Links for Further Understanding

Read the original New York Times book review of Catcher in the Rye from 1951 here!
http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/13/specials/salinger-rye01.html

Some believe that Catcher cannot catch your attention! Do you agree? Find more about it here!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/weekinreview/21schuessler.html 

Since it was published, Catcher has been a target for banned books. Should it be banned? Read about a recent controversy here!
http://www.tcoasttalk.com/2010/09/26/martin-county-mom-trying-to-get-catcher-in-the-rye-banned-from-classes/

Follow Holden's footsteps around New York City in this interactive map!
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/28/nyregion/20100128-salinger-map.html

Spotlight on author J.D. Salinger!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/books/31sali.html?pagewanted=1  

Catcher in pop culture: check out this song, "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?" from Green Day's 1992 album, Kerplunk!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DxqneM3U2M
 

Curriculum Connection: Quiz: Which "Catcher" Character Are You?

As you take this quiz, keep track of your answers. Post a paragraph about whether or not you agree with the result for extra credit!

WHICH "CATCHER" CHARACTER ARE YOU?

1. Others would describe you as:
       a) a loner
       b) innocent
       c) a bro
       d) a proper young lady

2. Your pet peeve is:
      a) phonies
      b) people who don't seem to like anything
      c) people who pick fights over nothing
      d) people who talk to loudly and make scenes in public places

3. You really want:
       a) real companionship
       b) a new pair of rollerskates
       c) to win the big game on Friday
       d) to find a man and settle down


4. You miss:
       a) your childhood
       b) your family members who have moved away
       c) your buddies who have graduated
       d) the time when men behaved like gentlemen

5. One of your flaws is:
      a) you alienate yourself
      b) you are not always realistic
      c) you're full of yourself
      d) you're impatient


If you answered mostly As:

You are Holden! You are lonely, but you fear that the world is full of phonies and you alienate yourself. You fear growing up, and you seek connections with other people, but tend to sabotage them. 


If you answered mostly Bs:

You are Phoebe! As Holden's little sister, you are young and inexperienced with the world. People tend to underestimate you and call you innocent, but you are wiser than you appear.


If you answered mostly Cs:

You are Stradlater! As Holden's roommate at Pencey Prep, you enjoy sports, friends, and dates. You are friendly and outgoing, but a little lazy when it comes to things that you don't feel like doing.


If you answered mostly Ds: 

You are Sally! You like to spend time with people, but grow frustrated with they violate social norms. You are kindhearted and want the best for your friends, but you are a little impatient.

Curriculum Connection: Important Quotations

As you read, pay special attention to these quotes:

1. "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.

2. "[Ackley] took another look at my hat. 'Up home we wear a hat like that to shoot deer, for Chrissake,' he said. 'That's a deer-shooting hat.' 'Like hell it is.' I took it off and sort of closed one eye, like I was taking aim at it. 'This is a people shooting hat,' I said. 'I shoot people in this hat.'"

3. "The best thing though, in that museum, was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move...nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you."

4. “...I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be in the catcher in the rye and all.”

5. “I have a feeling that you're riding for some kind of terrible, terrible fall...the whole arrangement's designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn't supply them with...So they gave up looking.”

Think about:

What do these quotes mean?

What do these quotes tell us about Holden?

Are there any symbols in these quotes? If so, what do they symbolize?

Curriculum Connection: About the Author

Early Life

Jerome David “Sonny” Salinger was born January 1, 1919 in New York City. His father was Jewish and ran a successful cheese and ham import business. His mother was was not Jewish, but at the time mixed-marriages were looked down upon by many members of society. She was private about her identity, and Salinger didn't find out about his mother's lack of Jewish heritage until his bar mitzvah when he was thirteen. As he grew older, Salinger changed prep schools almost as often as his protagonist of Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield. In 1936, Salinger graduated from Valley Forge Military School and went on to several different colleges, including New York University and Columbia, though he never graduated, but it was there that he began writing seriously.

Writing

Salinger's short stories began appearing in magazines like The New Yorker in the early 1940s. In 1942, he joined the army and fought in WWII. During that time he met with fellow writer Ernest Hemingway, and the two struck up a friendship and exchanged letters for many years.

In 1951, his first and only full-length novel Cather in the Rye was published. He had success with short stories and novellas in the years that followed, but he gradually published less and less and withdrew from public life. His last work, “Hapwork, 16, 1924,” a short story, was published in 1965, and he gave his last interview in 1980.

Later Life and Death

Over the years, Salinger has valued his privacy despite his fame. In the late 1980s, a British writer, Ian Hamilton, tried to use some of Salinger's letters in a biography, and Salinger sued him. The lawsuit went all the way to the Supreme Court, ruling in Salinger's favor. He continued to sue over the years to protect his privacy and copyrights. In the most recent case, 2009, a federal district judge in Manhattan banned the publishing of a book called 69 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, written by Frederick Colting and containing a 76-year-old Holden Caulfield.

Many speculate that he was still writing up until his death on January 27, 2010, and that more works will appear posthumously in the coming years.

For more information, go to www.biography.com/articles/J.D.-Salinger-9470070

Intoduction

So this teacher, she wanted to make a blog about my story and me. I thought it was weird and all, but when she showed it to me, it really knocked me out. I mean, she had all these pictures and links and all, so I thought, why not? She said that she thought it would help her students understand my story better to have some "supplemental information," and she thought that parents might get a kick out of it, too. My story's "timeless," she said.

This teacher - Miss Teel is her name - put a bunch of pretty neat stuff on here. She included a historical context section that has information about this guy J.D. Salinger, so you can learn about what life was like for people in my time, and when my story came out. She also has some quotations that I said. I don't know why - I say pretty crumby stuff all the time, but she thought they were important. Finally, there's a quiz so you can see who you're most like from my story. Wild.

Oh - and she wants you to leave comments. Please don't say anything phony; I hate that. 

                                                                                      ~Holden