English II Period A/E

The Music in the Rye!

This is worth 100 points of extra credit

Your final soundtrack for The Catcher in the Rye will demonstrate both your literal comprehension of the novel and your interpretation of its many themes; your projects will be graded primarily on how well you explain the most important elements of the novel, interpret their significance, and apply your understanding of these elements to another piece (of music)…thus, demonstrating increasingly complex levels of understanding!

To do this effectively, the quality of your project (thoroughness, quality of writing, neatness, effort) will play a large role. Just doing the minimum will guarantee a lower grade. Take pride in your work, and your work will “do you proud”!

Make a 10 song soundtrack “CD insert” that includes the following:

-A front cover with appropriate artwork, original title, and group member names

-A back cover with a song list (in order), including the title, the artist/composer, and the chapters to which it refers for each song. This should also include credits, showing which group members were responsible for what parts of the project.

-Inside the booklet, include the lyrics and an explanation for the inclusion of each song that clearly justifies how and why the song specifically relates to the book—both in terms of its tone/style and content. Quality explanations will discuss specific details (quotes) from the novel and the song, necessitating a minimum of two paragraphs of in-depth explanation/description which shows its connection to the novel’s content and tone, using literary evidence.

This well-written document will include all the following information for each song/set of chapters:

o Song title and artist name.

o Identify the actions, attitudes, symbols, and other elements of relevance in the novel at the time the song would be playing.

o Thoroughly explain how each song relates to its corresponding selection in terms of the plot, characters, relationships, themes, and important symbols; you may want to include important lyrics and/or explanations of the song progression to clarify your arguments. For example:

The song “Basketcase” by Green Day relates to the novel as a whole because it is a manic song all about a person who has lost his way in life. The lyric, “Do you have the time/to listen to me whine” is like the beginning of the novel, when Holden tells the reader he will explain all about “this madman stuff” that happened to him. (Etc.)

* Because there are 10 sets of chapters (including the last chapter, which is the “overall theme” song), you can skip/combine one set of chapters. Choose wisely!

Good Luck!