From: Kenneth Cadow <Kenneth.Cadow_at_valley.net>
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 2010 10:47:08 -0400

I'm an art teacher, but I've co-taught The Catcher in Sophomore English for several years. We just finished our "Catcher unit" mid-March, and coincidentally, began it just a few weeks after Salinger's death. Salinger lived only just down the river, so there was a great deal of local press. Happily, it was mostly tasteful and continued to honor his privacy.

I'm happy to say that The Catcher in the Rye is still one of the most popular books in our high school English curriculum. A good half of the students usually read the book through to the end well in advance of assigned chapters.

We look at the Catcher both structurally and through reader response. With each assigned reading (usually 2 or 3 chapters) students note three passages that move them and pick one favorite quote. We open class by going around, each kid reading and discussing their passages, often linking them to events in their own lives. Some kids don't make personal connections very well for the first few days, but most warm up to it by the end. Favorite quotes are usually funny ones--and often two or three kids pick the same lines. This suggests to me that there is still a solid resonance for the book today.

Structurally, we discuss Salinger's intentions. Salinger's desire to maintain control over the book is legendary--despite Holden's apparent and incessant running off at the mouth, is there any passage in the book that's not absolutely purposeful? With that in mind, we look at Salinger's decisions to have Holden release information at various points. One example: Why does the story of James Castle's death carry such an impact delivered as it is, so late in the story? We consider the vertical fall of running off a cliff, as Holden vividly pictures, and jumping out a window--as James Castle did. Might there have been a "catcher" for James Castle? Did Mr. Antolini come close? And why did Salinger decide to have Mr. Antolini pat Holden on the head that way? How would the story have been different if, after Mr. Antolini imparted his wisdom, if Holden had just said "Gee Mr. Antolini, you're right!" and then just went home and told his parents everything? Anyway, it's a big round table discussion and we have a lot o f fun with it.

We discuss, too, Holden's discomfort with change, with growing up. And we discuss the impact of his brother Allie's death. Is it a legitimate excuse for Holden's behavior? Why is it that the only things that Holden doesn't find phony seem to be nuns, death, and little kids? There is a lot to talk about with this book. Discussion is lively. I love it.

We also use Catcher to springboard to writing projects. Students pick a pet peeve or personal quirk, and then go off on it, writing in their vernacular, with as many tangents and digressions as they can muster. The kids get into this--it's one assignment where they don't have any problem filling the pages! Students read their pieces aloud. Then we look at their choice of words and guess at which colloquialisms might be outdated in a few years. Sure, Salinger is "dated." So are Shakespeare and Chaucer. Out-datedness is a lousy excuse to decide against the book.

I find the trend toward first person writing today to be less satisfying, often reflecting our cultural trend toward hyper-self-absorption. (But I'm glad to see that such books don't make it to the CCBC lists!) First-person books I've liked and recommended to kids are many, and I'd love to add to my list as teachers and librarians here contribute suggestions. FEED, by M.T. Anderson is the only one I'll mention here as I think I've gone on long enough.

Ken
Received on Wed 07 Apr 2010 10:47:08 AM CDT