The Catcher in the Rye Project

Part I One - Historical information (completed and will be checked by this Friday)
You are responsible for finding all the information you can about life in 1949.  Here are some things you might want to think about:  what was it like being a teenager in 1949?  Holden's use of language is very distinct in the novel-- is this the way most teenagers spoke at the time?  How did they dress?  What did they like to listen to?  What was the median income?  What was the median income for people like Holden's parents?  You can include recordings of popular songs, pictures, links, anything you want, as long as it’s connected to life in the late 1940s.

Part II: History and Impact of the Novel on Americans of the 20th century and today

• What did the book reviews say about The Catcher in the Rye in 1951?
• Name the writers who were affected by Holden.
• How did teenagers react to the book when it was first published?
• Why was the book banned? Find a letter or two readers wrote to the author. From their reactions to the book, you will see why the book was banned when it was first published.

Part III - What's bothering Holden?
You are responsible for adding the possible psychological reasons for Holden's madman days around Christmas.  Find out about the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, the five stages of grieving and loss, the impact of death on a family, and any other reason you think Holden might be failing out of school and wandering New York City.  You can give Holden your diagnosis and find out how doctors would treat him today.  Would Holden be on medication?

Part IV - Character analysis
Create descriptions for four major character such as Holden, Pheobe, Stradlater, Allie, Ackley, and Mr. Antolini. 

1. Write your own details about each character- action, attitude, characteristics etc; add pictures if you think they capture a character's physical appearance (hair, height, weight).
2. Find at least five direct quotations that you believe describe the characters.
3. If you know how to make web links that describe what others have written about any of these characters, you can include links that you think describe them. For example, create a link from Pheobe to a website that has information about gifted children.

Part V - Literary element Poster                                  
Research all that you can about the literary elements used in the novel ( minimum 10 examples)and give examples of the following:  foreshadowing, imagery, Salinger's use of metaphor, symbolism, setting (this one should be easy!), irony, tone, point of view, conflict and theme.  You can use what we've discussed in class, cite quotations from the novel and create links from other sources to support your position.

The poster must contain the term, a definition, and an example from The Catcher in the Rye, along with a proper citation from the book.

Resources:

b..literary_terms

b.Literary Terms and definitions

Part VI - Outside Elements

Salinger mentions a number of other authors and famous literary characters in The Catcher in the Rye, for example (1)Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa, (2)Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage, (3)Emily Dickinson, (4)Ring Lardner( author) and (5) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  For each author-

1. Write a brief summary of each author,
2. Write a brief summary of each character or novel mentioned
3. Provide a reason why Salinger may have included them in the book. Consider : Do these authors tell us something about Holden? 
4. The title of this novel is taken from a poem.  Why?  What is the significance of this poem?  Why do you think Salinger used this?