The Catcher in the Rye Study Guide!

1. The Catcher in the Rye Study Guide! http://whs.wsd.wednet.edu/Faculty/schafercloke/images/Rye5.jpg

2. Purpose • The purpose of this study guide is to review vocabulary, themes, and to understand the personality of the main character, Holden Caulfield. After the review sessions, there is a quiz in which you must score an 80% on. After completion, you should be refreshed and ready for the Catcher in the Rye final. Main Menu

3. Main Menu Vocabulary Section Holden Caulfield Common Themes Quiz http://redapple.sweell.com/media/1/20040922-Catcher-lb.jpg

4. LET’S BEGIN! Continue

5. Vocabulary • These will be words that are distinct and used in the novel. Continue http://www.cubra.nl/avati/catcherintheryesalinger/logocatcher100.jpg Main Menu

6. Vocab • Phony • Definition: not real or genuine; fake; counterfeit • Use: That diamond looks phony. • Ostracize • Definition: to exclude, by general consent, from society, friendship, conversation, privileges, etc • Use: His friends ostracized him after his father's arrest.

7. Vocab • Intoxicating • Definition: exhilarating; exciting • Use: The rollercoaster ride was intoxicating. • Canasta • Definition: a variety of rummy in which the main object is to meld sets of seven or more cards.

8. Vocab • Frock • Definition: a gown or dress worn by a girl or woman. • Use: Her frock had many frills, and was very colorful. • Necking • Definition: the act of embracing, kissing, and caressing amorously; petting • Use: The teenagers were necking in the back of the car.

9. Vocab • Flitty • Definition:Unstable; fluttering • Use: The plane was really flitty before it crashed into the water. • Louse • Definition: wingless usually flattened bloodsucking insect parasitic on warm-blooded animals • Use: I really hate when louse suck my blood.

10. Vocab • Digression • Definition: a passage or section that deviates from the central theme in speech or writing. • Use: The writer’s digression from the main theme in the essay was bad. • Pedagogical • Definition: functioning as a teacher or mentor. • Use: The man was pedagogical when he talked to the children.

11. YAY THEMES! Continue

12. Themes • The next few slides will discuss seven important themes of the novel. Continue Main Menu http://www.cubra.nl/avati/jamesavatiimages/salingercatcher.JPG

13. Themes: Alienation as a form of Self Protection • Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be excluded from and victimized by the world around him. As he says to Mr. Spencer, he feels trapped on “the other side” of life, and he continually attempts to find his way in a world in which he feels he doesn’t belong. Holden rarely interacts with people because he sees himself as superior to them.

14. Alienation Cont’d. • The truth is that interactions with other people usually confuse and overwhelm him, and his cynical sense of superiority serves as a type of self-protection. Thus, Holden’s alienation is the source of what little stability he has in his life. Next Theme

15. Themes: The Struggle of Growing Up. • Holden fears change and is overwhelmed by complexity. He wants everything to be easily understandable and eternally fixed, like the statues of Eskimos and Indians in the museum. He is frightened because he is guilty of the sins he criticizes in others, and because he can’t understand everything around him. But he refuses to acknowledge this fear, expressing it only in a few instances—for example, when he talks about sex and admits that “[s]ex is something I just don’t understand. I swear to God I don’t”

16. Struggles Cont’d • Instead of acknowledging that adulthood scares and mystifies him, Holden invents a fantasy that adulthood is a world of superficiality and hypocrisy (“phoniness”), while childhood is a world of innocence, curiosity, and honesty. Next Theme

17. Themes: Phoniness of the Adult World • Holden explains that adults are inevitably phonies, and, what’s worse, they can’t see their own phoniness. Phoniness, for Holden, stands as an emblem of everything that’s wrong in the world around him and provides an excuse for him to withdraw into his cynical isolation. Throughout the novel he encounters many characters who do seem affected, pretentious, or superficial—Sally Hayes, Carl Luce, Maurice and Sunny, and even Mr. Spencer stand out as examples.

18. Phoniness Cont’d • Holden expends so much energy searching for phoniness in others, he never directly observes his own phoniness. His deceptions are generally pointless and cruel and he notes that he is a compulsive liar. He’d like us to believe that he is a paragon of virtue in a world of phoniness, but that simply isn’t the case. Although he’d like to believe that the world is a simple place, and that virtue and innocence rest on one side of the fence while superficiality and phoniness rest on the other, Holden is his own counterevidence. The world is not as simple as he’d like—and needs—it to be; even he cannot adhere to the same black-and-white standards with which he judges other people. Next Theme

19. Themes: Relationships/ Sexuality • Relationships, intimacy, and sexuality are also recurring motifs relating to the larger theme of alienation. Both physical and emotional relationships offer Holden opportunity to break out of his isolated shell. They also represent what he fears most about the adult world: complexity, unpredictability, and potential for conflict and change.

20. Relationships Cont’d • Because people are unpredictable, they challenge Holden and force him to question his senses of self-confidence and self-worth. As a result, he has isolated himself and fears intimacy. Although he encounters opportunities for both physical and emotional intimacy, he bungles them all, wrapping himself in a psychological armor of critical cynicism and bitterness. Next Theme

21. Themes: Lying and Deception • Lying and deception are the most obvious and hurtful elements of the larger category of phoniness. Holden’s definition of phoniness relies mostly on a kind of self-deception: he seems to reserve the most scorn for people who think that they are something they are not or who refuse to acknowledge their own weaknesses. But lying to others is also a kind of phoniness, a type of deception that indicates insensitivity, callousness, or even cruelty. Of course, Holden himself is guilty of both these crimes. Next Theme

22. Themes: Holden’s Hat • It is inseparable from our image of Holden, with good reason: it is a symbol of his uniqueness and individuality. The hat is outlandish, and it shows that Holden desires to be different from everyone around him. At the same time, he is very self-conscious about the hat—he always mentions when he is wearing it, and he often doesn’t wear it if he is going to be around people he knows. The presence of the hat, therefore, mirrors the central conflict in the book: Holden’s need for isolation versus his need for companionship. Main Menu

23. Woo Holden! Continue

24. Holden Caulfield • A look into the psyche of a very disturbed individual. Continue Main Menu http://boudiab.com/najat/images/SomeThingsAreHardToRemember.JPG

25. Why is Holden so judgemental? • Holden is so judgmental because he sees everyone as fake. He thinks people put on a show and don’t act like who they really are. The irony of this, is that Holden does the same thing. He wears his red hunting hat to hide behind, he doesn’t let anyone get close, even though that’s what he really wants, and he hates people who are boring, even though he doesn’t really do much of anything himself. Next slide.

26. What is the meaning of the Prostitute scene? • Holden calls the prostitute because he is lonely and wants some kind of comfort. However, it shows how insecure and desperate for outside connection he is. Holden wants to have sex, but he also wants to feel something for the person he has sex with, that’s why he wants to talk to the prostitute seemingly more than have sex with her. Next slide.

27. Why doesn’t Holden have many friends? • Holden doesn’t have many friends because he never lets anyone get close enough to him to create a relationship with them. He always judges people before he gets to know them, and never opens up to anyone enough about himself for them to start to like him. Friends are what Holden really needs but he never lets himself acquire any. Next slide.

28. Describe Holden’s relationship with his family. • Holden generally despises his parents, and considers his brother a phony also because he’s trying to make “Hollywood Movies.” However, he has a different relationship with his sister Phoebe. He likes Phoebe because she is part of the innocent childhood that Holden is so fond of and tries to hold on to. However, she gets angry with Holden when he reveals to her that he basically doesn’t want to grow up because of how fake he sees the adult world. In this case, Phoebe is the only one to see how Holden how he really is, as fake and phony as everyone else. Main Menu

29. Quizzes Are Fun!

30. Quiz • The following quiz will be 10 questions reviewing the vocabulary, themes, and Holden’s personality. This will allow you to practice for the final. Take the quiz Main Menu

31. #1 Define “Phony” Someone who is fake or not real. Miniature phone Interesting Pony

32. CORRECT! Next Question

33. WRONG! Next Question

34. #2 What does Holden’s Red Hat Mean? He wears the hat to scare people from him He wears it to stand out He thinks it smells nice

35. CORRECT! Next Question

36. WRONG! Next Question

37. #3 How does Holden feel about the Prostitute? He loves her He wants some kind of companionship He just wants to have sex with her

38. CORRECT! Next Question

39. WRONG! Next Question

40. #4 Why does Holden think the adult world is Phony? People are very superficial, but he doesn’t even see his own phoniness which makes everything around his so imperfect He hates his parents He hates his teachers

41. CORRECT! Next Question

42. WRONG! Next Question

43. #5 How does Holden deal with growing up? He hides behind his own fears He sucks it up He dies

44. CORRECT! Next Question

45. WRONG! Next Question

46. #6 Define Flitty Ugly Flirtatious Unstable

47. CORRECT! Next Question

48. WRONG! Next Question

49. #7 How does Holden alienate himself from society? He beats people up He judges people so heavily that he doesn’t get to know them and subsequently alienates himself from them He doesn’t meet anyone new

50. CORRECT! Next Question