Why Does Holden Caulfield Endure?

April 24, 2008 at 8:06 am · Filed under English

I’ve been thinking about Holden Caulfield-mostly because I’m currently teaching the novel to you tenth graders. I’ve been looking through your links and I wonder why this character has become such an icon.

Start with this: Holden Caulfield: Giving Voice to Generations

Listen to the entire piece then move on to this:

Cultural References to Catcher in The Rye

Scroll down through the list and check out at least two of the references. Think about why this single character manages to find it way into our collective thoughts. Salinger wrote Catcher in The Rye in 1951, far before any of you, and in some cases your parents were born, yet many of you find the character realistic and believable.

Finally, write, you knew you’d have to write, a 250 or more word discussion about why you think this character has endured and become part of who we are. What about the character makes him so important to our culture? Write it in Word then paste it in to the blog.

-bon chance

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Talismans

April 21, 2008 at 4:20 am · Filed under English

J D Salinger’s Holden Caulfield carries an object that has meaning for him, his brother Allie’s baseball mitt.

On this page first write about your own talisman-what it is and why it has meaning for you. Then write down the best stanza from your poem for Allie’s mitt along with a link to the entire poem.

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Holden Caulfield Link

April 15, 2008 at 8:02 am · Filed under English

The character of Holden Caulfield has become a cultural icon. Research the name and post your link on this page.

Here’s mine:

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