journal what does it mean to be teenager in today’s society? how do you think this may differ from...
TRANSCRIPT
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Journal
• What does it mean to be teenager in today’s society?
• How do you think this may differ from teens in the past?–Think about what you can do now as a teen as compared to your parents or grandparents.
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Teens in the 1950’s• Our main character, Holden Caulfield, in
Catcher in the Rye is 16 years old. He is a teen in the 1950’s.
• What do you think his life might be like? Do you know anything about life in the 1950’s?
• Watch the video: • What are some specific things you noticed
about the 1950’s?• How does the teen in this movie compare
to your life as a teen?
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J.D. Salinger• What was the most interesting or surprising thing you read?
• TWO questions you have for him
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Catcher in the Rye
& the 1950s
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The Catcher in the RyeBringing you America’s most popular
loner teenager since 1951
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The Catcher in the Rye
• Author: J.D. Salinger• Publication date: 1951, although Salinger was
working on the novel for the last half of the 1940s, after he returned from his service in World War II.
• Alienation is a major theme in this work, and most of Salinger’s other pieces.
• Alienation also seemed to be a theme in his own life.• HOW???
What does the cover of the book make you think about??
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Postmodernism/Contemporary• 1946-Present
– What event might have led to a change in our literature?
• Heavy reliance on techniques like fragmentation, paradox, questionable narrators, stream of consciousness writing (lots of writing to explore inner thoughts and inner consciousness), intertextuality (a story within a story)
• New styles: found poems, concrete poems, confessional and performance poetry
• New subjects being explored:– Media influences– Popular culture– Culture and gender and how it shapes the individual– People learning to cope with problems through communication
• Notable postmodern texts/authors– Catch-22 by Joseph Heller– Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut– Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson– Dave Eggers' "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius“– Anything by Willaim Faulkner
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Catcher and Connections to Past Literary Movements
• Realism: use of real teen language, its use of social criticism where it is due, and its presentation of real problems which adolescents face in the process of achieving
• Romanticism: its view of the innocence of childhood, its quest for truth, idealizing the past, and its emphasis on individual discovery and growth.
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Genre• Bildungsroman Novel: (basically a German word that
means generally the same thing as a “coming of age” novel, but has a few more specifics included.)– The story of a single individual's growth and development
within the context of a defined social order.– The growth process, at its roots is a quest story, and has
been described as both "an apprenticeship to life" and a "search for meaningful existence within society.“
– Normally about the early years of somebody's life, exploring the development of his or her character and personality
• While reading look for examples of this in Catcher. We will come back to this idea later on!
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Catcher in the Rye: #1 Banned Book in America• Between 1961 and 1982, The Catcher in the Rye was the most
censored book in high schools and libraries in the United States.
• In 1981, it was both the most censored book and the second most taught book in public schools in the United States.
• Banned because of: vulgar language, sexual references, blasphemy, undermining of family values and moral codes, Holden’s being a poor role model, encouragement of rebellion, and promotion of drinking, smoking, lying, and promiscuity.
• Mark David Chapman, who assassinated John Lennon, was carrying the book when he was arrested.
• John Hinckley, Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was also reported to have been obsessed with the book.
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1950’s: The classic American family
Family roles were fairly traditional in Salinger’s day:•Dad was the sole provider and the head of the household•Mom was most often a homemaker – cooking, cleaning and taking care of her husband and kids•After WW II some women started to work more.
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Money• After World War II ended (1945) the victorious
war effort left the U.S. much more financially stable…people had money again! Woohoo!– And what do people do when they have money?
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Spend it!
• In the late 1940s/early 50s, there were two consumer products that helped to create our modern concept of the teenager:– The television– The automobile
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Hmmmm…
• So, how would an increase in TV and car purchases change American families?
• And more specifically, how would these purchases impact teenagers?– (insert brainstorm here)
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TVs/Hollywood
• Advertising split Americans into demographics (men, women, old, young, teen, etc.)
• “Family time” changed• Different shows appealed to different ages• Attractive people – the pin-ups
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CarsMore accessible + more affordableDetract from familySense of freedomImages of “cool”Emergence of fast foodPossibilities for drinking + sex Same as today???
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The new teenager
• So all in all, the 1950s saw the birth of “the modern teenagers,” as we think of them
• Holden Caulfield, the narrator of The Catcher in the Rye, is arguably the first modern teenager of literature.
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Essential questions as we read Catcher:a. Is Holden mentally disturbed? Or just a
typical teen?b. Similarities/differences between Holden’s issues
and the issues of today’s teens?c. How can alienation affect a person's identity?d. Is it inevitable (unavoidable) that we conform to
the world and society around us?e. What happens when a person does not accept
and does not play by the rules of the dominant culture?
f. What does it mean to stay true to yourself?