Catcher in the Rye

Who is Holden Caulfield?

He is a sixteen-year old-student at a prep school in Pennsylvania.

Holden was forced to return early to school from New York because

He lost the teams fencing equipment

What does Mr. Antolini do that changes things with Holden?

He pets his head while he sleeps.

What does Stradlater say that makes Holden try to punch him?

He says that he and Jane just sat in Ed Banky's car during their date and refuses to give any more details, saying, "that's a professional secret, buddy."

What type of car does DB drive?

Jaguar

Holden leaves Mr. Antolini's apartment because

he thinks mr. Antolini made a pass at him

What song was the little boy humming on the street?

"If a body catch a body coming through the rye."

What record was Holden looking for?

"Little Shirley Beans"

What does Holden say as he leaves Pencey?

"Sleep tight, ya morons!"

What question does Holden ask Ackley when he wakes him up?

"What's the routine on joining a monastery? . . . Do you have to be a Catholic and all?"

When is the book set

1950's

How many years older is Luce than Holden?

3

How many schools has Holden been kicked out of?

4

At the end, where do we find out Holden is telling his story from?

A psychiatric ward. He has had a nervous breakdown.

What does Holden buy for Phoebe?

A record titled "Little Shirley Beans"

After Holden checks into his room at the Edmont Hotel, what does he see out of his window?

A variety of bizarre sex acts going on in other rooms of the hotel

What does Holden dislike the most about the bible?

Disciples

Phoebe chastises Holden because, in her mind, he

Doesn't like anything

What is the name of the school Holden is attending at the beginning of the story?

Elkton Hills

What is the only class that Holden passed?

English

What was the actual truth about her son?

Ernest Morrow was kind of a jerk who enjoys hurting people, and Holden suspects that Ernie will continue to be a "rat" for the rest of his life.

Who does Holden "see" that gets the girls so excited?

Gary Cooper

What did Holden ask the cab driver?

He asked where the ducks from the Central Park lagoon go in the wintertime.

Where did Holden decide to go?

He decided to leave Pencey early to go to a hotel in New York and wait until Wednesday to go home to give his parents time to get the letter from school and get over the fact that he has been kicked out of yet another school.

About what did Holden write about Stradlater's composition?

He described his dead brother Allie's baseball glove, which had poems written on it in green ink. Stradlater complained that it was about a baseball glove instead of a room or some more typical composition topic. He insulted Holden, so Holden ripped up the paper.

Holden said he felt like committing suicide. Why didn't he?

He didn't want a bunch of "stupid rubbernecks" looking at him all gory.

Who was Robert Ackley?

He had a pimply face and very bad dental hygeine

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

He had been expelled, because he failed four of five subjects

Where is Holden as he narrates the story?

He is at parents' house in New York

What causes Holden to be kicked out of Pencey Prep

He is failing ⅘ of his classes

What does Mr. Antolini worry about with regard to Holden's future?

He is worried he is heading for a great fall.

Why isn't Holden able to fall asleep in Ackley's room?

He keeps thinking about Jane and Stradlater in Ed Banky's car.

Whom did Holden meet on his train ride? Infer why he lied to her?

He met the mother of a school-mate. He lied, because he wanted the mother to feel proud of her son and he wanted to tell her what she

Why does Holden get annoyed w SPencer

He read aloud one of his essays

After Maurice hits Holden in the crotch, what does Holden do

He repeatedly insults Maurice, resulting in further physical punishment.

How does Holden calm himself down when he gets scared while walking at the end?

He talks to Allie and asks him not to let him disappear.

Why does Holden assume people will think he looks older than he is?

He understands people like someone who's older than him.

Why didn't Holden go to Allie's funeral?

He was in the hospital after he hurt his hands trying to break all the windows in his garage.

What was Holden thinking about as he was talking to Mr. Spencer?

He was wondering where the ducks from the Central Park lagoon went when it froze over.

Why doesn't Holden go down to see Jane?

He wasn't in the mood

Holden claims he can't sleep with Sunny because

He's just had an operation on his "clavichord."

What does Phoebe give Holden?

Her Christmas money.

Just before he leaves her room, Phoebe gives Holden

Her christmas money

What does Holden's father do?

His father works as a corporation lawyer who's always investing money in shows on Broadway.

Why did Stradlater hit Holden?

Holden got mad because of Stradlater's attitude towards Jane Gallagher, and he started calling Stradlater a moron. Holden threw the first punch in the fight, but Stradlater hit Holden in the face, knocked him down and gave him a bloody nose.

Why do Holden and Sally get into a fight?

Holden had gotten irritated when Sally introduced him to a phony Ivy League guy named George at the show.

Where did Holden take Sally for their date?

Holden took Sally to watch a matinee performance of "I Know My Love." Later, the two go ice skating at Radio City and have Cokes.

What is the "catcher in the rye"?

Holden's dream job

Who does stradlater take on a date

Jane

What bothered "the hell" out of Holden?

Jane's sadness and her trying to hide it by rubbing her tear into the checkerboard

What is Phoebe's real middle name?

Josephine

What year of high school is Holden in?

Junior

What was the name of the room that Holden goes to in the hotel?

Lavender Room

At breakfast, Holden is surprised that the nun

Likes Romeo and Juliet

Who does Holden see at Ernie's?

Lillian Simmons

Why did Holden have to leave Ernie's

Lillian is becoming annoying

What is the name of the pimp Holden meets?

Maurice

Whose house does Holden go to in the middle of the night?

Mr. and Mrs. Antolini

Does Holden win the fight with Stradlater?

NO

Which class does Holden flunk and hate at Pencey Prep?

Oral Expressions-he hates that one isn't allowed to digress from the topic.

What book is Holden reading again when Ackley comes into the room?

Out of Africa

What is the name of the school Holden is attending at the beginning of his story?

Pencey Prep

Although Phoebe's real middle name is "Josephine," she signs her name as

Phoebe Weatherfield Caulfield

Holden nostalgically remembers the way Jane Gallagher used to

Play checkers

After his encounter with Maurice, Holden

Pretends he's a movie character who has been shot

Who says this "You don't do one damn thing the way you're supposed to. I mean it."

Stradlater

Holden tries to punch Stradlater immediately after

Stradlater refuses to answer Holden's questions about his date.

Holden had Allie's baseball mitt in his suitcase.

TRUE

According to Holden, what is "the best thing" about the Museum of Natural History?

That everything always stayed right where it was"

What book does Holden say he appreciates at the end of chapter 18?

The Great Gatsby

What book did DB write that is a favorite of Holden's?

The Secret Goldfish

Why wasn't Holden at the big football game?

The first is that he and the rest of the fencing team had gone to New York for a fencing competition. They were meant to be gone until the evening, but Holden forgot the fencing equipment on the subway and they had to return without getting to compete.

Why does Holden leave his old school

The master treated wealthy people better

What does Holden think girls use as an excuse to date jerks?

They say the guy has an inferiority complex.

As he prepares to leave New York City, Holden repeatedly encounters

Vulgarity scrawled on walls

When the novel begins Holden describes

Watching a football game

What bar does Holden meet Luce at?

Wicker Bar

Who is Ernie?

a big fat colored guy that plays the piano at a night club in Greenwich Village

Once back in New York, the first person Holden tries to invite for a drink is

a cab driver

The elevator operator at the Edmont offers to get Holden

a prostitute

What item of clothing did Holden buy during the team's trip to New York?

a red hunting hat

What/Who does Holden see at the Edmont Hotel?

a variety of bizarre sex acts

According to Holden, Ernest is?

an insensitive person who was "doubtless the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey"

What game would Jane and Holden play together?

checkers

What does the lobby at the hotel smell like?

fifty million dead cigars

What does Thurmer compare life to?

game

Just before he leaves her room, Phoebe gives Holden

her christmas money

Luce tells Holden that he is what?

immature

What does Holden think of Thurmer?

phony slob

Who did Luce suggest that Holden go see?

psychoanalyst

What does Holden buy in New York for a dollar?

red hunting hat

What type of slob is Stradlater according to Holden?

secret slob

As Holden predicted, Sally is excited to

see the lunts

What does Holden do in their room that Stradlater doesn't like?

smokes a cigarette

What does Holden talk to Sally about at the bar?

tells her he'll come and help her trim the tree on Christmas Eve

Who did Holden tell the elevator operator he was going to visit?

the Dicksteins (his family's neighbors)

Who does Holden sit next to on the train?

the mother of Ernest Morrow (one of Holden's classmates at Pencey Prep)

Why did Sunny and Maurice come back to Holden's room?

to pick up the five dollars that they think he owes them

Who did Holden meet in the little sandwich bar?

two nuns

What did Holden and Jane do after they made out?

went to a movie

What favor does Stradlater ask of Holden?

write a descriptive composition for English