Blooming the Gospel According to Holden

One of the small joys in life is making connections with people through literature—old literature, new literature, old television shows, movies, etc. In the middle of a conversation or dilemma, we often hear someone exclaim, “…this is just like that episode of Friends," or “Seinfeld had an episode about that.” We often quote Bible verses and adages to each other.

Some of my favorite memorable maxims come from J.D. Salinger’s, Catcher in the Rye. At one point, Holden Caulfield utters, “…all mothers are slightly insane…” Mr. Spencer, Holden’s history teacher, comments, “Life is a game my boy that must be played according to the rules.” Holden’s rejoinder is, “Game! Some game! If you’re on the side with all the hotshots then it’s a game all right but if you’re not then it’s no game.”

Introducing Bloom's Taxonomy:

Knowledge

These adages provide an easy way to introduce students to Bloom’s Taxonomy. I assign each class member 20 pages of the novel and ask them to find six of Holden’s pithy pronouncements made as he wanders through Pencey Prep or the streets of New York City. The student prints the saying on a 5x8 card, sketches an outline of Blooms’ Taxonomy on the back side of the card, and then conducts a discussion with the classmates.  

Comprehension

The presenter recites the phrase like, “All mothers are slightly insane,” and then asks the class to explain the context. Responders point out that Mrs. Morrow does not understand that her son is one of the meanest people at Pencey Prep. She sees him only as the perfect cherub that he pretends to be around her. She doesn’t see her son clearly.

Application

On the application, or third level of Bloom’s Taxonomy, the discussion leader asks the class for examples from their own lives where their mother, or some other mother, was slightly insane. “One time my mother went into the principal’s office and demanded that I be given the lead in the school play, in spite of the fact that I have no interest in drama. I had not missed the tryouts but had pointedly avoided the drama teacher for the last three weeks.” Or, “My mom asked the coach why I wasn’t starting at quarterback in spite of the fact that with my five-foot six-inch sophomore frame I could not possibly compete with the six-four senior.” 

Analysis

As the class analyzes their own mothers’ insanity, they start to see the commonality with Mrs. Morrow’s delusions.

Synthesis

The fifth step of Bloom’s is synthesis, the essential question, the heart of the matter:

• What is the new idea that we synthesize from the new information in the novel and the old information from our personal experience?
• Is it that all mothers want the best for their child and hold out impossible ideals?
• Is that the role of moms? And therefore, should we be understanding and patient with them?

Evaluation

The final step in Bloom’s Taxonomy—the evaluation, conclusion, or decision—asks learners to consider what should be done with this new information. How do we accept our mothers’ dreams? How do we build our own dreams from her dreams, and blend them with the reality of our own desires and abilities?

At the conclusion of the presentations, we post the graffiti cards for all to peruse and share as conversation pieces. Using the structure provided by Bloom’s Taxonomy gives students confidence that they can identify pithy remarks in a piece of literature and see the applicability of these insights to their own lives. Students see that they can tackle complex text and abstract ideas. As the school year progresses, they gain confidence in their ability to analyze different works, and by “Blooming them,” make real text-to-self and text-to-world connections.