Literary Elements and Summer Reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Originally published in July 1951, The Catcher in the Rye was a book-of-the-month club selection and an immediate bestseller.

Where and when does the story take place? Setting Where and when does the story take place?

Characters Protagonist the leading character or a major character in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text In TCITR? Antagonist a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary In TCITR?

competitive or opposing action: antagonistic state Conflict competitive or opposing action: antagonistic state Person vs. Person Himself/Herself Society Nature God/supernatural/fate technology/machine

What is the conflict in The Catcher in the Rye? Person vs. society Person vs. himself Salinger used Valley Forge Military Academy as the model for Pencey Prep. Salinger himself was a WWII veteran who took part in D-Day. An alum, evidence suggests he actually enjoyed his time at Valley Forge and was a big fan of the military – until his service in WWII.

Who tells the story and how do they tell it? Narrative Voice Who tells the story and how do they tell it? Jerome David Salinger, b. New York City, Jan. 1, 1919 - January 27, 2010

1st Person “I” singular or “we” plural - from narrator’s point of view – biased/subjective 2nd Person “you” singular and plural - presentational/accusatory 3rd Person “he” “she” “it” singular or “they” plural – omniscient, all knowing, objective

Sep. 15, 1961

Stuff to pay attention to in all the literature we read this year… Themes Large issues that are central to the novel and/or play (example from TCITR?) Motifs reoccurring symbols or images that mean something deeper (example from TCITR?)

Plot Structure (5 elements of a story) Exposition Rising Action Climax Falling Action Resolution

Irony (3 kinds) Situational irony a discrepancy between an expected result and the actual result(s) Verbal irony when an author says one thing but means or implies another

Dramatic irony when an audience perceives something that a character in the literature is not aware of Irony in TCITR?

Characters Caulfield Family Holden Caulfield Mr. & Mrs. Caulfield Allie Caulfield D.B. Caulfield Phoebe Caulfield Pencey Mr. Spencer Ward Stradlater Robert Ackley Jane Gallagher (Step-dad Cadahy)

Sunny Maurice Two nuns NYC Faith Cavendish Sally Hayes Marty, Laverne, and Bernice Krebs Lillian Simmons

Boy walking in street Girl in Central Park Mr. & Mrs. Antolini

Themes Alienation as Self-Protection Painfulness of Growing Up Phoniness of Adult World

Holden’s red hunting hat Motifs/Symbols Holden’s red hunting hat

The Museum of Natural History

Ducks in Central Park Lagoon

The Catcher in the Rye

Censorship It seems that the mere effort of trying to censor something compels others to actively seek it out. Catcher is undoubtedly one of the most controversial literary works of all time. The American Library Association (ALA) reports that the novel holds the #10 spot as one of "The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-1999.”

According to the ALA and the University of Pennsylvania, these works have either been banned or have sparked some kind of continuing controversy in the United States. Rudolfo Anaya: Bless Me, Ultima George Eliot: Silas Marner William Golding: Lord of the Flies Daniel Keyes: Flowers for Algernon Martin Hanford: Where's Waldo? Aldous Huxley: Brave New World James Joyce: Ulysses Madeline L'Engle: A Wrinkle in Time D.H. Lawrence: Lady Chatterly's Lover Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird William Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice Shel Silverstein: Where the Sidewalk Ends John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men Mark Twain: Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse Five Alice Walker: The Color Purple