Ninth Grade “A” Level English Option for

The Catcher in the Rye

(along with The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian)
Worth 50 points
As the class reads The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, you will also read
and take notes on the novel The Catcher in the Rye. Due dates and specific assignment
requirements are listed and detailed below.

1. Reading Schedule: Due Friday, Oct. 22: Chapters 1-13 (to the end of 13)

Due:Friday, Oct. 29: Chapters 14-26 (end of book)

2. Dialogue Journal: 5 entries are due on Fri. Oct.22

5 additional entries are due on Fri. Oct. 29
(see below for explanation of “Dialogue Journals”)
DO NOT write your dialogue journal in your composition notebook.
Write it on loose-leaf paper (or type it) that can be handed in to me.

As you read Catcher in the Rye, take notes on it using the questions and format presented below.
The general idea is that you are locating and responding to passages in the novel that seem to deal
with Holden’s sense of identity, his sense of who he is and how he fits into his community and
the larger world, and how he deals with his problems). You should copy down passages from
your novel and then write about how these passages demonstrate how Holden sees himself and
his sense of identity, and how he maintains hope or a positive attitude in the face of challenges
and set-backs. Additionally, note any similarities that you see between Arnold and Holden

Some questions/issues that you should address in your responses are:

• Write a brief summary saying what is happening in this passage and what is going on in
the novel at this point
• What is/are the problem(s) Holden faces?
• How does he deal with the problems (do he ignore problems, face them head on, lash out
at others, try to change the situation, try to change himself, etc.?)
• How does he view himself? How does he fit in or not fit into his community (either at
school or in the city or in his family)?

Some themes and symbols that you might consider as you read the book and take notes are:

 Alienation as a form of self-protection

 The painfulness of growing up
 The phoniness of the Adult world
 Loneliness
 Relationships, Intimacy, and Sexuality
 Lying and Deception
 “The catcher in the rye”
 Holden’s red hunting hat
  The Ducks in the Central Park Lagoon
 The Museum of Natural History
Use a “Dialogue Journal” format to collect passages and your responses to them (see
DO NOT write your dialogue journal in your
below.)
composition notebook. Write it on loose-leaf
paper (or type it) that can be handed in to me.
Passages My thoughts and comments

One thing about packing depressed a little.
I had to pack these brand-new ice skates
my mother had just sent me a couple of
days before.
…I wanted racing skates and she bought
me hockey-but it made me sad anyway.
Almost every time somebody gives me a
present, it ends up making me sad.
Pg. 52
I thought that this was pretty interesting to
find out because it kind of gives you a
better picture of who he is. So far, all
you’ve been getting is that he doesn’t really
care about anything, his life, friends, or
parents, but now you see that he just masks
a lot of his feelings. I think that he gets sad
when someone gives him a gift because he
doesn’t think that he really deserves it. He
thinks that he is nothing and people
shouldn’t like him. It may also be that he
likes being alone and when someone gives
you a gift, you typically are nice to that
person. He might see a gift as a obligation
to be nice and doesn’t want to have any
connections with other people.
This made me think about Arnold in
Part Time Indian when he is talking to Mr.
P. and he says that he doesn’t deserve
anything. I think both Arnold and Holden
have low self-esteem and they can’t see
themselves as deserving of anything.
WORD COUNT: 174

Write at least 10 passages and responses

--Responses are at least 150 words in length
--Word Count is included
--Neatly written or TYPED
--Your journals are handed in ON TIME
--Page numbers are provided for all passages quoted

Due Dates: First 5 passages are due on Friday, October 22

All 10 of the passages are due on: Friday, October 29