Catcher in the Rye

1. Catcher in the Rye Literary Analysis- Focus on Style Holden and many of the other characters speak in the vernacular- that is, the everyday language spoken by Americans is mid-twentieth century.

2. The term “vernacular,” however, can be broken down into smaller categories, such as: Slang- language considered below standard English, or the language of a particular class. Example: “my lousy childhood” “you got any dough, Pheobe?”

3. Vulgarism- language which shows poor taste or little formal education; a coarse or crude expression. Example: “touchy as hell” “you can’t just stop on a goddamn dime”

4. Hyperbole Language which is obviously exaggerated for dramatic effect. “my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece” “I thought I was going to choke to death”

5. Quick Assessment: Translate one paragraph of Holden’s vernacular into academic English or modern teenage vernacular. Example: “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”

6. Acacademic English translation “If you really want to know about my life, the first thing you’ll want to know is where I was born, all about my traumatic childhood, and what my parents jobs and lives were like before they had me, and all of that type of biographical information you might hear about like in the beginning of the novel David Copperfield, however, I don’t really feel like talking about it, if you want me to be honest.”

7. Pick one paragraph from Ch. 15-16 to re-write in academic English or modern teenage vernacular.

8. p. 171 “The funny part is, I hardly even know James Castle, if you want to know the truth..”