The Catcher in the Rye

1. The Catcher in the Rye Chapter Analysis – 5 through 12

2. Chapter 5 • Introduction of Holden’s deceased brother, Allie • Allie dies of leukemia • Holden reacts violently to Allie’s death  breaks all the windows in the garage • How is Allie’s death symbolic? He was very young; represents the innocence that Holden places so much importance on • Holden’s actions (being kind to Ackley, inviting him to the movies) are inconsistent with his opinions  does this make him a hypocrite or a phony? • Shows he is able to acting like a normal teenager

3. Chapter 6 • Stradlater insults the composition Holden wrote for him  Holden takes offense to this and rips up the work • This is one of the items that leads to the physical altercation between Stradlater and Holden • Holden finds it terribly difficult to truly communicate what he wants to say • When he can’t find the words to communicate and faces confusion, he turns to violence (like in the garage after his brother’s death) • Holden’s behaviour often comes off as childish despite his offensive language and cynical point of view

4. Chapter 7 • Holden decides to head to New York early and wait until his parents find out about his expulsion • Takes his hunting hat with him

5. Chapter 8 • Comes across the mother of a classmate  lies to her and tells her what she wants to hear about her son (being phony?)

6. Chapter 9 • First mention of the ducks in the Central Park lagoon  will be a recurring symbol throughout the novel • Holden becomes obsessed with the question of “Where do the ducks go in the winter?” • Calls a promiscuous girl, but ends up bailing on making plans after she delays the situation

7. Holden’s Mental Breakdown • The novel is a chronicle of Holden’s emotional breakdown, but Holden never comments on it directly • His behaviour increasingly suggests that there is more to the story than Holden admits: running through the snow to Mr. Spencer’s house; writing Stradlater’s composition about Allie’s mitt, rather than a room; attacking Stradlater for joking about Jane; leaving his dorm in the middle of the night and yelling an insult on the way out • Holden’s loneliness and lying further lead us to believe that he is not well mentally or emotionally • Lying is a sign of his immaturity and instability

8. Connectedness • Within the last few chapters read, Holden increasingly shows his need to connect with those around him • Runs through a list of people he could call when he gets to New York • Attempts to make a date with a promiscuous stranger • Goes to the Lavender Room and ends up dancing/flirting with the older women

9. Sexuality • Holden admits that he is a virgin  has tried to lose his virginity many times, but things never seem to work out • In watching the other hotel guests, Holden reveals some of his thoughts about sex • People should only have sex if they deeply care for one another • Holden is bothered that people have the perception that sexual attraction can be separate from respect and intimacy • Has an issue with casual or kinky sexual behaviour

10. Chapter 10 • Holden goes down to the Lavender Room • Expresses his desire to call Phoebe again  Holden’s description of Phoebe is strikingly similar to his description of Allie • “You should see her. You never saw a little kid so pretty and smart in your whole life. She’s really smart…She has this sort of red hair, a little bit like Allie’s was, that’s very short in the summertime.” (10) • Phoebe’s flaw is she is too emotional  do we see this trait in Holden too?

11. Chapter 11 • Holden reveals more about Jane in this chapter • Reveals the type of companionship Holden looks for • She is the only person who he ever showed Allie’s mitt to  incredible trust here • Describes a deep emotional connection • Their moments of intimacy were free of any sort of phoniness • “I really got to know her quite intimately. I don’t mean it was anything physical or anything – it wasn’t – but we saw each other all the time. You don’t always have to get too sexy to get to know a girl.” (76) • “All you knew was, you were happy. You really were.”  He knew he was happy when he was with Jane; he is missing this at the moment

12. Chapter 12 • Second mention of the ducks in Central Park • Goes to Ernie’s, but is unimpressed • Spends a lot of time describing the people around him • “People are always ruining things for you.”

13. Holden’s Main Problem? Loneliness • In the last few chapters, Holden embarks on a quest to find interaction: • Calling Faith Cavendish • Repeatedly thinks about other people • Wants to call multiple people • Engages cab drivers in conversation • Flirts with the women at the Lavender Room

14. Reliable Narrator? • Able to lie frequently and easily • Tries to present himself as wise beyond his years and a playboy in the Lavender Room • Holden likes to think that he is perceptive, but he’s just a teenager; he is no wiser than anyone else his age • He shows a very real inability to understand the world around him and this leads to further disconnect and loneliness

15. Chapter 13 • Holden acknowledges that he is a coward at heart, afraid of violence and confrontation • Prostitute comes to his room, but all Holden wants to do is talk • Thinks his lack of aggression has prevented him from sleeping with women • Holden believes that women want a man who asserts power and control, which doesn’t describe him • Sunny represents another of Holden’s attempts at female companionship, but not like the companionship he has with Jane • Experience would be devoid of emotion and superficial

16. Chapter 14 • Holden reveals that he feels guilty for a time when he didn’t allow Allie to come hang out with his friends • Holden gets beat up by the elevator attendant and Sunny takes the $5 she said Holden owed them

17. Chapter 15 • Holden calls Sally Hayes and they agree to meet for a date • Holden furthers the description of his parents • Father gets angry when Holden loses things • Mother hasn’t felt healthy since the dead of Allie; she’s fragile • Comes across some nuns and gives them a charitable donation • Believes that money makes people depressed

18. Sexuality (cont’d) • Tension between Holden’s growing sexuality and his need for innocence • The reality he faces about sexuality is far removed from the idealized encounters he fantasizes about that he emerges hurt and wounded • Holden shies away from the adult world – hides from intimacy and terrified of sexuality

19. Isolation • He is too scared to call Jane and to scared to sleep with Sunny • Holden takes refuge in isolation, but this isolation only deepens the pain of alienation and loneliness • Holden isn’t able to relate to people  even finds difficultly relating to Sally, an uncomplicated character

20. Childhood vs. Adulthood • Holden sees life as divided into two parts: childhood (innocence and goodness) and adulthood (superficial and evil) • This division allows him to maintain his barrier from the world: rationalizes his loneliness by pretending that every adult is phony

21. Chapter 16 • Holden thinks of the nuns – impressed by their generosity and inclination to give of themselves to others • Buys a record for Phoebe – reflects that even though she is young, she always knows what he means when he talks to her • Calls Jane but hangs up when her mother answers • Holden wants to see Phoebe so he goes to a park where she roller skates  sees a friend of Phoebe’s instead • Holden walks to the Museum of Natural History  focuses on how life is frozen in time (unchanging, simple, comprehensible) • Remarks that every time he goes to the museum, he feels that he has changed, but the museum stays the same (innocence)

22. Chapter 17 • Meets Sally (attractive, late) • Physicality  they make out in the taxi • At the play, Sally flirts with someone, but Holden still agrees to take her ice skating • They take a break and Holden begins to unravel  rants about phonies, finally speaks about his alienation • Tells Sally they should escape society together • Sally puts down his dreams and he becomes more agitated • Holden insults Sally and ends up leaving without her

23. Holden’s Collapse • Unaware of his agitation • Unable to deal with the reality in which he finds himself • Has mood swings when he is out with Sally  in love with her, then annoyed, then passionate, then annoyed again, then says he was truly in love when he wanted to run away with her • His feelings are irrational, but show an extreme desire to be loved • Except for his thoughts about Phoebe and Jane, it seems as though no one cares about how he feels • Only when he doesn’t conform to societal norms does anyone notice his behaviour (they usually criticize him)

24. Chapter 18 • Calls Jane, but no one picks up • Calls old friend, Carl Luce, who agrees to meet Holden later • Holden thinks about joining the army  would rather be shot by a firing squad or sit on top of a bomb

25. Chapter 19 • Holden reminisces that Luce used to tell the younger boys about sex • He finds Luce amusing, even though he is effeminate and a phony • Holden exhibits male bravado  Holden’s interaction with the effeminate Carl Luce causes him to exhibit subtle homophobia that will come up again (uncomfortable with sexuality and homosexuality) • Holden looking for guidance and insight into sex, but goes about it in the wrong way • When the two men meet up, Holden annoys Luce by persistently asking about his sex life • Holden annoys Luce with his immature comments and questions • Luce leaves, but first suggests that Holden get psychoanalyzed • With each attempt at interaction, Holden loses more faith in himself

26. Chapter 20 • Holden gets drunk at the bar • Tries to connect with Sally Hayes, lounge singer and hat-check girl  strikes out three times • Goes to visit the duck pond in Central Park • Drops and breaks the record he bought for Phoebe • Reveals he missed Allie’s funeral because he was in the hospital after breaking the windows • He remembers going to Allie’s grave after the fact; the idea of placing flowers on the grass over a dead person disturbs him • Is running out of money and wants to talk to Phoebe, so he wants to risk sneaking into his house

27. Walk to the Duck Pond • His thoughts on this walk reveal the root of his troubles: his depression over Allie’s death • Holden’s preoccupation with the duck pond: troubled by unexplained disappearances • Allie dies suddenly, the ducks leave suddenly  Holden doesn’t believe in afterlife, so what comes next? • Anxious that people and things just vanish • Pond as metaphor? Partly frozen, in a transitional state like everyone in the world • Holden notices small details that children usually notice

28. Chapter 21 • Holden sneaks into his family’s apartment and finds Phoebe sleeping in D.B.’s room • She is excited to see him, but she soon realizes that he must have been kicked out of school because he is home early • Phoebe repeatedly states that their father will “kill” him and she refuses to listen to Holden’s excuses

29. Chapter 22 • Phoebe tells Holden that he hates everything and asks him to name one thing he likes • He thought about the nuns he met and about James, a classmate who commit suicide due to bullying  says he likes Allie, but Phoebe reminds Holden that Allie is dead • Holden is drawn to youth and innocence, which explains why the people he likes are children (in particular, ones who died remaining innocent and unchanged by the world) • Introduction to title of the novel  Robert Burns poem “Coming Thro’ the Rye”

30. “Coming Thro’ the Rye” • Holden thinks the line from the poem reads “If a body catch a body comin’ through the rye” • Holden imagines a large field of rye on a cliff full of children playing • He wants to stand near the edge of the cliff and catch children who come close to falling off the edge (Catcher in the Rye) • The field of rye is a symbol of childhood, the cliff is a symbol of adulthood • The children stand at the precipice between childhood and adulthood • Holden wants to save children, in turn saving innocence • Phoebe points out that the line actally reads “If a body meet a body coming through the rye”

31. Chapter 23 • Holden contacts old school teacher, Mr. Antolini, who invites Holden to stay over until he is ready to face his parents • Mr. Antolini was the only one who approached James after his death, which showed Holden a form of kindness and compassion • Holden’s parents return home and Holden exits, telling Phoebe his plan to move out west on his own • Before he leaves, Holden gives Phoebe his hunting hat

32. Chapter 24 • Holden arrives at Mr. Antolini’s • Mr. Antolini tells Holden that he fears that Holden seems ready for a major fall  the inability to deal with the world around him • Mr. Antolini wants to keep Holden from this fall, much like Holden wants to save children from the cliff • Holden is reluctant to take his advice  Holden is suspicious of taking advice and is unwilling to communicate about it (same with Mr. Spencer) • Holden wakes up later in the night to Mr. Antolini stroking his head  Holden believes this is a homosexual action and leaves abruptly • Was this a homosexual advance? Two sides: • Mr. Antolini asks Holden about his girlfriends and calls him “handsome” • A tipsy sign of affection for a former student who he is concerned about

33. Chapter 25 • Holden spends the day erratically: walking up and down, thinking he is going to disappear, calling out to Allie, etc. • He decides to leave New York and writes Phoebe a note telling her to meet him at the Museum of Art • Unable to deal with the world around him, he decides to run away (a very childish decision) • Finds the words “fuck you” written on the walls and this immensely bothers him • Passes out in the museum, but doesn’t see this as an issue • Phoebe comes to the museum with a suitcase, wanting to leave with Holden • Holden refuses, but offers to take her to the zoo instead  they reconcile while Phoebe is on the carousel • Phoebe provides the interaction that Holden has been craving the entire novel

34. Chapter 26 • Holden doesn’t state what happened the day after the zoo • Tells the audience that he went home, got sick, and was sent to the rest home from there • Talking about what happened to him makes him miss all the people in his story • The novel’s ending in unclear  Will Holden recover as he promises? • Holden’s final statement—“Don’t tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody”— suggests that he still has the same problems that stemmed throughout the novel • He is scared, alone, and afraid of communication • However, by using the phrase “missing everybody”, he may have learned how to value people  it is more uplifting than his attitude earlier