Chapter+Questions

Part I.

Chapters 1-4

1. Who is Holden Caulfield? Write down at least three characteristics of Holden and note the page number of each.

Holden Caulfield is a bad student because he is failing four out of the five subjects he is taking (p.6). Holden Caulfield is a loyal person because he is coming back to his school that he got kicked out of just so he could say Good-by to Old Spencer, his history teacher (p.6). He is also neglectful because he forgot the fencing team’s equipment on the subway (p.6).

2. Where is Holden as he narrates the story? He is in a care institution near his brother who is in Hollywood. Holden is narrating the story from a place not far from his brother who lives in Hollywood.

3. Why wasn't Holden at the big football game?

Holden wasn’t at the big football game because he had just gotten back from New York with the fencing team. He was the manager of the team and he left the equipment on the subway. And the other reason he wasn’t at the big football game was because he was on his way to say good-by to Old Spencer, his history teacher.

4. Why wouldn't Holden be back to Pencey after Christmas vacation?

Holden wouldn’t be back to Pencey after Christmas vacation because he was kicked out of Pencey; he was frequently given warnings about applying himself because flunking four subjects out of five.

5a. What "dirty trick" did Mr. Spencer pull on Holden?

The “dirty trick” that Mr. Spencer pulled on Holden was that he was that he was rereading Holden’s terrible and wrong exam answer right in front of Holden while knowing that Holden was aware of the awful answer. 

5b.On page 8 Mr. Spencer explains to Holden that life is a game. Do you agree with Holden's reaction to Mr. Spencer?

"'Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.' 'Yes, sir. I know it is. I know it.'  Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game."

Yes, I do agree to Holden’s reaction towards what Mr. Spencer has told him.

5c. If life is a game, who is on the winning and losing side among Holden, Ackley, and Stradlater?

If life is a game, Stradlater is definitely on the winning side because he has a fit body, he has a girlfriend, and he comes from wealth. Ackley is on the losing side because he has a very bad personality, he likes bothering and pestering people and he never brushes. Holden is also on the losing side because he is not in a relationship, he was kicked out of four schools and he was currently kicked out of Pencey because he is failing four out of five classes.

6. Compare and contrast Robert Ackley and Ward Stradlater by listing at least two characteristics for each character. Note down the page number of each.

Robert Ackley: peculiar, very tall, round shouldered, and has lousy teeth. (p.26) Ward Stradlater: fit, rich, friendly (p.34)

8. Who is Jane Gallagher?

Jane Gallagher used to live next door to Holden the summer before last. She had this big Doberman pinscher and that is how Holden and Jane met; her dog kept on coming over to his place. She also is a ballet dancer, and she used to practice for two hours practically every day. Holden and Jane played checkers all the time and she wouldn’t move any of her kings. She just left them in the back row because she liked the way they look. <span style="color: #000066; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">

9. Why doesn't Holden go down to see Jane when he has the chance to? Do you believe him when he says, "I'm not in the mood right now." (10)

<span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Holden doesn’t want to go down to see Jane when he has the chance to because he is scared that she had changed from the person that she was when they were neighbors. I also don’t believe him when he says that he is not in the mood right now because it is obvious that this answer is just a cover up from what he really feels inside. <span style="color: #000066; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #000066; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">

10. Count the number of times Holden's red hunting hat is mentioned in chapter's 1-4.

<span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Holden’s red hunting hat is mentioned three times in chapter four. Once when he was explaining to the reader from where he got this hat. The second time it got mentioned was when he was telling Robert Ackley about the hat. And the final time when Ward Stradler complemented Holden’s hat so he could do his English essay for him.

11. What do you think the following quotation on p. 22 tells us about what the Holden's red hunting hat means to Holden? What does it tell us about how he sees the world?

<span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Holden’s hat means a lot for Holden or else he wouldn’t have been so defensive about it. It tells us that Holden sees the world as if every person is attacking him so he starts to say statements like “I shoot people with this hat”.

**Ackley** took another look at my hat. . . "Up home we wear a hat like that to shoot deer in, for Chrissake,” he said. “That’s a deer shooting hat.” “Like hell it is.” I took it off and looked at it. I sort of closed one eye, like I was taking aim at it. “This is a people shooting hat,” I said. “I shoot people in this hat.”

12. According to Holden, what is a phony? Do you agree with him that there are many phony people in the world?

<span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">According to Holden a phony is a person that acts one way in front of people but another way when he is not with them. In other words he thinks a phony is a person who always “acts” to be another person. I agree with Holden that there are many phonies in the world.

Part II.

1. Count the number of words in the lead sentence. How does the length of the lead sentence contribute to its meaning.

<span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">There are 63 words in the lead sentence. The length of the lead contributes positively to the story. By adding more words to the lead sentence the author is adding more information about the character in the story.

2. Describe the tone of the opening page and explain how the word choice creates the tone.

<span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The tone of the opening page is mysterious and harsh. When you first read this you think that the character is talking to you and there is so much about him that is hidden and you want to keep reading on to see who he really is. As if he is hiding something. And it is also harsh to his parents because he wouldn’t talk about his past and history, and then referring to his parents he stated that if he mentioned something personal about them they will have “two hemorrhages apiece”. The word choice that author chose created the tone of this story by the language and swearing, which made me realize how Holden is upset from his parents and which made the tone harsh. And the author’s word choice about the past (lousy childhood, occupied before they had me…) shows me how Holden likes to preserve his past and makes the tone more mysterious.

//Catcher in the Rye// p. 1

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have two hemorages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them. They're quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They're nice and all--I'm not saying that--but they're also touchy as hell. Besides I'm not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything.(1).