ACROSS THE POND: LITERATURE OF TWO GREAT CITIES
Mr. McCulloch
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
ISBN-10: 7543321726
ISBN-13: 978-0316769488
In his article “Holden’s New York,” commemorating The Catcher in the Rye’s 50th anniversary, Thomas Beller made the following observation in July of 2001: “Rereading the book, I was struck by what an integral role Manhattan itself plays in the narrative. It's not just that the city is the stage for much of the book's action, or that Holden drifts through a fair number of the city's famous attractions. It's that Holden's relationship to the city (love-hate, as it is for all of us) is such an integral part of who he is. He is not just in Manhattan, he is of it....”
Today, more than seventy years have passed since The Catcher in the Rye was first published in 1951, and Holden’s Manhattan of the 1940s and early 1950s is, of course, not the Manhattan of the present. Still, as anyone who has read the novel will attest to, New York is an undeniable, ever present character, shaping both Holden and the events in the story.
As you navigate the novel this summer, allow yourself to get swept up in the story; however, when you come to a passage that feels significant, annotate the text and reflect in writing in one of two ways:
1. How might the setting be influencing Holden or the events in the story?
2. How has a setting or place (it does not have to be a city) shaped or influenced you or the events in your life?
Your annotations and written reflections will assist you in September with your first writing assignment about the role of setting in the novel and your own life.
Happy Summer,
Mr. McCulloch