Chapter 9

We covered chapter 9 in class and listened to the first part of it on audio.

HOMEWORK:

-Read chapter 10

-Finish chapter 9 Qs

-Finish vocabulary definition sheet

Chapter Nine:
When Holden reaches New York, he does not know whom to call. He considers calling his kid sister, Phoebe, but she would be asleep and his parents would overhear. He also considers calling Jane Gallagher or Sally Hayes, another friend, but finally does not call anybody. He gets into a cab and absentmindedly gives the driver his home address, but soon realizes that he does not want to get home. He goes to the Edmond Hotel instead, where he stays in a shabby room. He looks out of the window and could see the other side of the hotel. From this view he can see other rooms; in one of them, a man takes off his clothes and puts on ladies' clothing, while in another a man and a woman spit their drinks at one another. Holden thinks that he's the "biggest sex maniac you ever saw," but then claims that he does not understand sex at all. He then thinks of calling Jane Gallagher but again decides against it, and instead considers calling a woman named Faith Cavendish, who was formerly a burlesque stripper and is not quite a prostitute. When he calls her, he continues to ask whether or not they could get a drink together, but she turns him down at every opportunity.

Catcher in the rye chapter 8 audio

Rebel without a cause movie

Today we watched the movie "Rebel without a cause".

About the movie:

Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 film directed by Nicholas Ray that tellsthe story of a rebellious teenager who comes to a new town, meets a girl, defies his parents, and faces the local high school bullies. It sought toportray the existing decay of youth in middle America, critique parental style, and expose the rift between two generations. The title is taken from psychiatrist Robert Lindner's 1944 book, Rebel Without A Cause: The Hypnoanalysis of a Criminal Psychopath but has no other relationship to the book.

HOMEWORK:

-read chapter 9

-do chapter 8 QS

-think about your comic books

Chapter Eight:

Since it is too late to call a cab, Holden walks to the train station. On the train, a woman gets on at Trenton and sits right beside him, even though the train is nearly empty. She strikes up a conversation with him, noticing the Pencey sticker on his suitcase, and says that her son, Ernest Morrow, goes to Pencey as well. Holden remembers him as "the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey." Holden tells her that his name is Rudolf Schmidt, the name of the Pencey janitor. Holden lies to Mrs. Morrow, pretending that he likes Pencey and that he is good friends with Ernest. She thinks that her son is insensitive,' an idea that Holden finds laughable, but Holden continues to tell lies about Ernest, such as that he would have been elected class president, but he was too modest to accept the nomination. Holden asks if she would like to join him for a cocktail in the club car. Finally, he tells her that he is leaving Pencey early because he has to have an operation; he claims he has a tumor on his brain. When she invites Holden to visit during the summer, he says that he will be spending the summer in South America with his grandmother.

Chapter 7 The Catcher in the rye audio

Chapter 7

We listened to chapter 7 audio and then talked about the top plot events of the chapter in pairs.

I later introduced to you the mid term comic book project which you will be doing shortly.

HOMEWORK:

-Read chapter 8

-Chapter 7 Qs

Chapter Seven:
Ackley, who was awakened by the fight, comes in Holden's room to ask what happened. He tells Holden that he is still bleeding and should put something on his wounds. Holden asks if he can sleep in Ackley's room that night, since his roommate is away for the weekend, but Ackley says that he can't give him permission. Holden feels so lonesome that he wishes he were dead. Holden worries that Stradlater had sex with Jane during their date, because he knew that Stradlater was capable of seducing girls quickly. Holden asks Ackley whether or not one has to be Catholic to join a monastery. He then decides to leave Pencey immediately. He decides to take a room in a hotel in New York and take it easy until Wednesday. He packs ice skates that his mother had just sent him. The skates make him sad, because they are not the kind that he wanted. According to Holden, his mother has a way of making him sad whenever he receives a present. Holden wakes up Woodruff, a wealthy student, and sells him his typewriter for twenty bucks. Before he leaves, he yells "Sleep tight, ya morons."

Catcher in the rye chapter 6 audio

Chapter 6

We listened to a portion of chapter 6 in class and then we covered some allusions found in the chapter.

HOMEWORK:

-Read chapter 7

-Do chapter 6 Qs

Chapter Six:
Stradlater returned late that night, thanked Holden for the jacket and asked if he did the composition for him. When Stradlater reads it, he gets upset at Holden, for it is simply about a baseball glove. Since Stradlater is upset, Holden tears up the composition. Holden starts smoking, just to annoy Stradlater. Holden asks about the date, but Stradlater doesn't give very much information, only that they spent most of the time in Ed Banky's car. Finally he asks if Stradlater "gave her the time" there. Stradlater says that the answer is a "professional secret," and Holden responds by trying to punch Stradlater. Stradlater pushes him down and sits with his knees on Holden's chest. He only lets Holden go when he agrees to say nothing more about Stradlater's date. When he calls Stradlater a moron, he knocks Holden out. Holden then goes to the bathroom to wash the blood off his face. Even though he claims to be a pacifist, Holden enjoys the look of blood on his face.

Catcher in the rye chapter 5 audio

Chapter 5

We listened to chapter 5 today and talked about some allusions in the chapter.

In the second period we had a chapters 1-5 quiz.

HOMEWORK:

-Finish chapter 5 questions

-Write a journal about the day that Mr. Spencer had Holden over to his home.

Write as if Mr. Spencer is -YOU.

What advice did Mr. Spencer give Holden?? What did Holden think of this advice??

1/2-1 page

Chapter Five:
On Saturday nights at Pencey the students are served steak; Holden believes this occurs because parents visit on Sunday and students can thus tell them that they had steak for dinner the previous night, as if it were a common occurrence. Holden goes with Ackley and Mal Brossard into New York City to see a movie, but since Ackley and Brossard had both seen that particular Cary Grant comedy, they play pinball and get hamburgers instead. When they return, Ackley remains in Holden's room, telling about a girl he had sex with, but Holden knows that he is lying, for whenever he tells that same story, the details always change. Holden tells him to leave so that he can write Stradlater's composition. He writes about his brother Allie's baseball mitt. Allie, born two years after Holden, died of leukemia in 1946. The night that Allie died, Holden broke all of the windows in his garage with his fist.

Chapter 4

We listened to a part of chapter 4 today and then students had to remember what happened in the following scenes in the book with their partners.

HOMEWORK:

-Chapter 5 reading

-Vocab sheet

-Chapter 4 Qs

Chapter Four:
Since he has nothing else to do, Holden goes down to the bathroom to chat with Stradlater as he shaves. Stradlater, in comparison to Ackley, is a "secret" slob, who would always shave with a rusty razor that he would never clean. Stradlater is a "Yearbook" kind of handsome guy. He asks Holden to write a composition for him for English. Holden realizes the irony that he is flunking out of Pencey, yet is still asked to do work for others. Stradlater insists, however, that Holden not write it too well, for Hartzell knows that Holden is a hot-shot in English. On an impulse, Holden gives Stradlater a half nelson, which greatly annoys Stradlater. Stradlater talks about his date that night with Jane Gallagher. Although he cannot even get her name correct, Holden knows her well, for she lived next door to him several summers ago and they would play checkers together. Stradlater barely listens as he fixes his hair with Holden's gel. Holden asks Stradlater not to tell Jane that he got kicked out. He then borrows Holden's hound's-tooth jacket and leaves. Ackley returns, and Holden is actually glad to see him, for he takes his mind off of other matters.

STUDY FOR THE TEST OF CH. 1-5 and VOCABULARY FRIDAY

Catcher in the rye audio chapter 4

Catcher in the rye audio chapter 3

Catcher in the rye audio chapter 2

Catcher in the rye audio chapter 1

Chapter 3

We discussed chapter 3 today.

HOMEWORK:

-Read chapter 4

-Finish chapter questions

-Start on vocabulary sheet (due Friday)

Chapter Three:
Holden claims that he is the most terrific liar one could meet. He admits that he lied to Spencer by telling him that he had to go to the gym. At Pencey,Holden lives in the OssenburgerMemorial Wing of the new dorms. Ossenburger is a wealthy undertaker who graduated from the school; Holden tells how false Ossenburger seemed when he gave a speech exalting faith in Jesus and how another student farted during the ceremony. Holden returns to his room, where he puts on a red hunting hat they he bought in New York. Holden discusses the books that he likes to read: he prefers Ring Lardner, but is now reading Dinesen's Out of Africa. Ackley, a student whose room is connected to Holden's, barges in on Holden. Holden describes Ackley as having a terrible personality and an even worse complexion. Holden tries to ignore him, then pretends that he is blind to annoy Ackley. Ackley cuts his nails right in front of Holden, and asks about Ward Stradlater, Holden's roommate. Ackley claims that he hates Stradlater, that "goddamn sonuvabitch," but Holden tells Ackley that he hates Stradlater for the simple reason that Stradlater told him that he should actually brush his teeth. Holden defends Stradlater, claiming that he is conceited, but still generous. Stradlater arrives, and is friendly to Holden (in a phony sort of way), and asks to borrow a jacket from Holden. Stradlater walks around shirtless to show off his build.

Chapter 2

We talked about Chapter 2 and I gave you a handout sheet
with Chapters 1&2 allusions.


Summary: Chapter 2
“Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.”

Holden greets Mr. Spencer and his wife in a manner that suggests he is close to them. He is put off by his
teacher’s rather decrepit condition but seems otherwise to respect him. In his sickroom, Spencer tries to lec-
ture Holden about his academic failures. He confirms Pencey’s headmaster’s assertion that “[l]ife is a game”
and tells Holden that he must learn to play by the rules. Although Spencer clearly feels affection for Holden,
he bluntly reminds the boy that he flunked him, and even forces him to listen to the terrible essay he handed in
about the ancient Egyptians. Finally, Spencer tries to convince Holden to think about his future. Not wanting
to be lectured, Holden interrupts Spencer and leaves, returning to his dorm room before dinner.

HOMEWORK:
-Finish Chapter 2 questions
-Read chapters 3-5 before next class
-Quiz on chapters 1-5 September 28th

Chapter 1

We had a quiz on J.D Salinger today.

We then talked about chapter 1

Summary: Chapter 1

Holden Caulfield writes his story from a rest home to which he has been sent for therapy. He refuses to talk
about his early life, mentioning only that his brother D. B. is a Hollywood writer. He hints that he is bitter
because D. B. has sold out to Hollywood, forsaking a career in serious literature for the wealth and fame of the
movies. He then begins to tell the story of his breakdown, beginning with his departure from Pencey Prep, a
famous school he attended in Agerstown, Pennsylvania.
Holden’s career at Pencey Prep has been marred by his refusal to apply himself, and after failing four of his
five subjects—he passed only English—he has been forbidden to return to the school after the fall term. The
Saturday before Christmas vacation begins, Holden stands on Thomsen Hill overlooking the football field,
where Pencey plays its annual grudge match against Saxon Hall. Holden has no interest in the game and
hadn’t planned to watch it at all. He is the manager of the school’s fencing team and is supposed to be in New
York for a meet, but he lost the team’s equipment on the subway, forcing everyone to return early.
Holden is full of contempt for the prep school, but he looks for a way to “say goodbye” to it. He fondly
remembers throwing a football with friends even after it grew dark outside. Holden walks away from the
game to go say goodbye to Mr. Spencer, a former history teacher who is very old and ill with the flu. He sprints
to Spencer’s house, but since he is a heavy smoker, he has to stop to catch his breath at the main gate. At the
door, Spencer’s wife greets Holden warmly, and he goes in to see his teacher.

HOMEWORK:
-Read chapter2
-Finish chapter 1 questions 1-10

Welcome back!

Great that you all did so well on the summer fables!

Wonderful fables thus far!!!!

We watched a power point slide show on J.D Salinger today.

Please read over the Biography of Salinger for next day.

HOMEWORK:

-Read chapter 1

-Read about Salinger

-Quiz on J.D next class!

About The Catcher In The Rye

The novel opens with the narrator, Holden Caulfield, a seventeen-year-old boy from New York City, telling the story of three days in his life. The whole narrative is a coming to terms with the past, since Holden tells it from a psychiatric institution.

It is the adult world that has driven him insane. He just cannot relate to anyone except for his kid sister Phoebe. Everything and all other people seem "phony" to him. Holden is unable to accept life. Since Holden is becoming an adult himself, he is unhappy with what he will represent. He flunks out of three boarding schools in a row, the latest of them Pencey Prep, which is also where the first part of the story takes place.

One Saturday night, after an unpleasant experience with his history teacher "Old Spencer," his roommate Stradlater and the boy next door, Robert Ackley, Holden decides to leave Pencey four days early for Christmas break. He knows that he cannot return to his parents because they are not aware that he has been expelled again. Holden spends the next three days wandering aimlessly around New York City. He stays at a cheap hotel for one night, goes to two night clubs, dances with older women, often talks and thinks about sex, even has a prostitute come up to his room.

The next day, he talks with some nuns about literature and has a date with his former girlfriend Sally Woodruff. They go to the theater and also go ice-skating. When he asks her to run away with him, she gets mad and they part. He is "depressed," at this time Holden thinks and even talks to his deceased brother Allie. To Holden, Allie represented innocence. With nobody else around, Holden turns to the only person he can relate to, his sister Phoebe. He sneaks into his parent's apartment at night to talk to his sister. He tells her about his dream to be a "catcher in the rye," and that he wants to run away.

He then leaves to meet his former teacher, Mr. Antolini. They have a good talk, but Holden leaves in a hurry when he thinks his host makes a sexual advance on him. He spends the night in a train station, then runs around town.

Finally, he meets his sister, who tells him she wants to run away with him and that she will never go back to school. Holden sees himself in her, finally changes his mind and decides to go back to his parents. We are able to conclude that Holden then is sent to a mental hospital for treatment.

Final Exams

I was able to check your Final exams!

Please pickup your tests in the Teacher's
room pickup box.

Everyone did pretty good!