The Catcher in the Rye Essay Prompts

1. Salinger weaves a variety of symbols into The Catcher in the Rye, including (but not limited to) the red hunting hat, the ducks in entral Park, and !llie"s mitt. Select and analy#e one symbol that Salinger uses in the book. E$plain how Salinger develops this ob%ect as a symbol throughout the story. &iscuss the symbol"s meaning and significance, and e$plore its contributions to the overall message of the novel. '. (olden, like each of us, faces living in a world he didn"t create. )obody, not even (olden, can live in a culture without having some of it rub off on them. *hat faults of his society does (olden e$hibit+ (ow does Salinger reveal these faults to readers+ ,. -y e$amining who or what (olden views as .phony/ and by e$amining those he actually respects, one can determine %ust what (olden values. *hat e$actly does (olden value in people+ 0s he a contradiction of those values+ -e sure you e$plain why or why not. 1. 2hroughout the novel, (olden is a tormented adolescent. (e feels alienated and isolated at Pency Prep, he is belittled by women he wants to impress, he is beaten up twice, he wants to run away and cut himself from all other people, and he even considers suicide. 0n spite of (olden"s pain, the novel is funny. *hy did Salinger choose humor as the tone for the novel+ (ow does Salinger"s use of humor contribute to the book"s overall meaning and effect+ onsider how the book"s overall meaning would be different if Salinger did not use so much humor. 3. (olden often strives to have positive communication with other characters in the novel, but when he speaks is taken the wrong way. !naly#e an instance where (olden miscommunicates with other characters in the novel. 0s (olden"s miscommunication with other characters the cause of his feelings of alienation or a product of his alienation+ E$plain. 4. !s the story of The Catcher in the Rye, unfolds we learn more and more about the loss of his brother !llie affects (olden. (ow does (olden"s sense of grief and survivor"s guilt shape him as a character+ -y the end of the novel do you feel he resolves these feelings+ *hy or why not+ 5. The Catcher in The Rye is written as a cyclical plot where we do not fully understand his situation until we reach the end and reevaluate the beginning. 0n a well6written essay, discuss how (olden reveals himself. -e sure to e$plain the clues he gives as the story unfolds. 8. Many of the female characters we see in the novel are only minor characters who we don't hear that much from. What role do female characters have in the text? What purpose do they serve for Holden, especially in terms of his maturity and growth throughout the boo ? !se examples from the text to bac up your assertions. ". #lthough we only get the perspective of our unreliable narrator Holden $aulfield, we are given many insights throughout the course of the boo on Holden%s current state of mind. &y the end of the novel has he matured? Why or why not? How do we now? 'ive examples from the text to bac up your assertions. (). Want to use your own topic? *ic something specific, thoughtful and give me your proposal for approval+