1. Name: ______________________________________
Catcher final essay
Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism
A very basic way of thinking about literary theory is that these ideas act as different
lenses critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. These different
lenses allow critics to consider works of art based on certain assumptions within that school of
theory. The different lenses also allow critics to focus on particular aspects of a work they
consider important.
For example, if a critic is working with certain Marxist theories, s/he might focus on
how the characters in a story interact based on their economic situation. If a critic is working
with post-colonial theories, s/he might consider the same story but look at how characters
from colonial powers (Britain, France, and even America) treat characters from, say, Africa or
the Caribbean.
Your task:
1. Visit the OWL Purdue Literary Theory website:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/01/
2. Read through the various schools of criticism (Marxist, Feminist, Postmodern, etc.).
Get an idea for the overall lens of each literary theory. Then:
3. Choose one school of criticism that you are interested in exploring within The Cather in
the Rye. Once you have decided which theory you’ll use to analyze Catcher, complete
the following:
a. Summarize the theory’s main points in a handout/notesheet format
(pretend you are teaching this to a class—how would that information be best
laid out?). This should be mostly in your own words (quote/cite if not), and
should include at minimum:

Summarization of key points/tenets of theory

Time period / important figures related to theory

Questions this theory explores
b. Begin brainstorming ways in which your chosen theory can be found within
Catcher. In other words, if I’ve chosen Feminist Criticism, I might begin
thinking about the ways women are portrayed in the text—are they oppressed
by men socially, psychologically, economically, etc.? Are stereotypical gender
roles present in the text? In the relationships between characters? Write
questions and jot down answers/examples from the novel to get you
started. Even better: quotes/page numbers from the text.
This write-up will be due Monday, October 21st at the start of class.
On Monday, you’ll begin looking for articles that support your critical reading of the text, and
you’ll also begin collecting textual evidence from Catcher to support your theory.