Igby Goes Down Comparison
Comparative Essay: The Catcher In The Rye and Igby Goes Down
❑ Make a title by finding a quotation from The Catcher In The Rye that could apply to Igby Goes Down also. Make it big, or bold, or underlined, or in a cool font or something. ❑ Put “[your name] and Mike Moore” in small, classy letters right under that, without putting “by” before the names.
❑ Introductory paragraph (setting up the essay and letting the reader know what your point is and how you will explore it): Successful motion pictures often find inspiration from popular, respected books. It seems obvious that Burr Steers, the writer and director of the film Igby Goes Down, took a variety of ideas from the novel The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, making the 2002 film an obvious homage to the 1940s …show more content…
novel. Using The Catcher In The Rye as inspiration has made this movie [whatever you think it has made it]. Anyone who has read the novel will recognize similarities in characters, themes, plot events and setting.
❑ First body paragraph (tackling setting): First of all, though it takes place in the [what decade is Igby set?] rather than the 1940s, Igby Goes Down takes place in [where is it set?]. Like Holden Caulfield’s family in The Catcher In The Rye, Igby’s family lives in [what kind of places do their parents have?] Also like Holden, Igby gets a view of how “the other half live” when he goes to places such as [where does Igby meet junkies and sleazy people?], just as Holden does when he frequents [what places does Holden meet sleazy people?] Most importantly, both Igby and Holden have been spending time in [where have they been?] which they have gotten kicked out of because they couldn’t fit in and make that environment work for them, despite being fairly intelligent. It is clear that Igby and Holden are exploring very similar environments.
❑ Second body paragraph (tackling plot events): Secondly, many of the events that take place in Igby Goes Down seem to be inspired by ones from The Catcher In The Rye. For instance, when [something that happens in Igby] this reminds us very strongly of [something that happens in Catcher]. As well, [something that happens in Catcher] seems to have influenced Burr when he includes [a scene in Igby which is kinda like the one from Catcher that you just mentioned]. Most reminiscent of The Catcher In The Rye, though, is the scene in Igby Goes Down in which [what happened in Igby]. This is very like the scene in which [what scene from Catcher is it just like?] It seems obvious that Burr read The Catcher In The Rye and was familiar enough with to steal these elements.
❑ Third Body paragraph (tackling characters): Salinger and Burr choose to people their works with characters that share some very similar qualities. Similarities can be drawn between [name?], the young prostitute from The Catcher In The Rye, and [name?] from Igby Goes Down. Each [a list of ways that one is kinda like the other]. Holden and Igby both have older brothers. Holden’s older brother [name?] is [how is he like Igby’s brother?] Quite similarly, Igby’s older brother [name?] is also [how is he like Holden’s brother?] The two are not exactly the same, though, as [prove that they are different in some ways]. Most telling of all are the clear similarities between Holden Caulfield and Igby Slocumb, the main characters. Like Holden, Igby is [list of ways Igby is like Holden]. For example, we see an instance of Holden being [one of these traits] when Salinger describes him [what he does that shows us this trait]. In a similar fashion, Burr shows that Igby is [same trait] when he depicts him [what shows us Igby being like that]. Igby and Holden are not, of course, identical. [in a few sentences, prove they are different in some ways]. The influence of The Catcher In The Rye upon Igby Goes Down in terms of characters is obvious.
❑ Fourth Body paragraph (tackling themes): Besides similar events, characters and environments in which the works take place, Igby Goes Down and The Catcher In The Rye also explore certain obvious ideas.
[themes you might choose to discuss: needing to deal with your family, even if that’s difficult; not being able to escape mental illness; some people needing to be protected; being wealthy not being able to fix all problems, nor make people healthy and happy; how difficult it is for a teenager to find his way in life if his parents aren’t helpful, supportive and aware; some people being doomed and beyond our help; the fact that some people are phony; performing small kindnesses being able to cheer you up] Both works explore the idea that [theme #1]. This is seen in The Catcher In The Rye when Salinger [how is it seen?] In Igby Goes Down, the same theme is explored when Steers [how is it explored?] Another concept that is seen in both works is the idea that [theme #2]. In Igby Goes Down, Steers chooses to [what does he do so the movie can explore this theme?]. In The Catcher In The Rye, Salinger chooses to [what does he do so the novel can explore this
theme?].
❑ Concluding paragraph (reminds the reader what your point was, and claims that you made your point pretty thoroughly) The film Igby Goes Down by Burr Steers contains so many similarities to J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher In The Rye that there can be no doubt that the one inspired the other. Just as Salinger did with The Catcher In The Rye, Steers sets his film in [where], and depicts not only the privileged living spaces of the rich, and the [where] where the rich send their children, but also the lives of poor people with messed up lives. His film is also the story of [plot summary that sounds just like one you could write for Catcher]. Obviously inspired by Salinger’s classic novel, Burr peoples his film with characters such as [a list of kinds of characters that appear in both]. Most tellingly, Burr clearly explores ideas such as [theme #1] and [theme #2], just as Salinger did in The Catcher In The Rye. Sometimes it really helps a movie to draw inspiration from successful books already beloved and familiar to generations. In this case, this clearly did/did not happen. Igby Goes Down is [what did you think it was]
That last sentence should sound clear and final enough that you should not need to write “the end” at the end, because people will know just from the sound of this last sentence that this essay is over.
-----------------------
[pic]
❑ Make a title by finding a quotation from The Catcher In The Rye that could apply to Igby Goes Down also. Make it big, or bold, or underlined, or in a cool font or something. ❑ Put “[your name] and Mike Moore” in small, classy letters right under that, without putting “by” before the names.
❑ Introductory paragraph (setting up the essay and letting the reader know what your point is and how you will explore it): Successful motion pictures often find inspiration from popular, respected books. It seems obvious that Burr Steers, the writer and director of the film Igby Goes Down, took a variety of ideas from the novel The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, making the 2002 film an obvious homage to the 1940s …show more content…
novel. Using The Catcher In The Rye as inspiration has made this movie [whatever you think it has made it]. Anyone who has read the novel will recognize similarities in characters, themes, plot events and setting.
❑ First body paragraph (tackling setting): First of all, though it takes place in the [what decade is Igby set?] rather than the 1940s, Igby Goes Down takes place in [where is it set?]. Like Holden Caulfield’s family in The Catcher In The Rye, Igby’s family lives in [what kind of places do their parents have?] Also like Holden, Igby gets a view of how “the other half live” when he goes to places such as [where does Igby meet junkies and sleazy people?], just as Holden does when he frequents [what places does Holden meet sleazy people?] Most importantly, both Igby and Holden have been spending time in [where have they been?] which they have gotten kicked out of because they couldn’t fit in and make that environment work for them, despite being fairly intelligent. It is clear that Igby and Holden are exploring very similar environments.
❑ Second body paragraph (tackling plot events): Secondly, many of the events that take place in Igby Goes Down seem to be inspired by ones from The Catcher In The Rye. For instance, when [something that happens in Igby] this reminds us very strongly of [something that happens in Catcher]. As well, [something that happens in Catcher] seems to have influenced Burr when he includes [a scene in Igby which is kinda like the one from Catcher that you just mentioned]. Most reminiscent of The Catcher In The Rye, though, is the scene in Igby Goes Down in which [what happened in Igby]. This is very like the scene in which [what scene from Catcher is it just like?] It seems obvious that Burr read The Catcher In The Rye and was familiar enough with to steal these elements.
❑ Third Body paragraph (tackling characters): Salinger and Burr choose to people their works with characters that share some very similar qualities. Similarities can be drawn between [name?], the young prostitute from The Catcher In The Rye, and [name?] from Igby Goes Down. Each [a list of ways that one is kinda like the other]. Holden and Igby both have older brothers. Holden’s older brother [name?] is [how is he like Igby’s brother?] Quite similarly, Igby’s older brother [name?] is also [how is he like Holden’s brother?] The two are not exactly the same, though, as [prove that they are different in some ways]. Most telling of all are the clear similarities between Holden Caulfield and Igby Slocumb, the main characters. Like Holden, Igby is [list of ways Igby is like Holden]. For example, we see an instance of Holden being [one of these traits] when Salinger describes him [what he does that shows us this trait]. In a similar fashion, Burr shows that Igby is [same trait] when he depicts him [what shows us Igby being like that]. Igby and Holden are not, of course, identical. [in a few sentences, prove they are different in some ways]. The influence of The Catcher In The Rye upon Igby Goes Down in terms of characters is obvious.
❑ Fourth Body paragraph (tackling themes): Besides similar events, characters and environments in which the works take place, Igby Goes Down and The Catcher In The Rye also explore certain obvious ideas.
[themes you might choose to discuss: needing to deal with your family, even if that’s difficult; not being able to escape mental illness; some people needing to be protected; being wealthy not being able to fix all problems, nor make people healthy and happy; how difficult it is for a teenager to find his way in life if his parents aren’t helpful, supportive and aware; some people being doomed and beyond our help; the fact that some people are phony; performing small kindnesses being able to cheer you up] Both works explore the idea that [theme #1]. This is seen in The Catcher In The Rye when Salinger [how is it seen?] In Igby Goes Down, the same theme is explored when Steers [how is it explored?] Another concept that is seen in both works is the idea that [theme #2]. In Igby Goes Down, Steers chooses to [what does he do so the movie can explore this theme?]. In The Catcher In The Rye, Salinger chooses to [what does he do so the novel can explore this
theme?].
❑ Concluding paragraph (reminds the reader what your point was, and claims that you made your point pretty thoroughly) The film Igby Goes Down by Burr Steers contains so many similarities to J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher In The Rye that there can be no doubt that the one inspired the other. Just as Salinger did with The Catcher In The Rye, Steers sets his film in [where], and depicts not only the privileged living spaces of the rich, and the [where] where the rich send their children, but also the lives of poor people with messed up lives. His film is also the story of [plot summary that sounds just like one you could write for Catcher]. Obviously inspired by Salinger’s classic novel, Burr peoples his film with characters such as [a list of kinds of characters that appear in both]. Most tellingly, Burr clearly explores ideas such as [theme #1] and [theme #2], just as Salinger did in The Catcher In The Rye. Sometimes it really helps a movie to draw inspiration from successful books already beloved and familiar to generations. In this case, this clearly did/did not happen. Igby Goes Down is [what did you think it was]
That last sentence should sound clear and final enough that you should not need to write “the end” at the end, because people will know just from the sound of this last sentence that this essay is over.
-----------------------
[pic]