The Catcher in the Rye Chapters 1-4 Assumption High School April, 2017 SAMPLE GROUP PROJECT The Catcher in the Rye Chapters 1-4 Assumption High School April, 2017

Chapters 1-4 Group Members’ Names The Catcher in the Rye Chapters 1-4 Group Members’ Names

Holden’s personality… Holden is a sarcastic young man who is friendly and playful, but seems to lack friends. Compared to other boys his age, he is more sensitive, thoughtful, and immature. Readers see how sensitive and thoughtful Holden is when he is telling about how his old headmaster, Mr. Haas, used to only pay attention to wealthy, good- looking parents. Holden says, “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies […] I can’t stand that stuff. It drives me crazy. It makes me so depressed I go crazy. I hated that goddam Elkton Hills” (Salinger 17).

Holden is an anti-hero Holden is not a typical hero; he lacks self-confidence and thinks of himself as an outsider and a loser. This is demonstrated in the exchange he has with Mr. Spencer here: “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules” “Yes, sir. I know it is. I know it.” Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game. (11)

Is calling something “grand” phony? Have you ever heard people use the word “marvelous” to describe something before? It comes off as being pompous or over-the-top. It’s something you might imagine some rich lady on a yacht saying in a really fake voice. “Grand” is that kind of word to Holden. It comes off as insincere and a little snobby. Mr. Spencer probably was just trying to be nice when he called Holden’s parents “grand” people (12), but Holden’s perception of the word “grand” and people who use it as being fake isn’t totally wrong. Mr. Spencer’s statement wasn’t really sincere; in the 1940’s “grand” is an adjective people use without any real thought or feeling behind it.

Mr. Spencer DOES CARE about Holden Holden may not appreciate it in the way he needs to, and Mr. Spencer might not express it in the best way to try to get through to a teenager, but Mr. Spencer shows he does care about Holden. He tries to get Holden to talk about what’s the matter, and he tries to get through to him. Holden just isn’t in the right headspace to take Mr. Spencer’s gesture and his advice to heart. Near the end of their talk, Mr. Spencer says, “‘I’d like to put some sense in that head of yours, boy. I’m trying to help you. I’m trying to help you, if I can[,]’” and Holden tells the reader, “He really was, too. You could see that. But it was just that we were too much on opposite sides of the pole, that’s all” (18).

Holden is showing signs of depression The first clue that Holden may be depressed is in his diction. He uses variations of “crazy,” “depressed,” “nervous,” and “sad” more than 20 times in the first four chapters (10, 13, 17, 18, 19, 31, 39). He also has a hard time concentrating, another sign of depression. For example, Holden loses the foils on the subway (5-6) and struggles to pay attention to his conversation with Mr. Spencer (16). Finally, Holden doesn’t seem to care about what’s happening to him; detachment can signal depression. First off, he’s too matter-of-fact when he says he’s flunked out (6); and second, he says he doesn’t feel much concern for his future when Mr. Spencer asks (17).

Holden hates “phonies,” a.k.a. fakes Holden seems to dislike anyone who cares too much about money or status, especially when those people act fake. Many people around him act “phony” in order to appear humble, to try to hide how truly stuck-up they are, or just to be polite. Holden hates all fake behavior. Mr. Ossenburger is phony because he pretends to be humble and religious, but he’s really just another greedy rich man trying to get attention by flashing his wealth around (20). Mr. Haas is a phony because he sucks up to rich parents and only pretends to be nice to the poor parents when, really, he doesn’t want to talk to poor people at all (17). Mr. Spencer seems fake when he says “grand,” although he’s just trying to be polite (12).

Ackley and Stradlater FOIL Holden Ackley is an unpopular loner who lashes out by hating everyone and judging people harshly and unfairly (23, 28). However, Ackley is also strangely full of himself (33). Like Ackley, Holden also has trouble making friends, & he does sometimes judge others too harshly; however, unlike Ackley, he lacks self-confidence. Stradlater is popular and extremely confident (31-2), which FOILS Holden’s lack of self-esteem. However, he is similar to Stradlater in that he does try to be nice and friendly toward others. Finally, Holden tries to horse around with both boys, but both tell him to grow up (25, 35). While Stradlater shaves, Holden “landed on him like a goddamn panther” (35). This FOIL shows that Holden is, perhaps, a little immature for his age.

What’s the deal with Jane? Holden would like to see Jane. One can see they were close by what he tells Stradlater about her checkers (36) and her stepfather (37). He shows he cares about her when he worries about Stradlater pressuring her (39). Strangely, Holden says, “You have to be in the mood for those things” (37-8) to explain why he doesn’t go say hello to her. If one analyzes this, one can see that Holden likes her so much that it is making him too nervous to go see her. On a deeper level, it is also important to realize that he already lacks confidence, and now a big, strong, attractive guy (Stradlater) is her date for the night. Holden may be thinking, What do I have to offer her? I just flunked out of school…

Work Cited Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title. Other Contributors, Publisher, Year.

Grading Comments… Content: This presentation sometimes makes claims w/o providing evidence. Sometimes, this presentation paraphrases and cites the page number when it would be more effective to use direct text evidence (to cite word-for-word from the story). Score: 3 out of 4 pts. Visual Aid: This visual aid does not do much to grab attention; the font is large enough and easy to read though. Score: ½ out of 1 pt. Citation: Wow, perfect! Score: 2 out of 2 pts. Assuming the group cooperated (1 pt.) & appeared well- prepared and confident (2 pts.), the final score for this presentation is an 8.5/10.