The Catcher in the Rye
Write your presentation date here ______
Write your partner’s/partners’ email addresses here ______
& ______
Write your partner’s/partners’ phone numbers here ______
& ______
The California State Content Standards require students to research, prepare and give polished presentations. The State Standards also require students to use and incorporate technology. For this unit, you will have the option to present as an individual, in a pair or in a group of three. Below are the time requirements:
1. individual presenter: 5-6 minutes
2. pair: 10-12 minutes
3. group of three students: 15-18 minutes
This paper includes a variety of presentation topics. In class, we will have a “lottery” to determine which students present the various topics.
Students will be required to create a Power Point presentation. We will review the standards for Power Point in class. Students will also be required to create a Works Cited page for any information they obtained from an outside source.
Your Power Point should meet the following minimum requirements.
1. individual presenter: 5 slides
2. pair: 10 slides
3. group of three students: 15 slides
Topic #1
Step 1: You (and your partner/s) will summarize and explain the plot of the novel The Catcher in the Rye. You will explain the setting, the protagonist, the antagonist, two internal conflicts, two external conflicts, one theme, the climax, and the resolution of the book. Be descriptive and detailed. In order for the audience to understand the rest of the presentation, we will have to understand the overall plot.
Step: 2 You (and your partner/s) are a student/students at Holden's school, and you're sick and tired of hearing him calling everyone a phony. You meet him after school one day and persuade him that everyone is not a phony. Describe what you would say to Holden to convince him that everyone is not a phony.
Step 3: You (and your partner/s) will respond to the following questions:
a.) Explain how J.D. Salinger's using Holden as the narrator affects our understanding of the events in The Catcher in the Rye.
b.) Provide further analysis of two of the conflicts in the story that you discussed earlier. Are they resolved by the end of the story? If so, how are they resolved? If not, why not?
Topic #2
Step 1: You (and your partner/s) will summarize and explain the plot of the novel The Catcher in the Rye. You will explain the setting, the protagonist, the antagonist, two internal conflicts, two external conflicts, one theme, the climax, and the resolution of the book. Be descriptive and detailed. In order for the audience to understand the rest of the presentation, we will have to understand the overall plot.
Step: 2 What is the point of The Catcher in the Rye? When we read books, we usually come away from our reading experience a little richer, having given more thought to a particular aspect of life. What do you think J. D. Salinger intended us to gain from reading his novel?
Step 3: You (and your partner/s) will respond to the following questions:
a.) Who are the people Holden likes in the story? Why does he like them?
b.) Psychoanalyze Holden. What is at the root of his problems?
Topic #3
Step 1: You (and your partner/s) will summarize and explain the plot of the novel The Catcher in the Rye. You will explain the setting, the protagonist, the antagonist, two internal conflicts, two external conflicts, one theme, the climax, and the resolution of the book. Be descriptive and detailed. In order for the audience to understand the rest of the presentation, we will have to understand the overall plot.
Step 2: The setting of The Catcher in the Rye is New York. Research the political culture of both New York and The United States of the America during the 1940s. Providing analysis, how do you think the political climate during that time period impacted people both socially and culturally?
Step 3: If you are in a group of three people, you will also answer the following questions:
a.) If Holden had written a poem about his life, what would it have been? Write and present the poem as you think Holden would have written it.
b.) If Holden were a student at your school, would you be his friend? Why or why not?
Topic #4
Step 1: You (and your partner/s) will summarize and explain the plot of the novel The Catcher in the Rye. You will explain the setting, the protagonist, the antagonist, two internal conflicts, two external conflicts, one theme, the climax, and the resolution of the book. Be descriptive and detailed. In order for the audience to understand the rest of the presentation, we will have to understand the overall plot and the fact that Holden spent time in a sanitarium.
Step 2: At the beginning of the novel, we meet the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, who has spent some time in a sanitarium. For this assignment, you will research sanitariums. What is the process for placing someone in a sanitarium? Which types of treatments are offered here? Using analysis, discuss why there is a stigma regarding mental illness in this country. What can people do to combat this stigma?
Step 3: If you are in a group of three people, you will also answer the following questions:
The character, Holden, is depressed. Research both the physiological and psychological reasons that people experience depression. How can one deal with depression? Research and discuss “clinical depression”. Research and discuss how alcohol and drugs can increase feelings of depression. Research and discuss how depression is treated today.
Topic #5
Step 1: You (and your partner/s) will summarize and explain the plot of the novel The Catcher in the Rye. You will explain the setting, the protagonist, the antagonist, two internal conflicts, two external conflicts, one theme, the climax, and the resolution of the book. Be descriptive and detailed. In order for the audience to understand the rest of the presentation, we will have to understand the overall plot.
Step 2: The Catcher in the Rye was written by J.D. Salinger. Research the man, his life, his experiences, his desire to write and his success. How did his personal life relate to the book, The Catcher in the Rye? When was the book published? What has been the reaction to this book?
Step 3: If you are in a group of three people, you will also answer the following questions:
Holden Caulfield attends Pencey Prep. Research and discuss prep schools in the US during the 1940s, 1950s and the current decade. How have the school systems changed? How have they remained the same? Would you like to attend a prep school? Why or why not? Using analysis, why do you think some parents prefer to send their child to a prep school? Describe the daily routine at a prep school.