"Catching on to Catcher in the Rye"

lessons on The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

 

 

Lesson 6: The Catcher Controversy

 

Developed by Sandy Scragg
www.sandyscragg.com
Murry Bergtraum High School
New York City, 2002

excerpted from The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger, p. 77, Back Bay Books/LittleBrown, copyright 1951

 

The Catcher in the Rye is still a controversial novel, despite it being published over 50 years ago. Many people are offended by the language and situations in the novel. Others feel that the character of Holden is outdated.

Judith Shulevitz, a columnist at the New York Times, says on Holden: "Once
Holden's charisma loses its force, once we no longer believe in the
purity that made him an exception--all we are left with is the
piteous rant of a sad and lonely and somewhat paralyzed boy. We
can't hold him or his monologue in the same esteem, because we sense
that to do so is to accept life on his constrictingly simplistic terms.
We have, thank goodness, moved on."
[Read entire article from Slate]

Instructional Objectives: 1) Evaluating the importance or lack of importance of The Catcher in the Rye. 2) Analyzing themes & symbols used in the novel. 3) Discovering past objections to this novel and the controversial issues surrounding its publication, and the teaching of The Catcher in the Rye in schools.

 

Time Required: 4 40-minute class periods

 

Materials Needed: web sites listed, Regents-style essay on censorship (see below)

 

Vocabulary/Key Concepts: "censorship", theme, symbol

 

Focus Questions/Key Points: 1) Is The Catcher in the Rye a novel worth teaching and reading today? 2) Is Holden Caulfield a character that today's teenagers can relate to? 3) What are the important issues and images in the novel? 4) What is the purpose of the novel? What meaning does it hold for us?

 

Procedures:

1) After finishing the novel, ask students for their opinion: Is this novel and the character of Holden still relevant? [FYI: I had heard from other teachers that students no longer related to The Catcher in the Rye and to Holden Caulfield. In their experience, there was great disdain for Holden and most of their students dismissed him as whiny and annoying. However, my students related to Holden on a significant level. On the surface, my students had very little in common with Holden. Yet, they found him and the novel to be extremely relevant and current in many ways, despite the fact that we read the book during its 50th anniversary.]

2) Direct students to the Slate article that briefly touches upon this issue.

3) Read Thomas Beller's article in the New York Times talking about Holden's New York--what has changed, and what has stayed the same during Holden's journey.

4) What is the meaning of the novel? Read one student's opinion of one meaning of the novel and the importance of this issue in today's world. Do you agree with this student? [I think one student out of 2 classes did!]

5) Ask students to form groups. In their group, students should come up with at least three main issues (or "themes," but do not call it this yet) of the novel.

6) Make a list of student responses on the board. (They were numerous. Among them: Be true to yourself, The world can be an ugly place, The individual can get lost in society, Sometimes people are cold, Act to improve your situation not make it worse, Family members are the only ones who you can really depend upon, Be realistic with your dreams and don't fool yourself, You can't protect everyone from getting hurt.]

7) Alert students to the fact that they have just come up with themes of the novel. Make sure everyone knows what a theme is (a message the author wishes to send to his/her readers, a "moral of the story").

8) Direct students to a collection of different Catcher in the Rye covers throughout history (international editions are also included). Some of the covers contain drawings and illustrations. What images keep showing up from cover to cover? Why? [The red hunting hat, New York City, suitcases, a young man, the carousel]

9) Point out that many of these images are in fact, symbols of the novel. What are the important images in this novel? Make a list on the board (see the italics above). Why does Salinger keep bringing up certain images? What's the point?

10) One of the most pervading symbols in the novel is the red hunting hat. Have students break up into four groups. There are four major mentions of the red hunting hat: Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 20, and the end of Chapter 25. Each group will cover one mention.

11) Ask each group to re-read the section where the red hunting hat is mentioned. Then each group will answer the same questions: 1) What is going on in this scene? 2) Why does Holden put the hunting hat on? 3) What symbolic meaning does the hat have for Holden in this scene? Each group will then report back to the class and we will come to a consensus about the symbolism behind Holden's red hunting hat. [Although the red hunting hat comes up at many different points in the novel, students found that it functioned as a security blanket, and that Holden put it on when he felt insecure, lonely, or vulnerable.]

12) Some people do not consider The Catcher in the Rye to be an important novel, and see it as a threat to the young people who read it. Explain to students what censorship is--many of them will know the recent example of Eminem. Ask them why they think The Catcher in the Rye has been a target of censorship efforts. [Some of my students were indeed shocked at the cursing throughout the novel and also uncomfortable discussing some scenes, especially where Holden hires the prostitute. It was evident to the class why this book was controversial.]

13) Assign student the essay below. Direct students to the web sites listed to begin their internet research and prepare for either an offense or a defense for teaching The Catcher in the Rye in their school. [note: This essay is written in the style of a Task 2 essay for the New York State English Language Arts English exam. However, this assignment is valuable for any teacher wishing to teach persuasive writing.]

 

Homework #1: Design a cover for The Catcher in the Rye that contains a symbol from the novel. Write a brief explanation for your design. (See student samples of this assignment.)

Homework #2: Write a persuasive essay arguing for or against the teaching of The Catcher in the Rye. (see below). [Surprisingly, most of my students saw why the novel was controversial, but most of them supported reading this novel in public school.]

 

 

 

Task 2-1: The Catcher in the Rye and Censorship in America

 

Directions: Read the article and the statistics on the following pages, and write a response based on the situation described below.

The Situation: Your school is considering banning The Catcher in the Rye next year from its curriculum. The novel is a required text for all students, and complaints have started coming in recently from several parents about the language and sexual situations described in the novel. Currently, your English class is reading the novel, and your teacher has asked you to write a letter to the administration telling whether or not you support the book being banned and why. Your teacher has instructed that you not write a purely emotional response, but that you get information to back up your case. You locate articles and statistics on the internet and prepare to write your letter.

Your Task: Write a 5-paragraph essay in the form of a letter to the school's administrative staff. You must try to persuade the administration to either remove or keep The Catcher in the Rye in its English curriculum. You may express an opinion, but the basis for your argument must be based on the information found in the articles and the statistics found on the following web pages.

History of censorship & Catcher in the Rye

objections to Catcher in the Rye

Most Frequently Banned Books of the 90s

court case of banning Catcher

Banned Books Online

 

Guidelines:

o Tell your school's administration what they need to know about censorship in America and challenges to The Catcher in the Rye in the past.

o Discuss the results of banning The Catcher in the Rye versus the possible benefits of keeping the novel in the school's curriculum.

o Be sure to base your argument on information found in the articles and in the statistics listed and NOT from a personal, emotional response.

o Use specific, accurate, and relevant information from the articles and also from the statistics to support your discussion.

o Use a tone and a level of language appropriate for a persuasive letter to your school's administrative staff.

o Organize your ideas in a logical and coherent manner.

o Be sure to indicate any words taken directly from any web site by using quotation marks and referring to the title/source of the information.

o Follow the conventions of standard written English.

[A great suggestion I received about this assignment: The essays could be used to stage a debate among the class. However, in my class, most students supported teaching the novel. But in a more divided class, this could be a great idea and could incorporate public speaking standards into this unit.]

 

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