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The Catcher in the Rye. Brayden Payne. J.D. Salinger. Born January 1, 1919 Ernest Hemingway’s influence Most notably famous for The Catcher in the Rye. Wrote during the post war era (1940-1965) Short marriage to Sylvia Welter Marriage to Clair Douglas Crazy religious beliefs.
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The Catcher in the Rye Brayden Payne
J.D. Salinger • Born January 1, 1919 • Ernest Hemingway’s influence • Most notably famous for The Catcher in the Rye. • Wrote during the post war era (1940-1965) • Short marriage to Sylvia Welter • Marriage to Clair Douglas • Crazy religious beliefs
Protagonist • Powerful ability to convey feelings • Social weaknesses • School life • Traumas that affect him • Extreme judgments • Attitudes towards sex • Interesting side note about his name
Antagonists • Stradlater • Handsome and popular • Secret slob • Sexually active • Ackley • Bad hygiene • Oblivious to surroundings • Annoying
Favorite Character • Mr. Antolini • Former teacher at Elkton Hills School • A professor at New York University • Straight forward • Written off as gay • Makes one of the biggest differences in Holden’s Life
Least Favorite Character Ackley Kid
Exposition • Narrated by the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, at a mental institution. He starts his story at Pencey Prep in Pennsylvania where he has recently failed out and is going to leave school, but not go home for an extra week. He speaks to an old teacher named Mr. Spencer who reprimands him. He then goes into his dorm where we are introduced to some characters who live in his dorm that he isn’t very fond of.
Rising Action • The rising action is comprised of all the events through the story as Holden goes on his adventures through New York City. He stays at the Edmont Hotel. He tries to get layed several times and never goes through with it. He eventually calls Sally Hayes, a girl he dated, to meet with her. They go to a play together and ice skate. Holden asks her to run away with him and live in a cabin in Vermont. He rudely laughs at her angry reaction and she leaves. Holden later calls her in the middle of the night totally wasted. The rest consists of his meetings with old school counselors and his little sister phoebe.
Climax • In my opinion, the climax was reached when Holden tells his little sister his dream to be The Catcher In The Rye. She tells him that he is mistaking the words from Robert Burns famous poem Comin Thro’ the Rye. The words actually say when body “meets” body rather than “catch”. Its very ironic that Holden wants to be the Catcher (rescuer) of those in the rye. When in Burns’ poem “meet” most likely signifies sex. This shows that Holden is still very naïve, and that he is trying to hold onto his innocence.
Falling Action • Holden calls his little sister Phoebe and tells her that he is going to run away. He tells her to meet him during her lunch hour. She shows up with a suitcase packed and ready to go. Holden refuses to take her, but knows that she will follow him; so he leads her through the zoo and to a carousel. He watches her and nearly comes to tears.
Resolution • Holden ends his narrative here, telling the reader that he is not going to tell the story of how he went home and got “Sick”. He plans to go to a new school in the fall and is cautiously optimistic about his future.
Setting • Time Period- this book takes place during the 50’s when ideals and attitudes were very different from the modern day. • Place- Manhattan. This could be seen as the city of adventure and is why Holden has such crazy events take place there.
Themes Overall Rating: 8 • Alienation - Holden often alienates himself from others as a form a self protection from any harm that may come from being in any kind of relationship. • Phoniness of the adult world - Holden uses the word “phony” a lot. He shows how the adult world can be so much different than what everyone cracks it up to be. He shows this in the way many adult characters in the book are very superficial and fake. • Pain of growing up - in the book Holden tries to prove the adult world to be a bunch of fakes, but really wants to stay young to avoid all the complexities of the adult world. He wants his life to stay simple and does it through avoidance of maturity.
A Look at Graduation Rates • Of all students who entered 9th grade in 2000–01, 1,252,396 students (32 percent) did not graduate on time by 2003–04.
Dead ends for dropouts Dropouts are: • More likely to be unemployed, receive public assistance, commit crimes and become incarcerated. • Less likely to receive job-based health insurance and pension plans, be healthy and live as long, and vote and make other kinds of civic contributions.
Why students are dropping out Classes were not interesting Missed too many days and could not catch up Spent time with people who were not interested in school Had too much freedom and not enough rules Was failing school
Challenging students will cut back on dropouts • Nearly 90 percent of high school dropouts report having passing grades. • 70 percent believe they could have graduated if they had stayed in school. • Even those with lower GPAs thought they could have graduated. The number one reason they left? They didn’t feel engaged.
The example of San Jose (CA) • Beginning with entering 9th graders in 1998, San Jose began to require all students to complete the rigorous A-G curriculum. • A-G is a sequence of 15 required courses (with three more recommended). • The A-G curriculum is required for entry into the California State University and University of California systems, yet only four out of 10 students in all of California completed the curriculum in 2003.
The A-G Curriculum A. History/Social Science: 2 years (1 year of World History, 1 year of U.S. History or a half year of U.S. History and a half year of Civics) B. English: 4 years C. Math: 3 years required, 4 years recommended (Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II required) D. Science: 2 years required, 3 years recommended (2 courses must be Biology, Chemistry or Physics) E. Foreign Language: 2 years (same language), 3 years recommended F. Visual/Performing Arts: 1 year G. College-Prep Elective: 1 year
Saturday academies Summer institutes Summer school Community colleges Community partnerships Business investments Tutoring Mentoring After-school programs Cognitive Tutor/Nova Net Summer Bridges Alternative education programs Provided Safety Nets
Success of the San Jose system • Rather than declining, the grade point averages of graduating seniors are on the rise. • 65 percent of graduates have passed every one of the required courses for entrance to the state’s university system with a C or better and are eligible to enter directly out of high school. • Statewide the average is 34 percent. • 45 percent of Hispanic graduates are university eligible right out of high school. • Statewide the average is 22 percent. • Enrollment of Hispanic students in Advanced Placement courses has more than doubled.
In the end • Educators and others are right to be concerned about dropout rates. • In today’s world, students who leave high school without a diploma face diminishing opportunities and a lifetime of financial struggle. • The answer is not to continue to expect little of teenagers and to enroll low-achieving students in “easy” classes that bore them and teach them little of value. • We owe it to students to challenge them and support them so that they graduate with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed.
