'The Catcher in the Rye'


Topic(s)



Resources

= Compulsory

Related resources:


What to do...

Mål: eleven skal
1e kunne drøfte og vurdere skjønnlitterære tekstar
2a kunne forstå skjønnlitteratur og andre typar tekstar som handlar om kultur og samfunnsforhold
2d kunne analysere og drøfte innhald og form i skjønnlitterære tekstar
4b munnleg og skriftleg kunne analysere og drøfte innhald, personar og tema og vise korleis litterære verkemiddel er brukte i eit representativt utval tekstar frå tida etter 1900.


Introduction)

We are pleased to inform you that YOU have been selected from a plethora of high school applicants to do next week's literary section for the New England Times! You will be writing the section that focuses on reviving classic novels in Sunday’s newspaper. We need you to write about The Catcher in the Rye. Because you are such an experienced reader and writer, we are confident that you will generate a section that represents both your creativity and intelligence. This journalism job will look great on your college, scholarship, and employment applications. Just follow the simple tasks that our editors have created for you.

Task 1)

Interview the author! As we already know, Mr. Salinger is a brilliant recluse who does not often participate in conversations about his life and work. Think of five questions that you would like to ask him, and search for their answers on the websites in the resource section.

You (a) will write an introduction as though you really went to his house. You may want to explain what his house looked like, how he looked when he greeted you, if he had any pets, etc.
Then, (b) you will write your five questions and their answers.
Lastly, (c) you will write a conclusion. This will include your impressions of the author or any interesting facts that you learned from interview that were not mentioned in your five questions. You could compare and or contrast J.D. Salinger to Holden Caufield in your conclusion.
Include a picture that you took on your interview of his house, his dog, or his ‘writing chair.’ Choose an interesting object to include with your article and write a caption.
Be creative!

Task 2)

Next you need to write a book review for The Catcher in the Rye. This review should be a 150-word synopsis of the novel that mentions major themes and tells the protagonist's age and gender. At the end of the review, in a small box, include the title, author, ISBN, publishing company, date of publishing, and cost of the book. You may search any websites for the information and for examples of reviews, or use the the resource section above.

Task 3)

We want to hear your voice! Address the issue of censorship and banning of the novel. Write this article as if you are a local citizen writing an editorial. Should sex scenes, drinking scenes and foul language be published in books? Tell the readers if you think the novel is important enough to be taught in schools and if it is okay to be read for pleasure. Decide what you believe and explain why you feel the way you do. This article should be three to five paragraphs in length.

You may find these sources useful:
Should 'Catcher in the Rye' be banned? (printable version)
Incredible!!!???
Do you find any books/stories you know among 'The Most Frequently Banned Books of the 90s'? What do you think about such books/stories being banned? Explain!

Task 4)

This is your time to get creative! We need a comic strip for our page. You may choose to use: pictures from the Internet, the painter on Microsoft Word, clip art, print artist or simply art materials and paper. Your comic strip should deal with a significant theme, event or symbol from the novel. For example, your topic could be: Allie’s mitt, ducks, checkers, phonies, the scene Mr. Antlioni or whatever you feel is an important idea from the novel.

A couple of sites to produce ideas and creativity:
Directory of Cartoons
Animation Factory

Task 5)

Relax--this might be the easiest of all your tasks. You are first going to find Robert Burns' poem, "Comin’ Thro the Rye" and hand write it for this special section of the paper. Be sure to include the title and author the poem. Secondly, find a picture (i.e. in a magazine, family photo album, on-line) that you think represents the poem and include it next to the poem on the page. Write a caption below the photo that explains in a sentence or two how the photo relates to the poem.

This is the poem:
"Comin' thro the Rye" by Robert Burns
and some useful links:
Pictures
More pictures
Photographs


Task 6)

Your final task is a simple and fun one. This special section of the paper needs an activity to engage the readers of our newspaper. You are first going to generate ten clues and answers for a crossword puzzle. Next, go to Puzzle Maker Website to enter your clues and create your puzzle. When your puzzle is complete, add it to your section, through either scanning or printing, then manually pasting it.

Evaluation)

Articles should be typed and the material should be presented as a section (although it does not have to be multiple pages) of a newspaper. The assignment should be: free of grammatical errors, interesting, organized, creative and well worded. It should show a level of deep thought and should be in the specified formats (synopsis, business letter, editorial, etc.). Your work should display facts and opinions when necessary. Show the readers of the newspaper that you have read, re-read, reflected and now understand the novel through these tasks.