Isolation, Alienation, and Teen Angst

Jerome David Salinger  College dropout  Mediocre HS student  Valley Forge Military Academy  Loved to write  Started at 14  Served in WWII  Drafted in 1942  Staff Sergeant  Important battles: D-Day, Battle of the Bulge, Battle of Hurtgen Forest  Volunteered to participate in “denazification” of Germany  Salinger in WWII Salinger in WWII

The Catcher in the Rye Characters  Holden Caulfield  Protagonist and narrator  Anti-hero  16 years old  Expelled from four schools  Deeply depressed  Feels alienated  Has trouble with relationships  Cannot relate to most people  Writer  Pencey Prep

The Catcher in the Rye Characters  Phoebe Caulfield  Holden’s sister, age 10  Writes in diary  Allie Caulfield  Holden’s younger brother  Poetry  D.B. Caulfield  Holden’s older brother  Screenwriter, works in Hollywood  Stradlater  Ackley  Mr. Antolini  Mr. Spencer

The Catcher in the Rye Characters  Stradlater  Holden’s roommate  Holden writes his paper  Ackley  Holden’s dorm mate  Mr. Antolini  Holden’s former English teacher  Mr. Spencer  Holden’s former history teacher

The Catcher in the Rye  Structure  First person narrative  The reader relies on Holden  Plot  Holden expelled from Pencey Prep  Disagreement with roommates  Travels to NYC during Christmas break  Narrative focuses on about three days of Holden’s travels, interactions with strangers, etc.

The Catcher in the Rye  Phoniness – everyone lies  Depression – “It depressed the hell out of me.”  Teen angst – Are you angry?  Alienation/isolation  Experience = knowledge = heartbreak  Loss of innocence  Little kids are most honest

Reading Journal  All notes may be used for reading quizzes  Two columns 1. Chapter Number 2. Summary of Each Chapter - One bullet per chapter minimum