The Catcher in the Rye

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What do you know about coming-of-age fiction? List examples of books, TV shows, movies, or video games in which the main character grapples with growing up. What characteristics and conflicts are common elements of coming-of-age fiction?

Teaching Suggestion: If your students are unlikely to know the definition of coming-of-age fiction, you might omit the first part of this question and offer a definition instead; consider listing a few examples of your own as a springboard if your students struggle to generate examples. Students might benefit from sharing their examples with one another in a small-group or whole-class discussion, as this will offer them a sense of how diverse and widespread coming-of-age fiction really is. Student input regarding common elements may create the opportunity to introduce a connected theme like Coming-of-Age as Losing Innocence.

• This article from Literary Hub defines the coming-of-age novel and offers annotated examples from a variety of time periods.
• This article from Penguin Random House lists many examples of coming-of-age novels for adults and young adults.