Exploring Salinger's Narrative Choices in The Catcher in the Rye

1. Bell Ringer 9-12 • Please get ready for your chapters 4-6 reading quiz.

2. Reading Quiz Chs. 4-6 • How did Holden know Stradlater’s date, Jane Gallagher? • What did Holden write a composition about? • What did Holden do with the composition? • Why? • Why did Stradlater punch Holden?

3. English III • EQ: How do Salinger’s choices about structure, narration, and character impact the theme of The Catcher in the Rye? • Agenda • Bell Ringer/Discussion • EQ/Agenda • Literary Terms Notes – Structure & Narration • “Phony” Journal Entry - Brainstorming • No Homework

4. Structure & Narration • Frame Story: an introductory story that sets the stage for a second, more emphasized story • One Thousand and One Nights, How I Met Your Mother • Holden’s story begins in a “rest home” where he relates the events that lead up to his going to the “rest home.” • Establishes time frames, defines the narrator or storyteller, sets a mood for the rest of the novel, and prepares the reader for the inside narrative • Quest Narrative: a story in which the central character is searching for something, such as a person, location, or abstract value. • Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz • Part of understanding The Catcher in the Rye is figuring out exactly what Holden is looking for in the world around him.

5. Structure & Narration • Picaresque: An episodic story about a series of adventures of a rather roguish protagonist • Huckleberry Finn, The Lone Ranger • The Picaresque Hero has noble intentions but is somewhat misguided and unreliable in his/her perception of the world. • Holden’s story is broken down into chapters that focus on one or two interactions with other characters. • Holden is a noble young man (protector of the innocent) who is also confused about life and the way he wants to live. • Psychological Story: A story that focuses on the internal psychological aspects of the central character, yet still mixes in the outer narrative. • “The Tell-Tale Heart” • Much of the important plot points in this story happen in Holden’s mind, not in the outward action.

6. Structure & Narration • First Person Narrator: story told in the grammatical first person (I, me, my, etc.) • Holden tells his story to his therapist, but as we read, we become the audience to whom he is directing his tale. • Focuses the story from one perspective, but forces the reader to ask, “Is this narrator reliable?” • Narrative: an account of connected events (plot) • The Catcher in the Rye seems “plot-less” to some readers because it’s events are not related in chronological order which makes Holden seem like he’s rambling. • Confessional: the tone of the story is confidential, much like the confession of sins to a priest or of secrets to a close friend. • Holden spends much of his time trying to “confess” is innermost thoughts to the people around him, but they refuse to listen (which isn’t all their fault).

7. Structure & narration • Stream of Consciousness: the reader sees what Holden thinks about in a random association of ideas, much like the actual pattern of human thoughts. • These are the tangents that Holden continually wanders off into, much like the flow of an actual conversation (even though that’s not what we expect from a novel). • Dialogue: conversations between characters • Flashbacks: a scene that is set in a time earlier than the main story. • Holden uses flashbacks and earlier dialogue (conversations) to expand on his points about life and people. • On the surface they seem like Holden losing focus, but every part of a narrative contributes to it’s meaning (they are there for a reason).

8. Structure and Narration • Colloquial Language: language used in ordinary conversation, not literary or formal. • Holden speaks like an actual teenager (not like a writer trying to speak like a teenager). • Swearing, slang, grammatical mistakes