Characters
Who is Sally Hayes?
Sally Hayes is an attractive woman who goes on a date with Holden. They are acquaintances and he sees her as a phony.
What is significant about Holden's red hunting hat?
Uniqueness and individuality. Alienation from the rest of the world.
Who did Holden meet at the "little sandwich bar"?
He met two nuns.
Where does Holden meet the two nuns?
A little sandwich bar
Who said, “Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone"?
Holden Caulfied
Holden's younger brother with red hair
Allie
What themes can be inferred from Holden's hesitation to call Sally Hayes, finding comfort in unchanging exhibits, and longing for a simplistic childhood?
Fear of intimacy and connection, desire for innocence, isolation and alienation.
Who beats up Holden which triggers him to fantasize about being shot in the stomach?
Maurice
Where do Sally and Holden go after the play?
They go ice skating.
Who said, "I didn't want a bunch of stupid rubbernecks looking at me when I was all gory"
Holden
Why does Holden not want to tell his mother that he was expelled again?
He cares deeply about his mother and does not want to tell his mother about the expulsion because her health has not been good since Allie died.
What is significant about the Museum of Natural History?
Things are frozen and unchanging - simple and understandable. Holden doesn't like that he has changed every time he returns to view the displays. Everything is in glass, preserved untouched for years.
Holden ends the date suddenly with Sally Hayes. What does he say that frightens her?
They should run away to Vermont or Massachusetts, get married, and live in a cabin.
"The best thing ... was that everything always stayed right where it was" - Where is Holden when he says this?
The musuem
Who said, “You’re sorry. You’re sorry. That’s very funny. If you think I’d ever let you take me home, you’re mad. No boy ever said that to me in my entire life"?
Sally Hayes
Why didn't Holden like actors?
He thought actors were the biggest phonies of all
What is the significance of the "catcher in the rye"?
Holden's dream job preserving innocence. He 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.
Why did Maurice hit Holden?
Holden refused to give Maurice the extra 5 dollars for Sunny. After Sunny had taken the money from his wallet, Holden called Maurice a dirty moron, so Maurice slugged him in the stomach.
What are the main locations of chapters 14-17?
Various locations in New york city, a hotel room, The Museum of Natural History, Central Park
Who is Holden talking to when he says, "'Boy do I hate it(...), and being introduced to phony guys that call the Lunts Angels, and going up and down elevators when you jut want to go outside"
Sally Hayes
How did the little boy walking with his family lift Holden’s spirits?
The boy was singing, “If a body catch a body coming through the rye.”
Where can we see themes of isolation and loneliness in the chapters?
Evident through interactions with Sally Hayes and his feelings of comfort when visiting the Museum of Natural History. It highlights his struggles to connect with others and his desire for stability in a world he feels alienated from.
Holden takes Sally Hayes on a date to see this show
The Lunts
Where does Holden buy the record "Little Shirly Beans" for Phoebe?
He heads down Broadway and buys it from a music store
Holden says “You ought to go to a boy’s school sometimes. Try it sometime,” I said. “It’s full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe" to Sally. What does he think about school?
To Holden, the whole point of education is to make you rich, so it’s phony. He believes his teachers and classmates are insincere and only care about appearances rather than learning, making him dislike schools.