Context The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye: Context
Context
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Slide 1: Slide
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This lesson contains 12 slides, with interactive quizzes, text slides and 1 video.

Items in this lesson

The Catcher in the Rye: Context
Context

Slide 1 - Slide

the 50s in the U.S.
What comes to mind?

Slide 2 - Mind map

Context
When reading literary works, keep in mind that authors are often influenced by the context in which they live and write.

The Catcher in the Rye was published in 1951.
Watch the clip about America in the 50s and answer the questions.

Slide 3 - Slide

3

Slide 4 - Video

01:49
Explain how life was different in the 50s.

Slide 5 - Open question

02:40
"As a nation they had been through some very rough times." Explain.

Slide 6 - Open question

03:45
Name one household appliance that changed people's lives at the time.

Slide 7 - Open question

Banned
The Catcher in the Rye was banned in parts of the US (1960s-1980s).

One library banned it for violating codes on “excess vulgar language, sexual scenes, things concerning moral issues, excessive violence [...]” (entertainment.time.com)

2010 - Florida - Challenged but retained in the Martin School District after a parent's complaint for language.

Slide 8 - Slide

When asked about the bans, Salinger once said, “Some of my best friends are children. In fact, all my best friends are children. It’s almost unbearable for me to realize that my book will be kept on a shelf out of their reach.”
The book introduced slang expressions like the term screw up (as in, “Boy, it really screws up my sex life something awful”). Literary critics have both hailed and assailed the novel, which broke the mold with its focus on character development rather than plot. Holden Caulfield, the novel’s protagonist, has since become a symbol of adolescent angst. In 1980, 25-year-old Mark David Chapman shot Beatles legend John Lennon in front of his Manhattan home and later gave the book to police as an explanation for why he had done it.
Source: https://entertainment.time.com/2011/01/06/removing-the-n-word-from-huck-finn-top-10-censored-books/slide/the-catcher-in-the-rye-2/

Slide 9 - Slide

Teenage Rebellion
• The Catcher in the Rye: early representation of teenage rebellion
• In 1954, James Dean played a rebellious teenager in the film ‘Rebel Without A Cause’ – iconic figure in 1950s
• The generation gap in the US was growing
• Holden’s struggle with authority reflects a conflict in America
• Holden represents a disillusioned teenager who is expected and pushed to live according to certain norms and rules, but feels disconnected from society and alienated from people.


Slide 10 - Slide

Slide 11 - Slide

Summary
• Setting:1950s America
• Post World War II
• America: economic growth - period of considerable wealth and prosperity
• Clear sense of family values and social responsibility
• Young people had to conform to social rules
• America had become the first major ‘consumer society’
• Holden is from a wealthy family (upper-middle class) – high expectations

Slide 12 - Slide