The Catcher in the Rye Lesson Plan

Women in I[Catcher]

Kind of Activity:

Classwide Discussion

Objective:

To explore how women are represented in the novel.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3 ; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6

Structure:

Ask students to think about how women are represented in the novel so far. The boys at Pencey talk a lot about women and sex--bragging about conquests, wondering who is or isn't a virgin, etc. Holden worries about Jane and want to protect her but simultaneously desires her. Stradlater pressures girls into having sex, and Holden seems caught between disapproval and admiration. Holden readily admits that he doesn't understand sex or women, but he is fascinated...