The Catcher in the Rye Essay Assignment
Due Dates:
October 18 - Outline
October 20 - Rough Draft
October 22 - Peer Edits
October 25 - Final Draft Due
You will write a literary response essay for The Catcher in the Rye. Your essay should be an analysis of the text, supported by examples. Not a summary of the book. Your essay should fully address the topic and make points about the novel that respond to the question.
Choose one of the following topics for your essay:
The format of your essay:
The organization of your essay should include:
You will be graded on the following:
Ideas
Organization
Mechanics
October 18 - Outline
October 20 - Rough Draft
October 22 - Peer Edits
October 25 - Final Draft Due
You will write a literary response essay for The Catcher in the Rye. Your essay should be an analysis of the text, supported by examples. Not a summary of the book. Your essay should fully address the topic and make points about the novel that respond to the question.
Choose one of the following topics for your essay:
- “Wherever Holden turns, his craving for truth seems to be frustrated by the phoniness of the world.” Analyze Holden’s use of the word “phony.” What does the word mean in the context of the book, and does Holden offer any alternative to phoniness? Is Holden himself guilty of being a phony?
- Holden has been said to be "poised between two worlds, one he cannot return to and one he fears to enter.” Explain how Holden is stuck between childhood and adulthood? How does his attitude toward adults compare to how he thinks about children? In what ways is he still a child? Why is afraid of being an adult? What are the consequences of his struggle?
- Holden tells us the story of The Catcher in the Rye from a hospital. Through the story, Holden seems to be heading for a mental breakdown. What symptoms does Holden exhibit that he is depressed or psychologically unstable? What are the causes of his breakdown?
The format of your essay:
- Your Name/Class (20th Century American Literature) in the top, right hand corner
- Margins: 1"
- Font: 12-point, Times New Roman
- Double-Spaced
- Pages: At least 2, no more than 3
The organization of your essay should include:
- A title
- An introduction, thesis statement, body, and conclusion.
- Body paragraphs with topic sentences, examples from the text, and an explanation of the example
You will be graded on the following:
Ideas
- Do you clearly state the main idea of your essay (thesis)?
- Do you make points and support them with evidence from the text?
Organization
- Is your essay clearly organized, using an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Mechanics
- Do you use proper English, spelling, and grammar?
Group Presentations - The Catcher in the Rye
You may use the work of your classmates in your essay. You may not use any other websites.
Use Son of Citation Machine to help you properly cite the presentation.
Use Son of Citation Machine to help you properly cite the presentation.
Flavia Wang, Phoebe Liu, Jayden Mata, Kathy Chen
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Linda Ling, Joshua Mata, David Shen, Tracy Liu
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Sherry Zheng, Hasil Zhou, Jeff Dong, Kyd Tian
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Alyssa Walker, Garith Yang, Lisa Tao, Vicky Deng
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Essay OutlineDue Date: 10/18
The outline of your essay should include: 1. The thesis of your essay (What you are going to say) 2. Main points of your essay a. The main point of each paragraph (Topic Sentences) b. Supporting details from the book c An explanation of how it relates (concluding sentence) |
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Rough DraftDue Date: 10/20
The Rough Draft of your essay should be complete and edited by you before you submit. Ensure that your essay has all the requirements from above and that you have checked it for spelling and grammar mistakes. |
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Final DraftDue Date: 10/25
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