Introduction

Use this Real-Life Lens Plan to help students dive deep into J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and examine the novel’s themes, action, and characters through the lens of authenticity. What makes someone or something authentic or genuine? Is there value in being authentic? Is it difficult to be authentic? Are there situations in which a person can benefit from being “fake” or less authentic?

Materials

  • The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
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Introduce the Lens

To activate students’ thinking, choose one or two of the following Real-Life Links to use in an engagement activity. Have students read or watch and discuss the content. Encourage students to jot down notes, or record class notes on the board for future reference.

Pose the following Big Idea Questions to the class:

What makes someone or something authentic or genuine?  

In what areas of society does authenticity have the greatest influence? 

How can the pressures of “appearing or being perfect to fit society’s expectations” affect authenticity?

Engagement Activity

Have students write quick initial responses to the questions. Then discuss the questions, either as a class or in small groups. Prompt students to consider the relationship between authenticity and the pressures of “appearing or being perfect to fit society’s expectations.” Encourage students to compare and contrast different people in their own lives (or in the media) and whether they come across as authentic and genuine or as fake and disingenuous. Following discussion, give students time to revise their initial responses, and ask volunteers to share what they wrote with the class.

CCSS

Introduce the Driving Questions

Begin by having students write their own questions about the lesson topic. Encourage them to think about what they already know about authenticity and what they’re interested in exploring further. 

Hand out the Driving Questions Worksheet. Review the questions as a class. Students should enter initial answers to the questions before and as they read The Catcher in the Rye. They will revisit the questions and revise their answers following the lesson activities, classroom discussion, and the completion of the text. Remind students to support their responses with text evidence.

Integrate the Driving Questions into your classroom discussions. Use them to help guide students’ thinking about the Big Idea Questions. 

What experiences in Holden’s life have contributed to his perspectives on life and the world around him? Explain. 

1. What characters surround Holden’s story, and what impact do they have on Holden? 

2. Holden regularly comments on his disgust for disingenuous “phonies.” How does Holden view authenticity, and is Holden as authentic as he wants others to be? 

3. In what ways can you read the ambiguous ending of this novel? Explain. 

4. How does the novel’s setting (time period and location) impact Holden and his perspective on life? 

5. What does the title of the book mean in terms of Holden’s character and the novel’s themes? 

6. How does the novel explore mental health and its treatment in the 1940s through the character of Holden? 

7. What other themes beyond authenticity can be explored through this novel?

CCSS

Introduce the "Through the Lens" Activity

Activity: Personal Experience 

In this activity, students will explore the role of authenticity in their own lives.  

Draw a blank web on the board. Write “What makes something or someone authentic?” in the central circle. Ask students to copy the web in their notebooks, brainstorm answers to this question, and record their responses in the surrounding circles in the web. They can make as many surrounding circles as they have ideas for. 

Using their completed webs as a guide, have students brainstorm areas in current society or their personal lives that they think are impacted by authenticity. Instruct them to record their responses in their notebooks.  

Then, ask students: With whom in your lives do you feel a personal connection? How do authenticity and a lack of authenticity affect your personal lives? How might you make more real-life connections? Instruct students to record their responses to these questions in their notebooks. Ask volunteers to share their responses with the class. If you feel students are uncomfortable sharing their own experiences, invite them to discuss their ideas about a character in a movie they’ve seen or book they’ve read. 

Before moving on, explain that students will explore Holden Caulfield, the novel’s main character, in terms of his view of authenticity and its effect on his view of life, his relationships with other characters, and his reactions to events and experiences as they read The Catcher in the Rye.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Have students complete the web activity in small groups, with one student recording the group’s responses. By working in groups, students can build confidence in their ideas by hearing the ideas of others. Also, rather than having students write about a personal connection, ask students to share their personal connections aloud. Sharing aloud instead of writing allows students to share more freely without worrying about the mechanics or process of writing.

Increase difficulty

Have students use their individual responses to the activity to write an essay that explores the power of authenticity. Essays should draw connections to at least two personal experiences with authenticity and include a concluding paragraph on how powerful they think authenticity is in their personal life or in current society.  

Another option is to have students use their activity responses to participate in a whole-class informal debate that explores the question: Are there times when it is okay to not show our true selves or to be fake?

Brainstorm Language for Class Discussion

To facilitate classroom discussion, as a class, brainstorm words that connect with authenticity, such as synonyms or any concepts that might directly connect. For example, some choices might be genuine, sincere, trustworthy, transparency, or authentic. Then, brainstorm words that are antonyms of authenticity, such as phony, disingenuous, false, fake, or hypocritical. Record students’ responses on the board while students record the terms in their notebooks. Remind students to refer to and use these words as they read and discuss the novel.

Introduce the Final Project

Before moving on, introduce the final projects to the class (see below for details). Have students choose the project they will complete and encourage them to keep their project in mind as they read the text. Facilitate the formation of project groups if necessary.

Assign the Midpoint Activities

Activity 1: Holden’s Cast of Characters

There are numerous characters that Holden mentions in his storytelling who have had an influence on his perspective on life. Instruct students to keep a character log in their notebooks as they read. 

In this log, students will:

  • List the name of each character that Holden introduces and describes. 

  • Briefly describe how Holden knows or where he met the character. 

  • Answer the questions: How does Holden judge this character’s authenticity? Does Holden think this character is genuine? How is Holden influenced by his interactions with this character? 

  • Include text evidence to support their answers. 


Have students share their character logs at the midpoint of the novel by initiating a whole-class discussion on characters’ influence and authenticity in Holden’s life.  

Instruct students to continue working on this character log as they read the rest of the novel. After the conclusion of the novel, you can initiate another whole-class discussion about the newly added information. 

To extend the activity, put students in small groups to prepare a short oral presentation summarizing their ideas about one of the characters from their logs.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

As students read, have them keep a character log that only addresses how Holden knows the character. Then, at the midpoint marker, have students work in pairs or small groups to answer the remaining questions for the character log as listed above.

Increase difficulty

Have students find text evidence and direct character quotes to connect to each character listed in their logs. Then, after the whole-class discussion, have students choose one character from their log and write a short essay that responds to this prompt: Which character has the greatest impact on Holden’s view of authenticity? Explain using text examples and at least one direct character quote.

Activity 2: Discuss Holden’s Authenticity

While Holden judges the authenticity of the people around him, he often struggles to show authenticity in return. Invite students to track Holden’s authenticity in three experiences or interactions described in the first half of the novel. Pass out the Holden’s Authenticity Worksheet to guide students.  

In this worksheet, students should make note of three experiences or interactions in the first half of the novel in which Holden demonstrates his authenticity or lack of authenticity. Students should provide page number references and keep descriptions simple. 

For each experience or interaction, students should respond to the following questions:  

  • Does Holden show authenticity or a lack of authenticity in his interactions with other characters? 

  • Does Holden show authenticity to the reader? 

  • How does this experience affect Holden’s self-confidence or perspective on life? 


Then, have students use their completed worksheets to guide discussion (orally or in essay form) about Holden Caulfield’s authenticity as a character in one of the three listed experiences or interactions. 

You can have students return to this activity after finishing the novel to continue the discussion and further examine Holden’s authenticity.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

As students read the text, have them complete column one, making note of three experiences or interactions in which Holden’s authenticity or lack of authenticity is visible, making sure they record page numbers for easier future reference. At the midpoint, have students work in pairs or small groups to complete the remaining three columns in the chart. To wrap up the activity, have students discuss (orally or in essay form) Holden’s authenticity in the novel, focusing on one experience or interaction from their guides.

Increase difficulty

In addition to text evidence, have students find direct character quote evidence to connect to each experience or interaction listed in their guide. After the whole-class discussion, have students choose one experience or interaction to discuss Holden’s authenticity in essay form, using their text and direct quote evidence to support their ideas.

Final Projects

Students will work on their final projects after they have finished reading the complete text of The Catcher in the Rye. Project 1 requires students to work in small groups followed by an individual writing response. Project 2 calls for students to work in pairs or small groups followed by an individual writing response.

Final Project 1: Making Theme Connections

Students will make connections between the theme of authenticity and other themes in the novel (such as youth versus adulthood, the individual versus society, religion, and/or alienation/loneliness). Students will discuss these connections through a scaffolding rotating group activity. 

Post large sheets of blank paper around the classroom, each one representing a different theme in the novel. Themes can be chosen by whole-class discussion or teacher-selected. Write the chosen theme on each paper. 

Then, in small groups, have students rotate around the room and add text examples that connect each paper’s theme to the theme of authenticity, briefly explaining their answers on the paper, too. This rotation should continue until students have finished sharing their ideas on each theme connection. See below for an example of how students might respond. 

The theme of the individual versus society connects to the theme of authenticity when Holden goes against the social expectations of trying to do well in school because he finds school expectations and those who follow them to be fake and phony.  

Supporting character quote: “A million reasons why. It was one of the worst schools I ever went to. It was full of phonies. And mean guys.[”] 

Then, have students rotate to each paper theme one more time, reading the ideas of other groups and recording notes in their notebooks. 

Finally, have students choose one theme discussed in the activity to write about, using the papers around the classroom and notes in their notebooks to guide their writing. Students’ essays should answer the question: What other theme in the novel The Catcher in the Rye connects to the theme of authenticity? Explain your response using text evidence.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Instead of having students review the completed papers and record notes in their notebooks, have a whole-class discussion during which students share their understandings from the paper responses.  

For the final writing activity, guide students step-by-step through the writing process: a graphic organizer and/or outline, rough draft, revision, and final draft. Schedule class time in which students can write, get teacher and peer feedback, and revise their work. Use daily or regular check-ins to evaluate and guide student progress. If possible, help students publish their finished essays on the class or school website to showcase their hard work.

Increase difficulty

Have students write about more than one theme connection to the theme of authenticity in their essay.

Final Project 2: Holden’s Social Media

Students will work in pairs or small groups to create a social media account for Holden Caulfield. Ideally, this should be accomplished digitally, using a digital art program or other appropriate software. However, if technology or social media access are a concern, students could complete this project in a more traditional poster or document format following similar guidelines, for example, drawing what the account would look like on a large poster board, including images and/or drawings to represent Holden’s photos.  

Holden’s social media account should: 

  • identify important people in Holden’s life 

  • share important events and experiences in Holden’s life 

  • contain Holden’s philosophies and opinions 

  • creatively connect with Holden’s character in the novel 


Have each group present their account to the class. Be sure to give time for students to ask questions of the presenters. 

To finish the project, have students write individual responses to the following questions:  

  • How do you think Holden would be impacted by social media if his character lived in our current society?  

  • Would Holden like social media? Why or why not?  

  • If Holden had a social media account, would he be authentic or would his account include “an ideal image”?

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

On the board, display a sample/generic social media page to provide visual, concrete guidance to students as they complete this assignment. For the final response questions, students can respond orally in pairs or a small group.

Increase difficulty

Before students write their responses, have them research the types of communication technologies that were available to Holden at the time that the novel took place in the late 1940s–early 1950s. Have students include their findings in their writings as they consider how Holden would respond to our current social media outlets.

Assess the Assignments

Use the Rubric for Student Assessment to evaluate student work on the lesson assignments. 

Distribute the Student Reflection Worksheet. Guide students through the self-assessment and reflection questions.

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