Heuerman Advanced Comp/Novel THE CATCHER IN THE RYE SIGNIFICANT FACTORS

 Frame narrative; 1 st person POV with Holden as the narrator and protagonist/participant. NARRATIVE GENRE

 1 st person POV; informal, honest, confessional, picaresque, a quest narrative, Bildungsroman (a German term for a novel that focuses on the character moving from childhood to maturity) NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE & STYLE

 idiomatic; repetitive and adolescent; conveys humor at times; indicates at times confusion/ mental deterioration HOLDEN’S LANGUAGE/SLANG

 Protagonist/narrator; had a mental breakdown; coming of age (16/17); the everyman/all of us HOLDEN

 Holden’s older brother; a writer; a “prostitute” (a sell-out/phony); drives a jaguar D.B.

 An all-male elite school in Pennsylvania; most recent school (4 th ) that Holden has been kicked out of PENCEY PREP

 Holden worries about/fixates on their safety and well-being when the lagoon freezes; indication of compassion but also immaturity CENTRAL PARK DUCKS

 Stradlater’s date; a friend from Holden’s childhood; had a lousy childhood; Holden feels protective of her JANE GALLAGHER

(Save room for more later…)  Holden wears it backward to indicate rebellion against society RED HUNTING HAT

 Holden says he hates them; believes they are phony, but he acts and imitates them; reveals Holden is an exhibitionist/has overactive imagination MOVIES

 Holden’s younger brother; died of leukemia, leaving Holden emotionally troubled; had red hair and was wise/intelligent beyond his years; represents the innocence/height of childhood ALLIE

 Symbolic of Allie and a powerful reminder of his brother’s untimely/unfortunate death; poems indicate sensitivity; the subject of the composition Holden writes for Stradlater ALLIE’S BASEBALL GLOVE

 red (like Allie’s hair); indicates a connection with Allie; a symbol of Holden’s quest/hunt for meaning, truth, love… RED HUNTING HAT (CONT…)

 Holden’s younger sister; one of the few people Holden connects with; values her imagination and innocence PHOEBE

 conveys Holden’s desire to and failure to communicate UNMADE PHONE CALLS…

 reminds him of his childhood; nostalgia for permanence and stability; doesn’t change but everyone else does; he cannot enter NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

 A gift Holden buys for Phoebe; he breaks it accidentally; symbolic of Holden as a “broken” record “LITTLE SHIRLEY BEANS” RECORD

 fascinated yet annoyed; likes to flirt with but leaves feeling depressed by; has trouble connecting with; feels connected only to Phoebe and Jane HOLDEN’S RELATIONSHIPS TO FEMALES

 Holden’s home; the setting of the inner frame; symbolic of potential corruption (hotel) NEW YORK CITY

 location of the ducks and their lagoon; where Holden goes after his day in NYC, but he gets lost and cannot find the ducks; where he breaks the record; cold and lonely CENTRAL PARK

 Holden’s desire to save/preserve the innocents; ironically, this fantasy is borne out of a misunderstanding of the poem’s meaning, which celebrates the corruption of innocence “CATCHER IN THE RYE”

 Symbolic of Holden who identifies with him; was wearing Holden’s sweater; stubborn and fragile; jumped out of a window and fell (no one to “catch” him); falls to preserve his integrity; refuses to compromise JAMES CASTLE

 Mostly negative emotions that vary based on character: He is irritated with Ackley, He is jealousy and angry with Stradlater, he is emotionally detached from his father, and he feels betrayed by Mr. Antolini HOLDEN’S RELATIONSHIP TO MALES

 Detached emotionally, except with Phoebe; avoids/fears parental contact; doesn’t want to cause further issues for his mother who is also depressed HOLDEN’S RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FAMILY