Katie Newray

April 26, 2006

Dr. Warner

English 112B

Family Relationships and What They Teach Us

In today�s society, student�s family relationships are fraught upsets and disappointments. Teenagers are going through many physical and emotional changes, often straining the relationships they have with parents and siblings. Students often find it hard to connect with stories, plays, and novels which don�t hold some truth to their real lives.

Teenagers are faced with life-changing choices and the consequences almost every day. The middle school and high school years are the most difficult for teens because they are neither children nor adults. Their bodies are rapidly changing, and they face tremendous emotional swings as well. Many teens are seeking answers to tough questions such as

how they feel about themselves and what they�ll do with their lives (Family Times, 2004).

English teachers have the ability to use great works of literature to help students deal with issues in their lives. It is my suggestion that a curriculum is built around the issues of disappointments and failures within the family. The curriculum�s goals would be to look at novels in a different light from their normal perspective and to help students realize that is not just them that are having problems. This curriculum would help them to see that they aren�t the only ones who feel that they have disappointed or felt betrayed by their families in some way.

This unit curriculum which I am proposing would blend several aspects of the realistic fiction genre with other English and literature components. My proposal is to use J.D. Salinger�s The Catcher in the Rye in a non-traditional way. When The Catcher in the Rye is normally taught, lessons and unites often focus on themes of censorship and depression. Teachers focus on the style of Salinger and the realistic ness of the novel. While these are all essential to teaching The Catcher in the Rye, I believe the key theme of family relationships is too often overlooked.

The Catcher in the Rye is the story of a young boy on a journey home. Holden Caulfield has just been kicked out of prep school and must face what waits for him at home. However, instead of heading straight home, Holden has several adventures and mishaps. The Catcher in the Rye has no secondary characters. Every character plays an important and essential role in Holden life. Among these characters are Holden�s two brothers and younger sister. Throughout the novel, Holden mentions his brother, D.B., who is in Hollywood �being a prostitute� (Salinger, 18), Allie, a younger brother who died of leukemia, and Phoebe, his younger sister. Holden�s reactions and feelings towards his family and the (little) interaction that they have creates a theme which students should readily identify with. This theme: family relationships, disappointment, and betrayal. A good example of this comes when Holden finally meets Phoebe at her school:

�How come you�re not home Wednesday?� she asked me. �You didn�t get kicked out or anything, did you?�

�I told you. They let us out early. They let the whole --�

�You did get kicked out! You did!� old Phoebe said. Then she hit me on the leg with her fist. She gets very fisty when she feels like it. �You did! Oh, Holden!� She had her hand on her mouth and all. She gets very emotional, I swear to God.

�Who said I got kicked out? Nobody said I --�

�You did. You did,� she said. Then she smacked me again with her fist. If you didn�t think that hurts, you�re crazy. �Daddy�ll kill you!� she said.

The relationships which build in this story show how Holden deals with his family. There are several family relationships in The Catcher in the Rye that students can relate with whether it his opinions on D.B.�s living choices, dealing with Allie�s death, or handling Phoebe�s disappointment in him. Holden�s biggest family relationship problem, however, comes from letting his younger brother, Allie, go.

�Each year thousands of teenagers experience the death of someone they love. When a parent, sibling, friend or relative dies, teens feel the overwhelming loss of someone who helped shape their fragile self-identities. And these feelings about the death become a part of their lives forever� (Wolfelt, 2005).

Launching the Unit

Before students begin reading The Catcher in the Rye, it would be beneficial to start with an introductory activity. Below are some suggestions on how and what to do.

1. Start with a discussion question or perhaps a free write/journal entry. Each of the following ideas relates to one, or more, of Holden�s family in some way. Some ideas are:

A. Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt that your family was disappointed in you? Was it because of something you had done wrong? How did it make you feel? What did you do to try to change the situation?

B. Write about a time when you lost someone close to you (a friend, family member, etc.). How did you feel when they were gone? How did you cope with the loss? What did you do to help yourself heal?

C. Has a family member ever done something that you don�t personally approve of? What was your reaction to what they had done? Why do you think they did this?

2. Have students read some of the following poems, some of which are by teens. They each deal with a specific theme in correlation to Holden�s relationships with his family members.

�Light a Candle�

A.Pell

Light a candle for those we mourn.

Into a new life they will be born.

Do not look for them at the gravesite.

They are somewhere else radiating their beautiful light.

They have gone to a new world where there is no darkness, no pain.

Their light and essence will always remain.

Light a candle for those who have left this mortal place.

They are free to travel through time and space.

When we think of them, they are near.

When we sit in a beautiful garden. Their voices we hear.

When we listen to a divine symphony,

We close our eyes, their faces we see.

Light a candle for they have not really gone.

With each flickering flame, in your hearts they will always belong.

�The Flowers of Disappointment�

Robert Augustus Masters

Lonely are the flowers of disappointment
Who picks them, loves them, cradles their scent?
Who sees their beauty, their shy petalling?
In our grief, our ordinary daily unsung grief
We break in so many tiny ways
Not seeing beneath the debris
Bits of upstart green, minute pulsing surges
Making subtle quicksand out of our too solid ground
So many buddings, emerald lips moistly aquiver
Some become flowers of hope, some flowers of disappointment
We become seduced by the flowers of hope
Drugged by nostalgia for the future
And we turn away from the flowers of disappointment
Not letting their fragrance reach far enough
Yet it is that fragrance that reminds us
Of a deeper land, where entrapping dreams must shatter
A land where What Really Matters cannot help but matter
Disappointment, unrejected, embraces me
Its touch is cool, softly crystalline, sweetly sobering
Is it what I want?
That's the wrong question.
Disappointment's gift is rooted not in questions
But in something closer to home than answers
Disappointment bleeds into the warped frames of our dreams
Interrupting our intoxication, disrobing our trance
The torn fabric is not something to repair
But to see with undreaming eyes
Eyes for which
Disappointment is not disappointing

3. Play the song �Alone I Break� by Korn from the album The Untouchables. The song has some strong power lines regarding life and dealing with hard situations. While students are listening to the song, they should write down their reactions to certain verses or words that they hear. When the song is done, allow students to share their reactions to the song with each other. Some really powerful lines in the song are: �Now I see the times they change/Leaving us, it seems so strange/I am hoping I can find/Where to leave my hurt behind.�

Starting the Reading

While the students are reading The Catcher in the Rye, it would be beneficial to have them keep a reading log. In the reading log, there are several things which students can and should keep track of. Among them are:

A. Holden�s relationship with his family versus the relationship he has with people he is not related to.

B. Holden�s reactions to Allie�s death throughout the book.

C. Reactions to how Phoebe reacts to Holden be kicked out of school

D. Holden�s views on his brother D.B. versus his views on himself.

Using these reading logs, the teacher should be able to conduct discussions with the students. Upon reading the book, teachers should also address the other conventional themes and issues which surround The Catcher in the Rye.

When the students are done reading the book, it would be beneficial to have to students look at Holden�s reactions to family along with their own reactions to certain family relationships. This can be done by having students compare their original journal entries or free writes from the launch of the unit.

Extending the Unit

After students have finished reading The Catcher in the Rye, teachers can assign different works with similar themes. Students could be required to read one of the books outside of class and complete an outside project of their choice. Some suggested projects are:

A. Compare the main character of the book of their choice to Holden. How are their family relationships similar? How are they different?

B. Writing a letter from Holden to the main character of the book of their choice. What would Holden tell the main character to do in their situation? This activity can also work in reverse.

C. Have students create a screen play for the novel. J.D. Salinger has never allowed anyone to make a movie based on his novel. If the students were given the chance, who would they cast for Holden? Phoebe? Ackley?

D. Have students create a poster with symbols for Holden and each of his family members. With each of these symbols, students should also find quotes to justify their choice of symbols.

E. J.D. Salinger has been quoted as saying:

"I'm beginning to feel that no author has the right to tear his characters apart if he doesn't know how, or feel that he knows how (poor sucker) to put them together again. I'm tired - my God, so tired - of leaving them all broken on the page with just 'The End' written underneath."

Have students write an alternative ending to The Catcher in the Rye.

Young Adult Literature Selections

Stones from the River by Ursela Hegi: This novel follows a young girl from the end of WWI through WWII in Nazi Germany. She is forced to deal with the loss of a mother, brother, father, and lover through the course of her life. This novel would be beneficial for any one who has ever suffered the loss of a family member.

The Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher: While this book does not deal with family relationships directly, it does deal with loss. Eddie Proffit is forced to deal with the death of the one true friend that he has. This novel is good to pair with The Catcher in the Rye, because just as Eddie deals with the death of his friend, Holden is forced to deal with the death of his brother Allie.

Violet and Claire by Francesca Lia Block: This short novel deals with the disappointment two friends� face. When Violet goes off to Hollywood, Claire is forced to face the world alone. Violet and Claire deal with their disappointments in themselves and each other, just as Holden deals with his disappointment in D.B., and Phoebe�s in him.

Concluding Activities

At the end of the unit, students should have a different perspective on family relationships. They should better understand Holden Caulfield�s mental state regarding his brothers and sister. This should help them to better understand not only their own family relationships, but of those around them. To conclude the unit, have students create a self-help pamphlet for Holden Caulfield. In this pamphlet, they should include poems, lyrics, stories, websites, etc. that may help Holden deal with the death of his brother Allie, his disappointment in D.B., and his sister Phoebe�s reaction to his situation.

Students are always searching for some way to connect to a novel and if they don�t find that connection soon, they choose to disassociate from the book. By attempting to teach The Catcher in the Rye from a different perspective, hopefully, it will engage students.

Work Cited

�Alone I Break.� Korn. Untouchables. Korn, 2003.

Block, Francesca Lia. Violet and Claire. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1999.

Crutcher, Chris. The Sledding Hill. Greenwillow, 2005.

Dead Caulfields. 27 Oct. 2005. 12 Apr. 2006 <http://www.geocities.com/deadcaulfields/DCHome.html>.

Donelson, Kenneth L., and Alleen P. Nilsen. Literature for Today's Young Adults. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson Longman, 2005. 111-142.

"Family Times." New Mexico State University. Summer 2004. New Mexico State University, Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences. 25 Apr. 2006 <http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/ces/family_times/family_times_eng(sum04).pdf>.

Masters, Robert A. "The Flowers of Disappointment." Robert Masters. 23 Apr. 2006 <http://robertmasters.com/POEM-pages/flowers-disappointment.htm>.

Pell, A. "Memorial Poems." 24 Aug. 2005. 20 Apr. 2006 <http://www.beyondtheveil.net/poems.html#candle>.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York, NY: Little, Brown, and Company, 1945.

Wolfelt, Dr. Alan D. "Helping Teenagers Cope with Grief." Life Files. 2005. 22 Apr. 2006 <http://www.lifefiles.com/libraryArticle.php?i_messageid=965259338>.