Understanding The Catcher in the Rye: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents (The Greenwood Press "Literature in Context" Series) - Hardcover

Pinsker, Sanford; Pinsker, Ann

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0313302006 ISBN 13: 9780313302008

Publisher: Greenwood, 1999

Synopsis

This rich source of social, cultural, and historical documents and commentary will illuminate the reading of The Catcher in the Rye, a novel that has become an important rite of passage for many young adults. In addition to a literary analysis, this casebook acquaints students with the larger world in which Holden Caulfield moves: Hollywood films, Broadway plays, and jazz musicians. It also presents a detailed account of the censorship challenges to the novel, and provides primary documents on child development and psychology that illuminate Holden's contradictory behavior.

Each chapter contains a wide variety of primary source material, from reviews of the novel at the time of its publication and excerpts from censorship arguments to materials on the culture of the 1950s, to interviews with a number of prep school students of the 1950s and selections from a 1950 prep school catalog. Primary documents are paired with explanatory introductions. Each chapter concludes with topic ideas for written and oral discussion based on the materials presented in the chapter. This casebook is ideal for student research and for interdisciplinary teaching of the novel.

About this title

About the Author

SANFORD PINSKER is Shadek Professor of Humanities at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He is the author of many books on American literature and culture.

ANN PINSKER teaches in the Social Studies Department of J. P. McCaskey High School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She is coordinator of McCaskey's International Baccalaureate Program.

Reviews

Grade 7 Up-The premise of this book (and the series) is that literature is best studied in its historical context. The approach here is interdisciplinary and offers more than just a literary criticism. The authors include excerpts from interviews, newspaper articles, Supreme Court cases, sociological studies, etc. In addition to the insight provided, these records lend a certain authenticity to the discussions. Each of the six chapters takes on a different issue about the novel. "Literary Analysis" gives an overview of its themes, characters, and literary techniques. "Censorship of The Catcher in the Rye" tackles the many controversies since the book's publication in 1951. "America's Postwar Culture" discusses conformity and materialism that mark the time period and how they relate to the book's protagonist. "Holden Caulfield on the Analyst's Couch" discusses adolescence, both then and now. Each chapter concludes with study questions, topics for written or oral exploration, and suggested readings. The comparisons to other authors and works are useful and interesting. Students will find this book helpful in understanding the novel, and teachers will be able to use the questions and topics as springboards to further discussion and research.
Linda Wadleigh, Oconee County Middle School, Watkinsville, GA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Greenwood
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0313302006
• ISBN 13: 9780313302008
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 200