J. D. SALINGER

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE (Chapters 1-9)

The aim of the lesson is to teach you to analyse the beginning chapters of the novel in order to discern some of its characteristic features. You will also …………………………

1. Reproduce the information below as a beginning of a sketch about the spirit of the book and the character's personality. The set of questions below will help you to do that.

Salinger worked on The Catcher in the Rye for about ten years. When it appeared in 1951, it evoked both critical and popular acclaim. Here was a fresh voice. One could actually hear it speaking, and what it had to say was true, perceptive and compassionate. The critics said that the catcher in The Catcher in the Rye was the novelist Salinger himself, who could understand the adolescent mind without displaying one.

a) Who is the narrator of these chapters? Where is he now? What is he going to speak about?

b) What is his attitude to his elder brother D.B.?

c) What makes him dislike Pencey Prep and the other schools he has been to and left?

d) What is it that makes you want to go on reading the novel?

e) What is it that would make you give it up if it were not your duty to read it?

2. Give a summary of the chapters showing the atmosphere of phoniness, indifference and vulgarity that surround Holden. Begin with: "Holden has just beeen expelled from Pencey Prep as a climax of a long adolescent protest. Even the history teacher who tries to get at the causes of Holden's discontent emerges as a moralistic pedagogue who picks his nose. ……………"

3. “It is evident by studying the reviews of The Catcher in the Rye that most critics enjoy picking apart the character of Holden Caulfield, studying his every action and the basis for that action. Reviewers of the novel have gone to great lengths to express their opinions on Salinger's protagonist. Some consider Holden to be sympathetic, others consider him arrogant, but the large majority of them find him utterly entertaining.” (The Praises and Criticisms of J.D.Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye by Eric Lomazoff)

a) How do Holden’s actions characterize him? (Consider, for example, writing that descriptive essay for Stradlater, or his decision not to throw a snowball at the “nice and white” things.)

b) How does Holden’s description of other people reveal his own personality?

4. Salinger was faced with the artistic task of creating an individual character, not with the linguistic task of reproducing the exact speech of teenagers in general. Yet Holden had to speak a recognizable teenage language and at the same time had to be identifiable as an individual. Thus, Holden is in the habit of ending his sentences with: "and all", "or something", "or anything". These phrases sometimes have no discernible meaning: they may just give a sense of looseness of expression and looseness of thought (thus indicating the oral colloquial nature of discourse). But often they signify that Holden knows more, but is not going to bother going into it. These phrases can also show Holden's tendency to generalize, to find the all in the one.

What other peculiarities of speech make Holden's speech immediately recognizable? Do they betray his personality?

5. From the moment Holden leaves Pencey behind, leaves its Stradlaters and Ackleys, its hypocrites, and puts on his red hunting cap - why not? It's a mad world, isn't it? - we know we are on to an adventure of pure self-expression, if not self-discovery. We know that it has already begun.

a) Find a phrase in the chapters that might serve as an epigraph to them. Explain.

b) Find a phrase in the chapters that might serve as a motto we may take with us on our way from innocence to knowledge.

6. One of the most popular means by which The Catcher in the Rye is critiqued is through the comparison of Holden Caulfield to other literary characters. The novel is often compared to traditional period literature, particularly Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

What is there in common between the two novels?

J. D. SALINGER

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE (Chapters 10-26)

The target skill is to interpret factual detail on the level of implication and symbolism and to establish correlation between the chief symbols and the author’s image.

1. When studying a piece of literature, it is meaningful to note the historical background of the piece and the time at which it was written. Two of J. D. Salinger’s short stories, I'm Crazy and Slight Rebellion off Madison, were published in periodicals during the 1940's, and introduced Holden Caulfield, the main character of The Catcher in the Rye. Both short stories were revised for later inclusion in Salinger's novel. The Catcher in the Rye was written in a literary style similar to prose, which was enhanced by the teenage slang of the 1950's. It is a widespread belief that much of Holden Caulfield's candid outlook on life reflects issues relevant to the youth of today, and thus the novel continues to be used as an educational resource in high schools throughout the nation.

One must remember, however, in the study and critique of the novel, particularly for a researcher or critic in 1999, that the story was written in a different time. If originally published today, the novel would probably create little publicity and garner only average book sales. The fact that a novel of such radical social opinion and observation was written in a time of conservatism in America made it all the more controversial. Some critics scolded the novel as being too pessimistic or obscene, too harsh for the society of the 1950's. Others, however, nominated Salinger himself as the top-flight "catcher in the rye" for that period in American history. They argued that Salinger's concerns represented an entire generation of American youth, frustrated by the phoniness of the world, just like Holden was. The popularity of the novel and debate over its redeeming social value have never faltered since its initial publication, due in no large part to the fact that J.D. Salinger is now a recluse. (The Praises and Criticisms of J.D.Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye by Eric Lomazoff)

Do you share the widespread belief mentioned above? What is so “contemporary” about the novel?

2. A quote by Charles Kegel seems to adequately sum up the problems of Holden Caulfield: "Like Stephen Dedalus of James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Caulfield is in search of the Word. His problem is one of communication: as a teenager, he simply cannot get through to the adult world which surrounds him; as a sensitive teenager, he cannot get through others of his own age". Caulfield's inability to communicate with others is represented symbolically in the uncompleted phone calls and undelivered messages which appear throughout the novel... On fifteen separate occasions, Holden gets the urge to communicate by phone, yet only four phone calls are ever completed, and even those are with unfortunate results.

Provide examples of Holden’s attempts to establish contact with his fellow man.

3. Generally, critics view the novel as Holden Caulfield's melodramatic struggle to survive in the adult world, a transition that he was supposed to make during his years at preparatory school. Some critics will point to the fact that Holden has flunked out of three Pennsylvania prep schools, and use it to symbolize the fact that he is not truly ready for adulthood. His preference is for innocence, for his younger sister Phoebe, for the ducks on the lake in Central Park, for the Museum of natural History, for the things that look "too damn nice" to damage, and to which he grants a semi-religious function.

Supply details supporting this idea and explain their symbolic value.

4. When critics consider the character of Holden Caulfield, many point to the novel's climactic scene, when ……………………………. and Holden’s illusion of protecting the innocence of children is symbolically shattered. Critics regard this episode as Holden's transition into adulthood, for although the future is uncertain, his severed ties with the dead past have enabled him to accept maturity. Through the telling of the story, Holden has given shape to, and thus achieved control of, his troubled past.

What scene is meant? Account for your choice.

5. Though read as a novel of protest, THE CATCHER IN THE RYE is, in fact, an attempt to discover a lyrical religion of innocence that can be set over society, yet can only point the way towards collapse. Holden ends under medical treatment, refusing to conform. Holden is fated, at the critical age of sixteen, to experience the death of his old self and to arise a new Holden, to confront the world afresh. The metaphor of the fall is sounded again and again in the closing pages of the novel.

By what means, in what situations is the fall symbolized and what is the impact of the symbols?

6. When Holden says, time and again, "I swear to God I'm crazy", the danger is equally great in taking Holden at his word as in totally discounting his claim. During his psychological battle, life continues on around Holden as it always had, with the majority of people ignoring the ‘madman stuff’ that is happening to him - until it begins to encroach on their well defined social codes. Progressively through the novel we are challenged to think about society's attitude to the human condition - does society have an ‘ostrich in the sand’ mentality, a deliberate ignorance of the emptiness that can characterise human existence? And if so, when Caulfield begins to probe and investigate his own sense of emptiness and isolation, before finally declaring that he world is full of 'phonies' with each one out for their own phony gain, is Holden actually the one who is going insane, or is it society which has lost it's mind for failing to see the hopelessness of their own lives?

Is it ever possible to give a definite answer to this alternative question?

7. Though considered by most to be a tragedy, The Catcher in the Rye is found by some critics to be humorous, witty, and clever. The use of Chaplin-like incidents serves to keep the story hovering in ambivalence between comedy and tragedy. Whenever a character is nearing the point of no return in a Salinger piece, it is usually done by route of the comic. Other commentators have noted that much of the humor in The Catcher in the Rye comes from Holden's misconceptions about adulthood. An example is shown in Holden's relationship with an old schoolmate, Luce. Although the older man is more experienced than Holden, he is not as mature as Holden believes him to be. After an attempt at communication with Luce fails, Holden flees to Phoebe, the only person he completely trusts. The literalness and innocence of Holden's point of view in the face of complicated and depraved facts of life makes for the humor of the novel: haggles with unfriendly taxi-drivers, futile conversations with a prostitute in a hurry, an intellectual discussion with a man a few years older than himself, and a completely hilarious date with Sally Hayes, an old girlfriend. The humor in Holden's character comes from his communication with the outside world. His innocence, in my point of the view, his hunger for stability and permanence, make him both a tragic and touching character, capable of making dark activities on the surface seem hilarious and silly below.

What is the general tone of the novel?

8. Look through the haiku verses and choose one (or more!) that from your point of view may serve as a kind of epigraph to the novel. Explain.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1757