I'm teaching it right now, to high school sophomores. Any suggestions?
...also, any comments or observations about the book (since I'd be in a bad way if I were fishing for teaching strategies on an internet forum). I like it. Can only handle it in small chunks, because it's too depressing otherwise, but the wild, erratic stream of consciousness style and struggle between innocence and maturity works for me.
I love The Great Gatsby, by the way. Especially the way Fitzgerald called places 'Egg'. Love it.
__________________ Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
i have to say Catcher in the Rye suck, i dont understand what point in that story, and i dont enjoy too much of swearings in that book, drive me to tear that book and throw it away in trash, disgusted that i wasted money that book, but i dont understand why my teacher want me to read it, my english teacher never tell me whole points, she want me to reread it all over again, i was like what? NO WAY! i guess can anybody tell me whole point in that book??
It's about the transition from the innocent world of childhood to the experienced, jaded, cynical world of adulthood, and the struggles connected with that change in lifestyle and perspective. No one who teaches it is going to be able to avoid that for the entire novel, and I find it hard to believe you didn't do anything with the book except read it (and "re-read" it when you were finished).
Oh! It's also about proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Yeah. Definitely about that too.
It's a good book, and Digi pretty much summarized the point of the book, and the message of it.
Simply put, growing up isn't that easy, and you might encounter some obstacles.
I still can't figure out how it inspired that guy Mark something to kill John Lennon. He even hired a prostitute just to talk with her like Holden did!
Holden's messed up and pissed at the world. A lot of "crazies" are too, and use Holden's character as sort of a rallying point for their own misguided tendencies, not realizing that the author uses the ending to undermine Holden's life choices, painting a bleak picture of such a random cynical lifestyle.
Mel Gibson's character in "Conspiracy Theory" has multiple copies of the book, for instance.
So I doubt it was a specific passage or whatever that inspired the dude....it was probably just moral justification for an idea he already had planted in his head.
We had it in the first year in high school (in English class). I liked it very much, I found it very intriguing. I can't say I have any good sugestions for you, sorry.
Regards, Yvonne
__________________ - Reader, I married him (Jane Eyre)
The happiness now, will be part of the pain then.
Teaching is an act of love.
I just read it a few months and ago and I liked it a lot. I'm sick of all the people who say all that Holden does is complain. He gets troubled by all the hypocrisy around him and when he sees it in himself he gets sad. Its about trying to hold on to your childish innocence and also being an adult at the same time.
and what with people saying that there's too much swearing.... there's many more popular books that have a lot more swearing in it.
Last edited by Keith Talent on Jun 15th, 2007 at 06:50 AM
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Mar 6th, 2007 12:52 AM
