Notes: Chapters 1-8

1. The Catcher in the Rye JD Salinger Notes: Chapters 1-8

2. Chapter One

3. 1. From where is Holden telling his story? Chapter One • Holden is telling the story from some form of mental wellness center/ psychiatric institution in California (17 years old) • He recounts the events of the past Christmas in PA/NYC (16 years old)

4. 2. Why does Holden call his brother a “prostitute”? Chapter One • Holden labels his brother, DB, as a “prostitute,”or sell-out • Holden does not believe that DB is using his gift of writing for the right reasons- rather, he is contributing to the superficiality of Hollywood films (for $$$) and wasting his talent

5. 3. Describe Holden’s attitude toward Pencey Prep. Chapter One • Pencey Prep is an all-boys private boarding school in Agerstown, PA. • Holden dislikes how prestigious the school boasts itself to be, claiming that is just as “lousy” as any other school • False advertising • Quote: page 2

6. 4. Provide the initial setting of the story Holden narrates. Chapter One • Time: • Winter of 1948-49; around Christmas time • Place: • Agerstown, PA (Pencey Prep.) • This fictional town/school likely based on Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, PA, where Salinger attended

7. 5. What strange feeling does Holden experience while crossing Route 204? Chapter One • Holden feels like he is disappearing while running across the road. • Symptom of his nervous breakdown? • Crossing the road = taking the next step in life • Does Holden fear moving on in life?

8. 6. Who does Holden decide to visit at the end of the chapter and why? Chapter One • Who does he visit? • Holden visits his (former) History teacher, Mr. Spencer • Why does he visit? • He has been expelled from Pencey and wants to “feel some kind of good-by… when I’m leaving a place I like to know I’m leaving it.” (4) • Holden is looking for closure; permission

9. Chapter Two

10. 7. List some of Mr. Spencer’s nuances which both annoy and fascinate Holden. Chapter Two • He always seems to be yelling • He is wearing a ratty, old bathrobe that he “was born in” • He is sickly with the grippe and smells like Vicks • His old, white and hairy legs • His bed is hard “like a rock” • He overtly picks his nose • He can’t toss items onto the bed that is mere inches away from him • He repeats and re-emphasizes things • He reads Holden’s lousy essay out loud to him (reinforced humiliation)

11. 8. What advice/life lesson does Spencer try to teach Holden? Chapter Two • Old Spencer says: • “Life is a game one plays according to the rules.” • Spencer’s advice demands that Holden conform to others’ expectations of him • According to Spencer, Holden lives outside of the rules and, therefore, fails

12. 9. What does Holden’s note to Spencer tell us about Holden’s character? Chapter Two • From the note Holden writes to Spencer, attached to his awful essay, we can infer that Holden is much more concerned with his teacher being let down by him than he is concerned with flunking his course. • He is willing to admit defeat and is honest/forthright about his failures

13. 10. Which subject is the only subject Holden did not fail at Pencey? Chapter Three • English • Holden is expressive in writing and well-read when he has the choice • “I’m quite illiterate but I read a lot.” • Paradox = self-defeating truth

14. Discussion! Chapter Two While talking to Mr. Spencer, Holden becomes preoccupied with the ducks of Central Park, NYC: “I was thinking about the lagoon in Central Park… I was wondering if it would be frozen over when I got home, and if it was, where did the ducks go… I wondered if some guy came in a truck and took them away to a zoo or something. Or if they just flew away.” Q Why might Holden be thinking such thoughts? What does this tell us about his character?

15. Chapter Three

16. 11. Describe the hat that Holden recently purchased in NYC. Chapter Three • Holden purchases a red hunting hat for $1 • “The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around to the back– very corny, I’ll admit, but I liked it that way.” • Holden’s hunting hat is a motif in this story- a recurring symbol • Discuss hat’s possible symbolism?

17. 12. Describe Holden’s take on literature. How does Holden evaluate whether or not a book he has read is succesful? Chapter Three • Holden is “quite illiterate” but “reads a lot” • Paradox: Self-defeating truth • Holden reads upon choice and not upon force; a book is successful only if the author seems genuine • “What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you feel like it.” (18)

18. 13. Describe Holden’s suitemate, Robert Ackley. How does he feel about Ackley? Chapter Three • Robert Ackley = Holden’s neighbor in the dorms. • He can be described as pimply, annoying, intrusive and messy. • Ackley annoys Holden but he secretly respecting him for being at least honest about who he is and how he acts: • He rarely brushes his “mossy” teeth • He interrupts Holden often, especially when Holden wants to be left alone • He is very touchy with Holden’s items, namely his picture frame of Sally Hayes (Holden’s ex-girlfriend) • He cuts his fingernails “all over the room” • Quote: Page 20

19. 14. How does Holden, manager of the Pencey Prep. Fencing Team, ironically mismanage the team? Chapter Three • Holden accidentally leaves the team’s equipment on the subway while on the way to a match in NYC • He is ostracized by the team but brushes it off or seems unaffected by his irresponsibility • “It was pretty funny, in a way.” – Holden to us (3) • “Nobody won.” – Holden to Ackley (20)

20. Chapter Four

21. 15. How does Holden describe his roomate, Ward Stradlater Chapter Four • Ward Stradlater, Holden’s roommate, is “yearbook handsome” and appears to be self-obsessed and conceited • Quote: Page 27 • Holden calls Stradlater a “secret slob” because he appears to be very neat and orderly by appearance, and yet behind closed doors he is as messy as anyone • Stradlater’s razor used as a symbol to exemplify this point

22. 16. Who does Holden find out Stradlater is dating? Chapter Four • Stradlater happens to be going on a date with Jane Gallagher (he mistakenly calls her Jean) • Holden seems startled by the coincidence of it all, because he knows Jane from being her neighbor in the town where his family has summer home

23. 17. What peculiar memory does Holden have about the way Jane plays checkers? Chapter Four • Holden finds Jane’s strategy (or lack thereof) in checkers as amusing. • She arranges all her kings in the back row and refuses to move them (in checkers, kings should purposely be used to go on the attack) • Holden is intrigued by Jane’s non-conformist and pacifist attitude • Quote: Pages 31-32

24. 18. Why do you think Holden is seemingly preoccupied with Stradlater’s date? Chapter Four • Holden “nearly drops dead” because Jane is his idyllic female; he is secretly in love with her and, so, immediately worries about what Stradlater is going to do with her while on this date

25. Chapter Five

26. Chapter Five 1. Why doesn’t Holden throw the snowball he creates? • He is reluctant to disturb the sanctity and serenity of the winter landscape • He starts to attack but stops himself from taking action • This mirrors what he finds intriguing about Jane playing checkers (aligning her kings but not moving her kings)

27. 2. About what did Holden write Stradlater’s composition? Chapter Five • Holden writes a descriptive account of Allie Caulfield’s baseball mitt • Holden adores this mitt because it is inscribed with Allie’s favorite poetry • Holding on to this mitt allows Holden to keep a piece of his brother with him at all times

28. 3. Describe Allie Caulfield. Chapter Five • Holden’s late younger brother • Died in 1946 of leukemia (11 years old; two years younger than Holden) • Physical red hair • Personality intelligent; kind • Quote=38-39

29. 4. How did Holden react to Allie’s death? Chapter Five • Holden isolated himself from others and violently broke the windows in the garage • Subsequently Holden broke his hand (still has trouble making a fist) • He has trouble remembering the incident • Quote=39

30. 5. How may Allie’s mitt be considered symbolic? Chapter Five Homage to Allie’s life Reminder to Holden of the unique attributes of Allie’s personality Loss of innocence/childhood Coping with death/depression

31. Chapter Six

32. 6. How does Stradlater react to Holden’s composition? Chapter Six • Stradlater reacts angrily • He ackowledges Holden’s inability to follow directions and does not thank him for his effort • Holden rips up the composition and throws it in the garbage • Quote=41

33. 7. Describe the physical altercation between Holden and Stradlater. Chapter Six • Holden is preoccupied with the events Stradlater’s date with Jane • Stradlater refuses to tell him what happened on the date • Holden is irked by Stradlater’s ungrateful nature • Holden tries to punch Stradlater; Stradlater ultimately pins him to the ground and reluctantly punches him, knocking him out • Quote=44

34. 8. Does Holden consider himself much of a fighter? Why or why not? Chapter Six • Holden is fascinated with violence, especially its aftermath, but considers himself a “pacifist” • Pacifist = someone who refuses to result to violence • Holden appears to be a contradictory character • Quote=46

35. Chapter Seven

36. 9. What can one infer about Holden’s character from his request to sleep in Ely’s bed? Chapter Seven • Holden is seeking comfort, companionship and hospitality • Holden is avoiding the consequences by distancing himself from Stradlater • Holden might want to pretend to be someone else • Holden is as intrusive as Ackley • Contradictory nature of Holden

37. 10. Describe Holden’s impulsive decision to leave Pencey Prep. How does he feel at this time? Chapter Seven • He decides to leave PP and arrive in NYC several days earlier than his parents expect him • He will lay low and kill some time before his parents receive the expulsion letter from Thurmer • He feels extremely lonely and depressed • Quote=51

38. 11. Why do Holden’s ice skates make him sad? Chapter Seven • The ice skates were a gift from his mother; she bought him the wrong kind of skates • Gratitude v. Ingratitude • They remind him of failing school/ failing to live up to his mother’s expectations • Quote=52

39. 12. Describe Holden’s state of mind upon leaving Pencey Prep. What does he yell as he leaves? Chapter Seven • Holden is crying, unsure of how to feel as he leaves, and yet is excited about the uncertainty/mysteries ahead • He sells his typewriter in order to make a little extra cash; he’s “loaded,” however, due to a generous and senile grandmother. • Holden puts on his red hunting hat and hollers, “Sleep tight, ya morons!” • An attempt to find closure?

40. Chapter Eight

41. 13. Describe Holden’s perceptions of the woman who gets on the train in Trenton. Chapter Eight • Holden meets Mrs. Morrow, mother or Ernest Morrow, who also attends Pencey Prep • Holden seems attracted to/interested in her: • She has a nice “telephone” voice • She is 40-45 years old, mature, attactive and well dressed • Holden admires the way she smokes cigarettes; offers her a drink • Quote=54

42. 14. Whose name does Holden provide for Mrs. Morrow? Why might Holden not want his true identity revealed? Chapter Eight • Holden doesn’t have the heart to tell Mrs. Morrow how much he son is hated at PP • He calls himself “Rudolph Schmidt” (janitor at Holden’s dorm, PP) • Reasons to lie? • Holden wishes to avoid the cruelty in a mother knowing the truth about their son • Holden would not want someone else telling his mother the truths about him • Holden wants to feel as if he is important or belongs

43. 15. Identify at least (3) lies Holden tells Mrs. Morrow. Chapter Eight Name/identity Rudolph Schmidt Ernest Morrow is “popular” and well-liked at PP Ernest wouldn’t let students at PP nominate him for president of his class because he was too “modest.” Holden left school early to have a brain tumor surgically removed in NYC He can’t visit the Morrows’ summer home because he will be in South America with his grandmother

44. 16. Why do you believe Holden tells such outrageous lies to Mrs. Morrow? Chapter Eight To see how far he can go/how gullible an audience can be To avoid his depressive state of mind, woes and failures Deteriorating mental state/lies are as credible as truths to Holden To confuse Ernest Morrow later on