100pt essay

Students will spend the week working on the following assignment: For this assignment you will have the option of expanding the Allie’s Mitt/Broken Windows assignment that you have already submitted. Regardless of which essay you choose, the requirements are the same. Your paper needs to be two full pages, typed, and double-spaced. It must narrate a story and be loaded with description, details, and imagery. Your grade will be based mainly on these elements. Also, you need to edit very carefully. Don’t forget to ask yourself, “So what’s the point?” If your topic does not show something about you, then it does not have a point, and your audience will lose interest.

Catcher HW

The students have to complete the following by next Friday: Chapters 8 and 9 1) What does Holden mean by his remark that “Mothers are all slightly insane” (55)? How does this comment apply specifically to Ernest Morrow and his mother? 2) Why doesn’t Holden call anyone from the phone booth immediately after he gets off the train in New York? 3) What is the significance of the question Holden asks the taxi driver about the ducks? Why does Holden want to know? 4) What is ironic about Holden’s concern with his appearance when he enters the Edmont? Chapter 10 5) List at least two details provided by Holden when he’s describing his sister Phoebe. 6) What is the name of the main character in the books Phoebe writes? 7) Compare Phoebe with both Holden and Allie. How is she similar to and/or different from her brothers, according to Holden’s description of her? 8) In your own words, summarize Holden’s description of what it is like to dance with a really good dance partner. 9) Why is Holden sorry for having kidded “Old Marty”? 10) Why do you think Holden is so depressed by the fact that the three girls in the bar are going to see the first (Christmas) show at Radio City Music Hall the following morning? Chapter 11 11) List at least two details shared by Holden that show how well he knows Jane Gallagher. 12) Holden mentions that he refused an offer to appear in a movie short. Why was he asked, and why did he refuse? 13) How did Holden feel when he used to hold hands with Jane? Compare this feeling with Holden’s current state of mind. 14) What trait or quality about Ernie does Holden criticize? Chapter 12 15) Why is Holden depressed by hearing the women “laughing like hyenas” on the street (81)? 16) What does Holden ask Horwitz, and how does Horwitz react? 17) What is the symbolic meaning of the fish frozen under the pond? 18) Compare Holden’s reaction to Ernie’s playing with that of the rest of the crowd. 19) How does Lillian react to the news that D.B. is now living in Hollywood, and how does Holden feel about this reaction? 20) Why does Holden feel sorry for Lillian? Chapters 13 and 14 21) What does Holden mean when he describes himself as “partly yellow” (89)? What kinds of things does Holden tell us he fears? Based on the chapters we’ve read so far, do you think Holden is at all “yellow”? Why or why not? Refer to his specific actions in the text. 22) What is ironic about the name of the prostitute? 23) What makes the prostitute seem “spooky” (98) to Holden? 24) At the beginning of Chapter 14, what emotion or emotions lead Holden to talk to Allie? What does this one-sided conversation show us about the relationship between Allie and Holden? 25) What is Holden’s attitude toward Christianity? How do his views differ from those of his old schoolmate, Arthur Childs? Chapter 15 26) What indication that Sally is a phony do we see in this chapter? 27) How are Holden and his mother similar in their reactions to Allie’s death? 28) Why did Holden’s suitcases become an issue between him and his old roommate Slagle? What statement about wealth and/or social class is Holden making by telling this story? 29) With which character in Romeo and Juliet does Holden identify? What reason(s) does he give for liking and relating to this character? 30) Why does Holden compare people asking him if he is Catholic with “those suitcases” (113)? What parallel is he drawing? Chapter 16 31) According to Holden, how are the nuns’ charitable works different than those of his aunt or Sally’s mother? What attitudes is Holden expressing in comparing them? 32) Why does seeing the little boy walking with his family cheer Holden up? 33) Why is Holden depressed by the long lines of moviegoers? Why is he so critical of actors? 34) Why does it make Holden so happy that the girl he helps with her skate thanks him nicely and politely? 35) Based on his description of the Natural History Museum he often visited as a child, how do you think Holden feels about change? Chapter 17 36) Why is Holden sad when he watches the girls home for vacation? 37) How does the way Sally talks shed light on her personality? 38) What is similar about the performances by the Lunts and Ernie’s piano playing? 39) Why does Holden “sort of [hate] old Sally” (128) by the end of the show? 40) What does Holden’s “nervous habit” (130) of burning matches show about his personality and/or state of mind? 41) Why does Holden prefer horses to cars? Why does it upset him that other people are so attached to their cars? 42) Holden and Sally don’t communicate very effectively on their date. Describe at least one example of a misunderstanding or a lack of mutual understanding between them. 43) Why does Holden feel that now is the time to travel, not later? 44) How did you react to Holden’s finally telling Sally how he really feels about her? Did it surprise you, either pleasantly or unpleasantly? Chapter 18 45) What frustrates Holden about girls and the guys they date? 46) Where does Holden go to pass the time before meeting Carl Luce for a drink? Why is it surprising that he goes there? 47) According to Holden, what about the show would Jesus hate, and why? 48) What is ironic about the behavior of the woman who sits next to Holden during the film? Is her behavior unusual or similar to that of other characters described by Holden? 49) Describe Holden’s and his brother D.B.’s attitudes toward war and the military.

Catcher

Students completed the following assignment in class today: Chapter 6 1) How does Stradlater react to the composition Holden has written for him? 2) Why is Holden so “nervous” when he asks Stradlater about the date with Jane? Why do they fight? 3) Stradlater is upset that Holden breaks the school rules by smoking in their room, but he has also broken a rule by borrowing Ed Banky’s car. Why doesn’t Stradlater seem to feel regret for having broken a rule himself? Chapter 7 4) Why does Holden wake up Ackley? 5) What is ironic about Ackley’s comment just before Holden walks out of his room? 6) Why does Holden feel sad when he thinks about the gift his mother gave him? 7) Describe Holden’s emotional state when he is about to leave Pencey. Refer to specific details from the text that reflect this emotional state.

Catcher

Students completed the following assignment on Monday: Choose 1 of the following tasks to complete after reading chapter 5 of The Catcher in the Rye: 1. Allie’s Mitt Write a detailed description of an item that has sentimental value to you. You must use at least 3 different senses in your examples of imagery. 2. Broken Windows Write a first person narrative about a time in which you reacted to something emotionally. This should be a strong emotion. You must use at least 3 different senses in your examples of imagery.

Chapter 3

Students read chapter 3 and began responding to the following which is due tomorrow: What are all of the characteristics of Ackley that bother Holden? Write a descriptive paragraph about an “Ackley” you know. You may NOT use any real names. You MUST narrate the paragraph and use multiple examples of imagery and dialogue to aid in presenting your annoyance of this person.

Imagery

Today students wrote descriptive paragraphs on a topic that they chose last week.