Found it Rather Dry
The Catcher in the Rye.
Boy Old Salinger must have spent a hundred years writing a story about just a few days in a boy's life. If you have read the book you will recognize a couple of the expressions he used when you read that sentence. Predictably those who read books in search of symbolism and hidden meanings with which to torture unsuspecting students had a field day with this book. I bought it a few days after Salinger died but just now finished reading it. My reaction was more like, who cares?
This morning I had to read a story about domed buildings. This was an assignment for geometry class. About every two weeks this school year Cici has had to choose and complete one assignment from a selection of 6-10 possibilities. Invariably she would choose an assignment that required no research and writing. I was therefore surprised last night when she chose this assignment. Oh, that will be easy, she told me. I can do the research and write a paper very quickly. And she did.
Maybe it is because she recently completed a months long writing project for her English class. This is the one that required her to get a library card and check out books from the library to do her research. She learned how to prepare note cards from her research, and how to write a thesis sentence in an opening paragraph. Then she learned how to add the body of the paper, supported by her research, and ending in a conclusion that tied it all together.
The English teacher is very exacting, so Cici had to put a lot of time and effort into her paper. She ended up with a 99, but also with something more important than the grade. She learned how to write an essay, and now has the confidence to take on such a project voluntarily. But the Georgia Dome? Come on. I need to take her to see the Astrodome.
Boy Old Salinger must have spent a hundred years writing a story about just a few days in a boy's life. If you have read the book you will recognize a couple of the expressions he used when you read that sentence. Predictably those who read books in search of symbolism and hidden meanings with which to torture unsuspecting students had a field day with this book. I bought it a few days after Salinger died but just now finished reading it. My reaction was more like, who cares?
This morning I had to read a story about domed buildings. This was an assignment for geometry class. About every two weeks this school year Cici has had to choose and complete one assignment from a selection of 6-10 possibilities. Invariably she would choose an assignment that required no research and writing. I was therefore surprised last night when she chose this assignment. Oh, that will be easy, she told me. I can do the research and write a paper very quickly. And she did.
Maybe it is because she recently completed a months long writing project for her English class. This is the one that required her to get a library card and check out books from the library to do her research. She learned how to prepare note cards from her research, and how to write a thesis sentence in an opening paragraph. Then she learned how to add the body of the paper, supported by her research, and ending in a conclusion that tied it all together.
The English teacher is very exacting, so Cici had to put a lot of time and effort into her paper. She ended up with a 99, but also with something more important than the grade. She learned how to write an essay, and now has the confidence to take on such a project voluntarily. But the Georgia Dome? Come on. I need to take her to see the Astrodome.
Never really a fan of Catcher either. However, I find it's one of those things that those who choose to be "young" pick as a fence for whether you are young enough to identify with the character, or too old to care. I think I was too old in High School!
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I don't recall any of my kids having to read it in high school or college, and I wonder how many people have read it voluntarily.
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I will say that there is something to be said for forced exposure. Sometimes you have to be pushed out of your boundaries, or comfort zone, to grow and consider different thoughts.
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Can't argue with that, Smitty. My exposure to Eudora Welty in college led me to buy her collected works after she died a few years ago. I never got the story about Livvie out of my head, what with all those colored bottles hanging in trees.
While proof reading some of Cici's work early this morning I learned an interesting tidbit about Lewis Carroll. He was a mathematician who authored books in his field. He also taught mathematics. Writing novels was a sideline, and writing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland came about almost as a fluke. He made up the story to entertain the daughter of a friend. Only later did he decide to write down the story and draw a few illustrations for it. Only at the urging of the friend did he finally decide to publish the book. Now it is the book for which he has achieved world wide notoriety.
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