Unlike what many would think, Catcher in the Rye by Slainger and 1984 by Orwell are actually

relatively similar novels.

Characters:
-both are dynamic characters that change throughout the course of the story; both are forced to
change
→ Holden: Is forced to mature throughout the novel
→ Winston: He goes from hating the Party and Big Brother to loving it after his time spent in the
Ministry of Love
-All want some form of companionship with others
→ Holden: Unmade Phone Calls show how he wants people to connect to, he finds his catcher in Phoebe
→ Winston: Feels a strange connection to O’Brien and loves Julia
-Both face Alienation and isolation
-Both are anti-heros, but Holden is also bildungsroman

Conflict
-Man vs Society
→ Catcher in the Rye: Holden constantly battles phoniness in society and is forced to adapt to societal
norms when he drinks and smokes
→ 1984: Winston doesn’t like the Party and the society he lives in and tries to find his own individuality
but eventually has to submit to society
-Experience Man vs Himself
→ Catcher in the Rye: Holden wants to reach out for companionship but always ends up backing out on it
and faces internal struggles with depression
→ 1984: Winston misjudges people like O’Brien because of his desire for companionship and feels some
guilt for how he acted as a child, he also deals with paranoia because of government control
Conflict Resolution
→ Catcher in the Rye: The conflict is not really resolved because we don’t find out much about what he
does after he returns home (if he runs into more trouble with grades, faces more depression, etc)
→ 1984: The conflict is sort of resolved, but in an unpleasant way, since Winston sort of loses his
humanity after becoming a loyal citizen due to torture in Room 101 and the Ministry of Love

Setting(difference mostly)
→ 1984 is in a totalitarian
→ Catcher in the Rye is in a modern city
-The settings of the protagonist in Catcher in the Rye and in 1984 are both very exposed to
society and the world

Theme
Similarities
-Themes of alienation and isolation
→ Both WInston and Holden were alienated from society, and then continued to isolate themselves
In both, there was a theme of a struggle to find individuality within society
→ Catcher in the Rye: Because of adolescent problems and pressures within society and forced
maturation, Holden finds himself going along with the societal norms by doing things like smoking and
drinking alcohol
→1984: Winston tries to define himself as an individual by not following the societal norms but in the
end is forced to comply with society and even before sometimes did things just to fit in, such as
participating in The Hate

Difference
→ Catcher in the Rye focuses on Dealing with Death, Depression, and Adolescent Pressures are more
specific to this novel only because Holden has to go through Allie’s death and deals with depression and
adolescent pressures
→ 1984 tend to deal with Corrupting Power of Technology and Fear of Government Power and
Corruption are specific to this novel because it is a very strictly controlled government that plays a lot
into Winston’s fears and struggles throughout the novel

Symbols
-Loss of Innocence:
→ Catcher in the Rye: The Shirley Beans Record that Holden is planning on giving to Phoebe breaks,
symbolizing a loss of innocence
→ 1984: The paperweight that Winston buys in Mr. Charrington’s shop shatters when the Thought Police
finally capture him, representing how he lost the innocence of his protected world from society
-Symbol of hope to protagonist
→ Phoebe to Holden
→ Red Prole Woman to WInston
-Accepting Reality in life
→ ALlie’s baseball mitt (shows his death)
→ Undercover Church painting (shows how the church painting was actually a camera and Winsotn and
Julila had to accept that reality when it came to the consequences) (ACCEPT THE REALITY THAT
THE PARTY WILL ALWAYS BE WATCHING)

Plot
-Both Winston and Holden have someone who changes them near the end of the story
→ Winston: O’Brien eventually starts to convert him into a loyal Party in the Ministry of Love
→ Holden: Phoebe is his “catcher” at the end of the story and convinces him not to run away and instead
return home

Literary Elements
→ Both have anti-heros
→ Both deal with Kafkaesque (dealing with anxiety (both characters deal with anxiety), absurdism (chaos
all around), alienation (both characters go through), or isolation (again both characters go through))

Thesis + Citation
-Topic (what) + Argument (Claim-why- what should the reader learn) + Direction (main example)
-Parenthetical Citation= whatever is before the first period in works cited

Poem Annotation
1. Form
a. Closed/Open
i. Closed if there is certain pattern for # of lines in a stanza/Rhyme Scheme,
otherwise open
ii. Stanza Line numbers
1. Couplet (2)
2. Tercet (3)
3. Quatrain (4)
4. Cinquain (5)
5. Sestet (6)
6. Setet (7)
7. Octet (8)
iii. Rhyme Scheme (should repeat every stanza)
1. ABAB, AABB, etc.
b. Narrative (story or no)
2. Paraphrase Lines
3. Poetic Devices
a. ALliteration
b. Symbolism
c. Allusion
d. Simile/metaphor
e. Imagery
f. Personification
g. Repetition
h. Syntax
4. Purpose

Passage Annotations
Literary Devices
- Speaker/Receiver
- Tone (diction)
- Mood (from tone/atmosphere for reader)
- Repetition
- Colloquial Language
- SImile/Metaphor
- Allusion
- Syntax
- Indirect/Direct Characterization (usually through other poetic devices (mostly
indirect characterization!))
- Repetition
- Verbal Irony/Sarcasm/Situational Irony