Holden's Problems

"Catching on to Catcher in the Rye"

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

Lesson 3: Woe is Holden

Holden's Problems: typical kind...or out of his mind?

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

At about midpoint in the novel, the question starts coming up: is Holden just your typically confused teenager or is he suffering from deeper problems? What can Holden do to overcome the problems in his life?

Instructional Objectives: 1) Determining how serious Holden's problems are, 2) Deciding how Holden can help himself and start getting past his problems, 3) Learning about typical problems of adolescence, 4) Coming up with some advice for Holden to help him.

Time Required: Two 40-minute class periods

Materials/resources needed: Reading up to Chapter 14 in The Catcher in the Rye, links listed below, Dear Abby letter below

Vocabulary/key concepts: psychological terms and adolescent issues as revealed in web links listed below (for example: high-risk youth, depression, stress)

Focus questions/key points: 1) What are Holden's problems? 2) Are Holden's problems normal or abnormal? 3) How are Holden's problems impeding his life? 4) What can Holden do to improve his life and overcome his problems?

Procedures:

1) Holden is going through many problems in his life...what are they? [Some of his problems include: the death of his brother, a lack of friends, hating other people, failing out of school, having no love in his life, being a virgin, telling lies about himself, being obsessed with phonies, being in love with a girl from his past, etc.]Ask the students to find places in the book where Holden discusses his problems or where they perceive a problem. List these incidents on the board.

2) Ask students to refer to the "Adolescent Problems" web site. The site will help them distinguish between when problems are normal and when they are severe.

3) Go back to your list of problems. There should be between 4-6 incidents listed on the board . Divide students into groups according to the number of incidents listed. For each incident, the students should determine: 1) If the incident is "normal" or "abnormal" of a typical adolescent problem; 2) How Holden could have handled the situation differently and have had a more positive result.

4) After each group has reported back to the class, have a discussion about how Holden might be able to solve these problems through a change in his behavior or life situation.

5) Do a drama activity with the class. Have one student volunteer to be Holden. The rest of the class should stand in a circle around "Holden." Instruct the students that they are going to be Holden's helpers. What does Holden need to make a change? Students should come up and pretend to give something to Holden to help him out with his problems. [In my class, these gifts ranged from the concrete like money or a girlfriend, to something more abstract, like courage or self-confidence.]

6) Have students visit the Dear Abby website in preparation for their homework. Students should read several samples of the letters and Abby's responses to get a sense of her style and her "no-nonsense" replies. Ask the students what they think of Abby's advice. Do they appreciate her bluntness or think she is too harsh? Does she give good advice or not?

7) Hand out or link to a letter Holden might have written to Dear Abby (see below, or click HERE for a link to this Dear Abby letter on a separate page.)

Homework: Students are to reply to Holden's letter as if they were Dear Abby.

DEAR ABBY: I can't seem to do anything right these days. I just got expelled from school-and this has been the 3rd school I've been in during my years in high school. I decided to just leave school right away instead of waiting for vacation to officially start, and I'm currently hiding out for a few days in New York.
While my school problems are certainly bothering me a lot, I also seem to be very confused where girls are concerned. A girl I had a crush on for years just went out with my roommate who is a very sexy bastard, and I feel that something may have happened between them. I just can't seem to get it together with any girls. I called up this one girl and though she seemed interested, I messed up, and ruined the chance to get together with her. Then, I was in this club with these three girls, and they treated me awful-they were ignoring everything I said and then let me pick up the check for all three of them! Girls really drive me crazy.
Abby, what can I do to start solving some of my problems with girls and school?

SIGNED,
ALL REVVED UP WITH NO PLACE TO GO