The most important lesson of

your lifetime

A lesson on HYPERBOLE inThe Catcher in the Rye

A QUICK REVIEWA hyperbole is a boldly

exaggerated statement that adds emphasis without intending to be literally true

Some examples:“He ate everything in the house.”“She cried all night long.” “I need her more than the air I

breathe.”“My English class is worse than death.”

Holden’s HyperbolesExamples of hyperbole from The Catcher in the Rye:

“He thought he was the handsomest guy in the Western Hemisphere” (Salinger 36).

“Stradlater was always doing that” (Salinger 37). “I hate the movies like poison” (Salinger 38). “I took off my hat and looked at it for about the

ninetieth time” (Salinger 39). “I damn near dropped dead” (Salinger 40).

More of Holden’s Hyperboles

“It took him about an hour to comb his hair” (Salinger 42).

He spent around half his goddam life in front of the mirror” (Salinger 43).

“It made me so nervous I nearly went crazy” (Salinger 45).

“It took him about five hours to get ready” (Salinger 47).

“People never believe you” (Salinger 48). “He was two years younger than I was, but he

was about fifty times as intelligent” (Salinger 49).

Why does

hyperbole

matter?

The most awesome English assignment ever:1. Get into a group of 3-4 individuals.2. Focusing on the chapters assigned, find 6 or

more examples of hyperbole.Record these in your notebook. If they are said by someone other than

Holden, they don’t count.When you write it down, be sure to note the

entire hyperbole and the page number. (You’ll likely find these examples useful in

tomorrow’s activity.)

Don’t be a phony—discuss the significanceWith your group, discuss the following… Salinger chooses to tell the story through Holden’s eyes, but

then Holden uses hyperbole, verbal irony, and other such techniques to share his story. How does this impact the validity of the story?

Why might Holden choose to use hyperbole, verbal irony, and other such techniques to share his story? Have his experiences in life caused him to communicate this way?

To help you discuss the above main questions, you may find it helpful to think about these secondary questions below…

Is Holden as smart as he claims he is? Is the world really as full of ‘phonies’ as Holden claims? Either way,

why does he feel this way? Pertaining to the opening and closing chapters of the text, does the

setting from which Holden is sharing this story impact his reliability? Why or why not?

Be prepared

for tomorrow.

The most important

discussion of your lifetime.

Socratic

Seminar

What is it?

The reasoning & expectations The purpose is to look deeply into a text via thorough

discussion, with students doing the majority of the thinking (rather than the teacher).

This type of discussion follows these rules/norms: No need to raise your hand, just wait to interject your idea until

there is a fitting gap in the conversation Support all ideas with textual examples (direct quotes are preferred,

but specific summaries/paraphrases will be allowed) Listen carefully to your classmates Keep an open mind (if you came in with one idea, but your

classmates present a strong argument for another side, be willing to change your line of thinking)

Take notes in your notebook of any idea that you feel is valid but that you’ve not yet recorded in your class notes

Be respectful of others and their ideas Ensure you’re engaged the entire time—no side conversations,

cellphone usage, etc.

During the seminar Stay focused on the questions (they will be on the screen) Let the conversation flow naturally (if you’ve an idea that

you want to share, don’t interject it just anywhere—wait until it fits the flow of the conversation or until there is a gap in the dialogue, using your idea as a way to reenergize the discussion)

This is a student-lead conversation—don’t expect much interjection from Mrs. Lyke. When will Lyke interject? If the conversation gets too far off track If false information is presented and not corrected by others in the class If students are making too many statements without backing them up

with textual evidence Mrs. Lyke will hand a student a card if…

He/she is talking to much/not allowing others a chance to speak (red) He/she is not venturing into the conversation enough (green)

Be prepared to fully answer the following questions: Salinger chooses to tell the story through Holden’s eyes, but

then Holden uses hyperbole, verbal irony, and other such techniques to share his story. How does this impact the validity of the story?

Why might Holden choose to use hyperbole, verbal irony, and other such techniques to share his story? Have his experiences in life caused him to communicate this way?

You’ll also want to be able to answer these secondary questions: Is Holden as smart as he claims he is? Is the world really as full of ‘phonies’ as Holden claims?

Either way, why does he feel this way? Pertaining to the opening and closing chapters of the

text, does the setting from which Holden is sharing this story impact his reliability? Why or why not?

You’ll want text support to back up each of your points: be sure to have quotes identified and easily accessible.

Socratic

Seminar

Take 1

Let’s Try It!Use these primary question to guide the discussion: Salinger chooses to tell the story through Holden’s eyes, but then Holden

uses hyperbole, verbal irony, and other such techniques to share his story. How does this impact the validity of the story?

Why might Holden choose to use hyperbole, verbal irony, and other such techniques to share his story? Have his experiences in life caused him to communicate this way?

These secondary questions may help you better address the two questions above: Is Holden as smart as he claims he is? Is the world really as full of ‘phonies’ as Holden claims? Either way, why

does he feel this way? Pertaining to the opening and closing chapters of the text, does the

setting from which Holden is sharing this story impact his reliability? Why or why not?

Here are a few more questions if you get stuck at any point: What characters/plot points support your answers to the above

questions? Does Holden’s young age/vocabulary choices/impulsive behaviors/overt

pessimism impact his credibly? Why or why not?