Catcher in the Rye Assessments[1] - Kenston School District

Select one of the following possible essay topics and put your thoughts and ideas into a five paragraph essay.
(Introduction, 3 body paragraphs with a main point in each which will also include a sentence from the book
that supports your main point, and a conclusion paragraph) In this essay, you may refer to yourself and your
thoughts. You still cannot use ‘you’ as it is a formal writing. Your focus areas are:
1. You must have a clear statement of thesis in the introduction.
2. You must use direct support of your thesis with specific examples from the novel.
3. You must use a minimum of three (3) direct quotes from the novel- with page numbers in
parentheses following the sentence taken from the book.
4. You must use correct quotation punctuation and commas.
5. You must use complete sentences and have no misspellings.
Possible Essay topics:
1. Holden makes up elaborate lies. What advantages and problems does this give him? How does he feel
about telling lies all of the time?
2. Holden seems to have ambiguous feelings about sex. What does he seem to want? What is he afraid of?
3. Holden swears a great deal yet is very upset by the words he sees on the walls at Phoebe’s school. Is
there a double standard? Is obscenity acceptable sometimes and not others? Are some words less
acceptable?
4. Holden wants to be a “catcher in the rye.” What does this mean? What abilities does this require? Can
Holden do this?
5. Is the novel optimistic or pessimistic?
6. Holden and religion.
7. Holden and clothing.
8. Holden fails many of his classes, but he passes English and reads a lot of books. Meaning?
9. Could this novel be made into a good movie? Explain.
10. Choose one of the symbols Holden discusses in the book and explain its role. (i.e. the ducks, Allie’s
baseball mitt, his hat).
11. Or one of your own choosing, which should be approved ahead of time.