Starting Conversations...

Each weekend, I will check your blogs for two things: your entries and your response/conversations with other students in the class.

You must have two entries per week (some will be response to prompts given by me, some will be open), as well as two responses to others. This weekend I will grade for Week 1.
I will also be commenting on your blogs, hoping to start a conversation with not only you, but other people in the class. I encourage you to respond to responses, write entire entries about someone else's blog, or find other material/connections that might be interesting for other people to read and share. Think of your blogs as Socratic Seminars done outside of class; therefore, your responses should not be 'one and done.'

First Impressions???

For your second blog entry, I want you to think about your first impressions of Holden Caulfield. Think about times during your reading when something struck a cord with you. Did you connect to him at any point? Were you annoyed with him? Can you analyze what type of person he is at this point in the book?

Remember, Holden Caulfield is a creation. He is not real. JD Salinger meant to make a statement when he developed this influential character. Analyze the character development and examine the larger statement Salinger is attempting to make through the confused eyes of Holden.

Blog URL's

Here are the blog urls. Go to your 'dashboard,' or your 'home base,' and go to 'MANAGE.' Click the 'ADD' button and copy and paste each URL. This will give you a listing on your 'Dashboard' so you can navigate from one blog to the next.

Remember...your first blog entry is due tomorrow.

Tanner - http://tannerawesome.blogspot.com
Emmett - http://emmettintroblog.blogspot.com
Eddie - http://introtocollegelit.blogspot.com
Spencer - http://swaggercatcher.blogspot.com
Ridwana - http://ridzaman.blogspot.com
Cara - http://harringtoncatcher.blogspot.com
Haley - http://haley-catcher-rye.blogspot.com
Dominique - http://nique4.blogspot.com
Jalen - http://jalencatcher.blogspot.com
Ta'mone - http://taywill33.blogspot.com
Rhyanne - http://rhyanne-lovesfood.blogspot.com
Kyra - http://kdaniellesmith.blogspot.com
Rameses - http://rsmith.blogspot.com
Mrs. J - http://catcherjorgensen.blogspot.com

Pre-Reading for 'Catcher in the Rye'

Before we begin the book, I want to bring to the surface some big questions explored not only in the book, but as we concluded 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest' as well.

With the pre-reading discussion questions you received today, I want you to choose one to elaborate on for your first blog entry. Continue to express your answer to the question, as well as connect with personal/societal examples, other material from class, etc. This will be your first blog entry for the week; therefore, you must also respond to your classmate's writing as well! Start up a conversation, initiate an argument, and begin to set the tone for reading Catcher in the Rye.

Here are the pre-reading questions again in case you left your handout at school:
1. What does it mean to be alienated or separated from others? Describe a time when you or someone you know has been alienated. Why did this occur? What did the person do?

2. What is the difference between adulthood and childhood? When do you move from one to the other? Are you looking forward to becoming an adult? Why or why not?

3. Explain two struggles you or others face as you/they move from childhood to adulthood.

4. Why do teenagers feel the need to rebel against the rules or against other people?

5. How do we as citizens of America and/or individuals deal with others who do not share our perspective of truth?

6. Is life a game? If so, what are the rules? What happens if one does not play by the rules?

Blogging about Catcher in the Rye

For the next four weeks, we will be reading, discussing, and writing about one of the most 'talked about' books in history. You will be applying the five critical literary theories to your reading, as well as connecting the book and character of Holden Caulfield to other texts and characters we've read throughout the semester (especially R.P. MacMurphy). In addition to these weekly assignments, you will be responding to the book informally through blogging. This blog should serve as your 'home base.' On it, you will find discussion questions, directions of assignments, and prompts for your writing.

Above all, this blog should be a place for your conversation about Catcher to extend outside of the classroom. I want you to incorporate your interests in your blog and not feel confined to writing in a certain format or according to a specific thesis. Praise, vent, connect, and create...as long as you are getting involved with the themes and characters of the book, there are no boundaries in what you write on this blog.