All About Holden
Characters
Symbolism
Quotes
Miscellaneous
100
This is the present Holden buys for Phoebe
"Little Shirley Beans" record - Holden drops it and it breaks. Why is this significant?
100
When Holden called Sally from the Wicker Bar, this person picked up the phone
Who is Sally's grandmother?
100
The significance about Holden's red hunting hat
What is... Uniqueness and individuality. Alienation from the rest of the world. Internal struggle between sticking out and being normal Form of protection ?
100
This character said, “Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody"
Who is Holden Caulfield?
100
The number of days that the events of the novel spans
What is three days? (Saturday-Monday)
200
Describe the situation the second time that Holden "started with that stupid business with the bullet in [his] guts again"
What is... he was really drunk. After Carl Luce left the Wicker Bar, Holden had stayed at the bar drinking until around 1am.
200
What a lucky break! This character wasn't working, so Holden was able to sneak up to his family's apartment.
Who is Pete, the regular night elevator boy. It was another guy who Holden had never seen before.
200
The significance about the ducks in the Central Park lagoon
What is... Some changes are temporary - Holden hates change because of Allie's death. Ducks leave every winter when things get tough, but they return every spring - cyclical change which isn't permanent. Holden leaves when life gets too hard. Pond partly frozen and partly not frozen - transition between two states - like Holden between childhood and adulthood. ?
200
This character said, “ "And now we like to geeve you our impression of Vooly Voo Fransay. Eet ees the story of a leetle Fransh girl who comes to a beeg ceety, just like New York, and falls een love wees a leetle boy from Brookleen. We hope you like eet."
Who is Janine? (the French girl who sang at the Wicker Bar, while the other, named Tina, played the piano)
200
He is author of the novel
Who is J.D. Salinger?
300
This is the reason that Holden decides to stay and not go out West
What is Phoebe surprised him by packing a suitcase with her belongings because she wanted to go with him? (He can't let Phoebe ruin her life like he ruined his, so he tells her that he isn't going anymore)
300
Who is Holden's old English teacher who pats Holden on the head while he sleeps?
Mr. Antolini
300
The significance about the Museum of Natural History
What is... Things are frozen and unchanging - simple, understandable, infinite. Doesn't like that he has changed every time he returns to view the displays. Everything is in glass, preserved untouched for years. ?
300
This character said, “Oh, God! Is this going to be a typical Holden Caulfield conversation?”
Who is Carl Luce?
300
Describe Holden's health throughout the last few chapters.
He is becoming sick - headaches, stomachaches, dizziness, passing out
400
This is where Holden is at the end of the book
What is in a mental institution?
400
This character is the Columbia student who advises Holden to see a psychoanalyst
Who is Carl Luce?
400
The significance of the the carousel
What is... Represents Holden growing up. He didn't go on - matures and understands he's not a child anymore. ?
400
This character said, “You did get kicked out! You did! Oh Holden”
Who is Phoebe Caulfield?
400
Phoebe reprimands Holden because she thinks that he...
Doesn't like anything
500
This is why Holden gets upset when he sees graffiti with the f-word
What is... Little kids can see it, which will ruin their innocence. He soon understands that he cannot possibly erase all of the profanities out of the world and realizes that he cannot save every child. ?
500
In a flashback, Holden tells a story about this person who jumped out the window rather than take back what he said about another student
Who is James Castle?
500
The significance of the "catcher in the rye"
What is... Holden's dream job - preservation of innocence. Imagines children playing in a field of rye near a cliff. Catch children before they fall out of innocence into the knowledge of the adult world. Stop kids from growing up so they are not miserable. ?
500
This character said, “I have a feeling that you’re headed for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall"
Who is Mr. Antolini?
500
This is where Holden sleeps after leaving Mr. Antolini's house
What is on a bench in Grand Central Station?
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