1. The Catcher in the Rye April, 2017 AHS
SAMPLE GROUP PROJECT
The Catcher in the Rye
April, 2017
AHS

2. The Catcher in the Rye
Chapters 1-4

3. 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, “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).

4. 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)

5. Is calling something “grand” phony?
Have you ever heard people use the word “marvelous” to describe something before? It certainly comes off as being very pompous or over-the-top. It’s something you might imagine a wealthy lady on a yacht saying in a bored sort of voice. “Grand” is that kind of word to Holden. It comes off as fake and maybe 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; it’s just something people say without any real thought or feeling behind it.

6. Mr. Spencer CARES 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).

7. 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; this can be 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 like this can signal depression. He’s too matter-of-fact when he says he’s flunked out (6), and he says he doesn’t feel much concern for his future when Mr. Spencer asks (17).

8. 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 gain something (through sucking up), or to be polite. Holden hates all of that behavior.
Mr. Spencer seems fake when he says “grand,” although he’s just trying to be polite (12).
Mr. Haas is a phony because he sucks up to rich parents and only pretends to be nice to the poor parents (17).
Mr. Ossenburger is phony because he tries to pretend to be humble and religious, but he’s really just another greedy rich man trying to get attention by flashing his wealth around (20).

9. Foil Characters: Ackley and Stradlater
Ackley is a loner who hates everyone and judges people harshly and unfairly (23, 28). However, Ackley is strangely full of himself (33). Holden also has trouble making close friends, and he does sometimes judge others too harshly; however, he is not self-confident.
Stradlater is popular and extremely confident (31-2), which brings out 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); Holden is, perhaps, a little immature for his age.

10. What’s the deal with Jane?
Holden would clearly like to see Jane. One can see they were close through what he tells Stradlater about her checkers (36) and her stepfather (37). One can also see that he cares about her in how he worries about Stradlater taking advantage of her (39).
However, Holden says, “You have to be in the mood for those things” (37-8), and he doesn’t go down to see her. Holden likes her so much, 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 tonight. What does Holden have to offer her? He did just flunk out of school…

11. Work Cited
Last, First. Title of Book. Edition, Publisher, Year.