Catcher in the Rye Study Questions - Wikispaces

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The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Name _______________________
English 9 /Joe

Write all answers on separate sheets of lined paper in complete sentences for maximum
points.

Chapter 1

1. Knowing what you know about Holden so far, why do you suppose he might like “The
Secret Goldfish,” a story about a kid who bought a goldfish with his own money and would
let no one look at it?

2. How does remembering a pick-up football game help Holden “get a good-by”?

Chapter 2
3. Why does Holden reject the idea that life is a game that we have to play by the rules?
Is his problem that he wants to make his own rules?
Has he earned the right to make them? Why or why not?
4. Why does the adjective “grand” make Holden “want to puke”?
5. How seriously are we to take Holden’s statement that the behavior of Mr. Haas at Elkton
Hills “...drives me crazy. It makes me so depressed I go crazy.” (14)
Does “crazy” mean insane or something different, like angry or frustrated? Explain.

Chapter 3

6. Does Ackley seem like an exaggerated character or do you believe such people exist?
How does Ackley function in the story? Is he, for example, 1) part of the reason

Holden leaves Pencey, 2) more like Holden than either would admit, or 3) is he just a foil to
Stradlater?

7. How seriously are we to take Holden’s speech to “Mother, darling”? (21)
Is he just joking around or is he, in some way, really blind?

Chapter 4

8. Ackley is a slob and Stradlater is a secret slob. What is the difference, which is worse,
and why?

9. Holden seems to be fascinated with Jane Gallagher. Do you think he is, or was, in love
with her? Why or why not?

10. Why does Holden ask Stradlater to ask Jane is she still keeps her kings in the back row?
Is the request supposed to convey a concealed message to her?

11. Why doesn’t Holden go downstairs to say hi to Jane?

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Chapter 5
12. What does Allie’s baseball mitt tell us about Allie?
13. What does Holden’s decision to write about Allie’s mitt tell us about Holden?
14. Why does Holden break windows after Allie’s death?

Chapter 6
15. Does Holden pick a fight with Stradlater to punish him or to be punished by him?

Chapter 7
16. Why does imagining Jane Gallagher with Stradlater in a parked car make Holden think
about jumping out a window?
17. What makes Holden feel lonely and how does it affect his decision to leave Pencey early?
18. Why does getting gifts make Holden feel sad?

Chapter 8
19. Why is Holden drawn to Mrs. Morrow?
Why does he tell her flattering lies about her son Ernest?
20. Why does Holden claim to have a brain tumor?

Chapter 9
21. Why does Holden feel the need to give someone “a buzz”?
Who does he call?

22. What is the significance of the question Holden asks the taxi driver about the ducks? Why
does Holden want to know?

Chapter 10

23. Compare Phoebe with both Holden and Allie. How is she similar to and/or different from
her brothers, according to Holden’s description of her?
24. What do we learn Holden likes in this chapter?

Do you see any patterns in what he likes?
25. What are Holden’s lies in this chapter?

Why does he lie?

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Chapter 11

26. List at least two details shared by Holden that show how well he knows Jane Gallagher.
27. What do you think happened – if anything – between Jane and Mr. Cudahy?

Why does it bother Holden?

Chapter 12
28. Why does Holden feel so lonesome?
Why does he avoid Lillian’s invitation?

Chapter 13

29. What does Holden mean when he describes himself as “partly yellow” (89)? What kinds of
things does Holden tell us he fears?

Do you think Holden is at all “yellow”? Why or why not? Refer to his specific
actions in the text.
30. What is ironic about the name of the prostitute? What makes the prostitute seem

“spooky” (98) to Holden?

Chapter 14

31. At the beginning of Chapter 14, what emotion or emotions lead Holden to talk to Allie?
What does this one-sided conversation show us about the relationship between Allie

and Holden?
32. Why does Holden open the door, knowing it is Maurice?

Why does he speak so nastily to Maurice?

Chapter 15

33. What indication that Sally is a phony do we see in this chapter?
34. How are Holden and his mother similar in their reactions to Allie’s death?
35. Why did Holden’s suitcases become an issue between him and his old roommate Slagle?

What statement about wealth and/or social class is Holden making by telling this story?

36. With which character in Romeo and Juliet does Holden identify? What reason(s) does he
give for liking and relating to this character?

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Chapter 16

37. According to Holden, how are the nuns’ charitable works different than those of his aunt or
Sally’s mother? What attitudes is Holden expressing in comparing them?

38. Why does seeing the little boy walking with his family cheer Holden up?
39. Why does Holden love the museum?

Why, if he loves it, does he decide not to go inside?

Chapter 17

40. Why does Holden “sort of [hate] old Sally” (128) by the end of the show?
41. After ice-skating, Holden launches into a list of the things he hates. What doesn’t he

hate? (Think about the list you make in chapter 10.)
42. Describe the date between Sally and Holden? How does it end?
Chapter 18
43. How does Holden react to the show at Radio City? Why does he react this way?

44. Describe Holden’s and his brother D.B.’s attitudes toward war and the military.
Chapter 19

45. Who is more obnoxious in this chapter – Holden or Luce? Why?
Chapter 20

46. Who does Holden call from the bar? Describe the conversation.
47. Where does Holden go after he leaves the bar? What terrible thing happens to him?
48. What do we learn about Holden from his imagining being dead, his funeral, etc?

Chapter 21
49. Why is it so important that Holden sees Phoebe?
50. How does Phoebe know her brother has been expelled?
Why does Phoebe hide her head under a pillow when she finds out?

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Chapter 22

51. What comment does Phoebe make after listening to Holden’s complaints about Pencey?
How does this comment show her understanding of Holden?

52. What is Holden’s dream job, and why?
53. In the chapter Holden says he doesn’t give a damn if his father kills him. Do you believe

him?

Chapter 23
54. Why does Holden cry? How is this different from when he cries at other points in the
novel?
55. Does Holden really want his parents to “catch” him? Why or why not?

Chapter 24

56. What is Holden’s attitude toward storytellers who digress?
What is his attitude toward those who “stick too much to the point” (183)?
How are these attitudes reflected in his own style of storytelling?

57. Does the Stekel quotation (188) about an immature man fit Holden? Why or why not?

58. What does Holden mean when he writes that Mr. Vinson “was very intelligent and all, but
you could tell he didn’t have too much brains” (185)?
What is the difference between being intelligent and having brains, in Holden’s eyes?

59. How is the life advice Mr. Antolini gives Holden similar to or different from the advice he
has gotten from other characters, such as Old Spencer, Carl Luce, and even Phoebe?
What does Mr. Antolini think will be the key to Holden’s future happiness (or at least, to
helping him become less depressed)?
Do you agree with what Mr. Antolini says? Why or why not?

Chapter 25
60. How does Holden’s physical state (sweating, headache, burning eyes, etc.) reflect his
mental state?
61. Why does Holden hate it when people say “Good luck” to him?

62. Why is Holden so angry about the profane graffiti at Phoebe’s (and Holden’s own
childhood) school? What does this graffiti represent for Holden?

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63. Why does Holden watch Phoebe on the carousel, rather than riding the carousel himself?
64. Why does Holden let Phoebe reach for the golden ring, even though it is dangerous?

What does reaching for the ring represent?
65. How does Holden feel at the end of the chapter? Why?

Chapter 26
66. Do you think Holden will “apply himself” when he goes back to school in September? Why
or why not?
67. Why does telling the story make Holden miss everyone?
68. Is something missing from the end? For example, would you have liked to see Holden
make some reference to his mother, Phoebe, Jane, etc.?