Catcher in the Rye
ENG 3U1 – The Catcher in the Rye Essay Outline Assignment
Task: Pick one of the essay prompts below. Your answer to the prompt will be the thesis of your essay. Thoughtfully and carefully craft an essay outline to develop and defend your thesis. Be concise and to the point, this is only an outline!
You may consult your agenda, previous notes and our class for essay writing tips. Be sure to use text-based evidence to support your thesis.
Essay Prompts
Throughout the novel, Holden is a tormented adolescent. He feels alienated and isolated at Pencey Prep, he is belittled and dismissed by women he wants to impress, he is beaten up twice, he dreams of escape from the world he lives in and he even considers suicide. Yet, despite these hardships, the novel maintains a humourous tone. Why did Salinger choose humour as the tone for his novel? How does humour contribute to the novel’s larger meaning and effect? Consider how the novel’s meaning would be different if Salinger did not use so much humour.
Discuss the meaning or impact of the title of the book as a central, controlling theme in the novel. How does Holden’s wish to be “the catcher in the rye” help readers understand both his character and the nature of his deep troubles and concerns about life? Be sure to address the significance of Holden’s misreading of the Robert Burns’ poem.
Critic Maxwell Geismar writes, “The Catcher in the Rye protests, to be sure, against both the academic and social conformity of its period. But what does it argue for?” Write an essay to explain what the book argues for. What might Salinger have been trying to communicate to his readers through his novel, and how does he do so?
Holden, like each of us, faces living in a world he did not create. While he may reject much of the dominant culture, he is also clearly affected by it. What faults of the larger society does Holden exhibit? How does Salinger reveal these faults to the reader?
DUE: December 6th-9th
Template Exemplar
Task: Pick one of the essay prompts below. Your answer to the prompt will be the thesis of your essay. Thoughtfully and carefully craft an essay outline to develop and defend your thesis. Be concise and to the point, this is only an outline!
You may consult your agenda, previous notes and our class for essay writing tips. Be sure to use text-based evidence to support your thesis.
Essay Prompts
Throughout the novel, Holden is a tormented adolescent. He feels alienated and isolated at Pencey Prep, he is belittled and dismissed by women he wants to impress, he is beaten up twice, he dreams of escape from the world he lives in and he even considers suicide. Yet, despite these hardships, the novel maintains a humourous tone. Why did Salinger choose humour as the tone for his novel? How does humour contribute to the novel’s larger meaning and effect? Consider how the novel’s meaning would be different if Salinger did not use so much humour.
Discuss the meaning or impact of the title of the book as a central, controlling theme in the novel. How does Holden’s wish to be “the catcher in the rye” help readers understand both his character and the nature of his deep troubles and concerns about life? Be sure to address the significance of Holden’s misreading of the Robert Burns’ poem.
Critic Maxwell Geismar writes, “The Catcher in the Rye protests, to be sure, against both the academic and social conformity of its period. But what does it argue for?” Write an essay to explain what the book argues for. What might Salinger have been trying to communicate to his readers through his novel, and how does he do so?
Holden, like each of us, faces living in a world he did not create. While he may reject much of the dominant culture, he is also clearly affected by it. What faults of the larger society does Holden exhibit? How does Salinger reveal these faults to the reader?
DUE: December 6th-9th
Template Exemplar