"Catching on to Catcher in the Rye" lessons on The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
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. 252, Back Bay Books, LittleBrown, copyright 1951
Instructional Objectives: 1) Analyzing the unique character of Phoebe Caulfield, 2) Appreciating how Phoebe has a very strong impact on hte life of Holden Caulfield. 3) Discussing how real the character of Phoebe is--is she too mature for her young age?
Time Required: 2 40-minute class periods
Materials/Resources Needed: Web sites listed below, template for Phoebe's web site (attached below).
Vocabulary/Concepts: "gifted" children, precocious.
Focus questions/Key points: 1) What kind of child is Phoebe? What are her interests? What is her personality? 2) What kind of relationship does Holden and Phoebe have? 3) What impact does Phoebe have on Holden? What kind of advice does she give him? Is it good advice? 4) Is Phoebe a realistic character? Is she too intelligent for her age?
Procedures:
1) After reading Chapter 22 of The Catcher in the Rye, students will begin to form an opinion about Phoebe Caulfield. Ask students to describe the character of Phoebe. Make a list on the board. [Responses included: very intelligent, advanced intelligence and maturity, creative, popular, enjoys life, likes to rollerskate and play with friends, very loving and affectionate, has a good sense of humor, honest and critical of Holden when she needs to be.]
2) Then ask students to make a list of advice and criticism Phoebe has for Holden. How does she treat him? [My students were very astute on this point. "She talks to him like a mother would talk to her child," said one of my students.]
3) Redirect students to Chapter 10 and Chapter 16 when Holden discusses his feelings for Phoebe at length. Why does Holden feel so close to her? Why does he look for her in the park then hesitate to find her? What is the significance of the "Little Shirley Beans" record and the fact that Holden breaks it? [My students were not surprised at the close relationship as they enjoyed the character of Phoebe so much. Holden liked her because they had fun together, they had the same taste in movies and things they liked to do, Holden could relate to her as she was mature for her age and he was immature for his, Phoebe is also loving towards him when no one else in the whole novel is at all. Holden wants to take his sister with him, but hesistates at drawing her in too closely. He knows that he is "ruined," and does not want to "ruin" her.]
4) Ask the students if Phoebe behaves like you would expect a ten-year-old to behave? How is she different from other children? Direct students to the gifted children web site.
5) After reading the information about gifted children, ask students to determine whether or not they believe Phoebe is gifted. Did this information shed new light on the character of Phoebe?
6) Discuss what reaction Phoebe's advice might have on Holden. Does she offer good advice? What role does Phoebe serve in the life of Holden? [Students felt that Phoebe's advice was just what Holden needed to hear. Being rejected by her leads to his eventual breakdown, but he needed to hit that low point in order to seek help and eventually get better.]
Homework Day One: Design Phoebe's web site (of course, pretending that web sites were around in the 1950s). Write up a brief explanation of your design. (See a student sample of this assignment). See below for an example, or click HERE to get a full-page copy of this template.
Homework Day Two: Write a detective story based on Phoebe's female detective, Hazel Weatherfield. Write it as if you were Phoebe. (See a student sample of this assignment.)
