the end of each paragraph?

- Does your conclusion avoid bringing in new information?

Wednesday's lesson notes

The Catcher in the Rye

p.156 – ‘I’d just be the catcher in the rye, and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be. I know it’s crazy.”

- In this metaphor the field of rye clearly represents childhood and childhood innocence. The grain, rye is young and growing, and the children are playing in this field. At the bottom of the cliff is adulthood. In this metaphor then, adolescence is clearly the fall and this would explain Holden’s feelings about his life at the time.

- By wanting to be the catcher in the rye, Holden wants to protect the children and save them from both the fall (adolescence) and the landing at the bottom (adulthood).

How does Holden see the stages of life?

Childhood:

-          Holden sees childhood as a good time, a time of innocence, a time in which he wants children to stay.

Adolescence:

-          Holden sees adolescence as a time of significant change, a time in between where you don’t know where you really belong. Sometimes Holden acts like a child and acknowledges this. Sometimes he seems to try to mimic adult behavior.  Is the novel suggesting that this is the epitome of adolescence and that being a teenager is about not knowing where your place is. Holden is confused and fears change. We see this in his attitude to the museum (page…). We also see this on p178 when he says, “Every time I came to the end of a block and stepped off the goddam curb, I had this feeling that I’d never get to the other side of the street.”

What is Holden’s attitude to sex?

-          He is ambivalent about sex: he wants to engage in sexual behaviour and calls a prostitute for this purpose, but his idealism gets the better of him. Holden actually has a very strong moral sense. He can’t go through with this because he needs to have an emotional engagement with the person he is having sex with.  Perhaps he is also aware that if he loses his virginity he crosses the line into adulthood and in fact this is something that he is fearful of. When he hears that Stradlater is going on a date with Jane, Holden is very concerned about Jane. He wants to be the ‘catcher’ and stop her from falling into the grasps of adulthood by engaging in sexual behaviour. He seems to see Stradlater as predatory in his behaviour towards women and that is something that Holden is concerned about. Jane is also a part of Holden’s childhood and perhaps he doesn’t want to see her ‘disappear’.

What his Holden’s attitude towards adulthood?

-          Holden wants to protect children from adulthood: his stereotype of adults is that they are ‘phonies’. He sees it as a time not as safe as childhood and therefore as more vulnerable, though he knows that he cannot prevent growth and change. All children are eventually going to grow up or die, hence why he might be so frightened of change and progression through life. He does not like the alternatives and what he sees in adults.

Let’s have a look at Holden at the end of the novel

-p.190-191: “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” Holden seems to be contradicting his attitude to growth and suggesting that children should be allowed to freedom choice and risk-taking.

“I got pretty soaking wet, especially my neck and my pants. My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way, but I got soaked anyway. I didn’t care, though. I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around.”

 

Tuesday's lesson notes

3. Holden’s description of his older brother as “being a prostitute”

Holden’s description of his brother	Quotes	Speaker and Page
- Means he has a high paying job - Exploiting himself to Hollywood - Holden thinks a High paying in job – its not good - You’re a sellout to Hollywood - He is selling his books, making nothing out of them	“ It killed me. Now he’s out in Hollywood, D.B, being a prostitute”	Holden, pg. 1

-          What this tells us about Holden is that he doesn’t value money or the kind of success that society recognizes

-          What Holden values is being genuine and authentic

-          Holden is very idealistic in terms of his view of the world; he wants the world to be ‘perfect’, and it is not

-          He a strong sense of morality and he really values his close relationships

-          He sets very high standards which most people don’t reach, yet he himself doesn’t reach them. Allie and Phoebe are the only who really reach Holden’s standards.

4. "Phony" – pretending to be something that they’re not

Holden appears to view all adults as “phony.”

Holden criticizes about people who are boring, insecure and people who are “phony.”

 Holden uses the label “phony” to imply that such people are superficial.

 Holden constantly points out the phoniness in others when he is often acting as a phony. This is shown throughout the novel when he lies by claiming to like or agree with statements or ideas he hates, goes out with girls he doesn’t like, all to try to feel less lonely or to avoid direct confrontations.

He later contradicts himself when he regards to himself as phony; “I'd be a phony if I let them stick me in a movie short” - Chapter 11

Holden explains to his sister Phoebe his thoughts about schools and how they are phony places and their main goal is to prepare students to become “phony” to survive in the adult world.

 He sees such “phoniness” everywhere in the adult world, and believes adults are so phony that they can’t even see their own phoniness.

 Many of the characters in the novel such as Ackley, Stradlater, Sally and Mr. Spencer are often phony, and say and do things that keep up appearances rather than reflect what they truly think and feel.

p.2 – “since 1888 we have been molding boys into splendid, clear-thinking young men.”

5. Holden’s use of the red hunting hat.

Pages:

• 15
• 40
• 46
• 80
• etc

Overall:

The hat is a symbol of safety and protection, which Holden wears when he is feeling insecure or vulnerable.

Ø  To Holden the hat becomes a materialistic comforter.

Ø  The hat plays the role of a carer/ friend

Ø  Boost his self worth- by making him feel better about himself

Quotes:

“I saw it in the window of this sports store when we got out of the subway, just after I noticed id lost all the goddam foils.” page 15

Ø  He bought the hat make him feel better about himself as he didn’t mean to loose the foils.

Ø  He would have been bullied/put down because of the lost foils.

Ø  The hat was a pick me up

“I kept sitting there on the floor till I heard old Stradlater close the door and go down the corridor to the can. Then I got up. I couldn’t find my god dam hunting hat anywhere” page 39

Ø  Straight away he looked for the hat for comfort

Ø  He became depended on the hat and the feeling he got when he wore it

Ø  He relied on the hat as a friend

“my ears were nice and warm, though. That hat I bought had ear laps in it, and I put them on- I didn’t give a dam what I looked” page 47

Ø  He didn’t care about the look, or the materialistic, more so the feeling it gave him (comfort)

Ø  The hat was a form of protection   from the outside world

“I was sort of crying. I don’t know why. I put my red hunting hat on, and turned the peak around to the back, the way I liked it and then I yelled at the top of my god dam voice, ‘sleep tight, ya morons!’ ill bet I woke up every bastard on the whole floor” page 46

Ø  The first reaction was to grab the hat

Ø  The hat gave him confidence (yelling out)

Ø   

 “But it was freezing cold, and I took my red hunting hat out of my pocket and put it on- I didn’t give a god dam how I looked. I even put the ear laps down” page 80

Ø  He uses repetition of how he didn’t care about the appearance of the hat

All of this tells us that Holden sees the world as a scary place in which he needs something that he can turn to for protection.

p.191 – “I got pretty soaking wet, especially my neck and pants. My hunting hat really gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way, but I got soaked anyway.  I didn’t care, though. I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way Old Phoebe kept going around and around.”

By the end of the book, Holden has realized that although the world may be a frightening place, it is possible to deal with this. We can’t always be protected but we can survive.