catcher in the rye english essay test, Catcher in the Rye chapters 1-14

Why is Holden considered to be an unreliable narrator (3 examples)?

About all I know is, I sort of miss everybody I told about. The fact that he has, at least to some extent, changed his mind about people who affected him so negatively casts doubt on his original judgments about them. We have to consider the likelihood that his feelings toward these characters were strongly influenced by his own state of mind, which we now have reason to question.

What does Ackley do that annoys Holden?

Ackley never sits down in a chair, he comes into rooms when he's not invited, he cuts his nails on the floor, he doesn't brush his teeth, etc.

Who is Allie, and why is his baseball mitt so special to Holden?

Allie is Holden's brother who died recently of leukemia, so the baseball mitt is a very special memory of him.

What does holden dislike about religion

He also claims that he is "sort of an atheist," but as he continues, Holden, religion is just one more way of creating social barriers and encouraging people to be phony. idoes not seem that he really is an atheist. He has knowledge of the Bible, believes in Jesus, and even admires him,

What point does Holden try to make about people when he talks about Stradlater and the "commas" and Ackley's description of the basketball player?

He is trying to say that people base why others are better at something than they are on technical things, like the basketball players build, instead of actual talent/skill.

Why does Holden keep asking "where do the ducks go" what does this represent

His obsession with ducks comes because here is another thing he can't save. The ducks are part of the background noise of life. If you are lucky enough to sit down and watch them, the ducks can entertain you and relax you. In a sense, children are the same way. For the most part, children are background noise. As you are running off to your next appointment in your busy adult life, you may pass a park and pick up some of the giggles from children. You hear them but you don't process them. However, if you just sat down and watched them for a bit, the children could make you laugh along with them., he doesnt get why people dont care just like they dont care about kids, je couldnt save his brother or his sisters innocence, he wants to know what happens

Describe holdens thoughts on mortality and use 2 examples from the book.

His younger brother died of leukemia four years before we meet him. He witnesses a young boy's suicide at prep school. And then there's the whole little problem of World War II. It seems like one of Holden's major issues in Catcher in the Rye is that people—phonies—go around pretending like major tragedies don't happen every day: they cry at sad movies, but they don't cry about the atomic bomb. No wonder he thinks his screenwriter brother D.B. is such a phony.

What made Holden cry?

Holden cries after Sunny and Maurice steal $5 from his wallet because it wasn't fair

What kind of health does Holden appear to be in?

Holden is not in great health because he is a heavy smoker and "practically" got t.b.

What does holden mean when he uses the term phony

Holden labels almost everyone a "phony," excepting Phoebe, Allie, and himself. In Holden's eyes, a "phony" is someone who embraces the world's mundane demands and tries to make something out of nothing—that is, just about everyone who studies in school or who puts on airs in order to do a job or achieve a goal. The fact that no one is acknowledging how trivial and fleeting life is, compared with the grand things we tell one another about reality—how difficult it is to truly love and share oneself with people knowing that all, like Allie, will eventually die—causes him to burn with frustration, even rage and label most people "phony."

Where does Holden then decide to go?

Holden leaves for New York until Wednesday.

How did Holden let the fencing team down?

Holden left all the foils and equipment on the subway.

What does Holden mean when he says "I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot?"

Holden means that even though his grammar and reading skills aren't very good, he still reads a lot of books. He reads advanced classics like Ring Laudner.

Why did it make Holden nervous that Stradlater was going out with Jane Gallagher?

Holden used to date Jane, and he was worried about her because he knows that Stradlater date rapes.

What did Spencer do that particularly annoyed Holden?

Holden was annoyed by how Spencer always yelled and by how he read his essay and called it garbage.

Why was Holden being kicked out of Pencey Prep?

Holden was flunking four subjects and not applying himself.

Why did Holden's fight with stradlater happen and what happneed (explain in detail)?

Home from his date, Stradlater barges into the room. He reads Holden's composition and becomes visibly annoyed, asserting that it has nothing to do with the assignment and that it's no wonder Holden is being expelled. Holden tears the composition up and throws it away angrily. Afterward, he smokes a cigarette in the room just to annoy Stradlater. The tension between the two increases when Holden asks Stradlater about his date with Jane. When Stradlater nonchalantly refuses to tell Holden any of the details, Holden attacks him, but Stradlater pins him to the floor and tries to get him to calm down. Holden relentlessly insults Stradlater, driving him crazy until he punches Holden and bloodies his nose. Stradlater then becomes worried that he has hurt Holden and will get into trouble. Holden insults him some more, and Stradlater finally leaves the room. Holden gets up and goes into Ackley's room, his face covered in blood.

When Holden is watching phoebe on the carrousel why is he so happy

I think that Holden is at peace at ths moment where time is not moving forward. Phoebe is on a carousel, symbolising childish pleasures but also a cyclical process. Phoebe is not going anywhere, unlike Allie who has left him and his trusted teacher who betrayed him. Here, at the carousel, time is static and Phoebe is supported by the carousel of childhood, watched over by Holden

Does Holden have any guilt feelings about Allie? Do you feel this is abnormal in any way, or normal?

I think that he has normal guilt feelings for Allie because he was much more accomplished and successful than Holden ever was, so he wonders why Allie passed away and not him.

Who is Mr. Spencer and why does Holden visit him?

Mr. Spencer is Holden's old teacher who he visits because he is recovering from a grippe and won't ever see again after winter break. Also, Mr. Spencer was the only teacher who actually believed that Holden could succeed.

Where and what is Pencey Prep?

Pencey Prep is a school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania for boys.Their goal is to "mold boys into splendid, clear-thinking young men."

Who is Robert Ackley? Describe him.

Robert Ackley is a student living in the room next to Holden at school. He has lousy personal hygiene and a terrible personality.

What do Holden and Stradlater fight over?

Stradlater came home from his date with Jane after her curfew, and Stradlater is not pleased with the essay that Holden wrote.

Who is Stradlater? Why does Holden refer to him as a "secret slob"? What does he look like?

Stradlater is Holden's roommate. He always looks alright but is a slob in the way he gets clean, like how his razor was extremely rusty. He has a good amount of facial hair.

Why did Holden's parents want to have him psychoanalyzed?

The night that Allie died, Holden broke all the windows in the garage with his fist.

What does Holden mean when he says this his brother D.B. is out in Hollywood "being a prostitute"?

Things from Hollywood are just for entertainment, so by selling out creative work for money, in Holden's mind D.B. is "being a prostitute."

What did the hat represent??

When he's wearing it, he can be as insular and tough and as ... individual as he wants—just like Allie and....it keeps him from being vulnerable and represents his uniqueness and individuality

Where is Holden as he narrates the story?

a mental institution somewhere near Hollywood

Holden says that he is a "pacifist." What is that, and is he?

a pacifist is someone who tries to avoid violence. In his head, Holden thinks that he is a pacifist, but he still can be cruel and pick fights.

What does Holden give us as the reason for "leaving" Elkton Hills?

because as Elkton Hills Holden was surrounded by phonies

Why does Holden leave Ernie's?

because he sees Lillian, an ex-girlfriend of D.B.'s whom everyone hates. she invites him to sit with her and her date, so he makes up an excuse to leave. also, he thinks that ernie is a "phony"

Why dose Holden suddenly decide to visit Ackley's room?

he doesn't want to stay with Stradlater after their fight, and he also wants to show his wounds to Ackley for attention

Why do you think Holden was crying as he left?

he got emotional because he was leaving a place that although he hated, he had established a life.

What are some of the lies Holden tells Mrs. Morrow? Do you think he's as sorry for them as he stated?

he tells mrs. morrow that her son was popular, shy, and almost class president, which is the opposite of his actual personality. i think he was sorry for the lies because she acted very kind towards him

What is his final good-bye to Pencey Prep?

he yells down the corrider at the top of his lungs "Sleep tight, you morons" so that everyone probably woke up.

What do Holden and the cab driver talk about?

holden asks the cab driver where the ducks go during the winter when their lake freezes over

What evidence shows us that Holden might have made a good actor?

holden imagines a descriptive scene where Maurice shoots him in the guts and he walks all over the hotel

Holden calls other people phony. In what way is he a phony?

holden lied to the mother on the train, and when he wanted to get with the girl in the middle of the night. when he creates a life for himself that is not realistic he is making himself just as phony as the people he complains about

Previously Holden stated he was a "pacifist." Does his description of how he would deal with the "glove thief" support this, or is he just "yellow"?

i don't think that his story supports him being a pacifist, because although he said he would be too scared to actually punch someone he said that he would still want to do it

What does Holden mean when he says, "Mothers are all slightly insane"?

mothers care about their kids more than anything in the world and will do anything for them, so in a way they are crazy

who is phoebe, and what is Holden's opinion of her?

phoebe is Holden's younger sister, and he admires her. he thinks that she's very smart and similar to Allie

What did Holden write the composition on and whys it important?

represents the world Holden wishes he could live in: it's the world of his "catcher in the rye" fantasy, a world where nothing ever changes, where everything is simple, understandable, and infinite.

What did the ducks represent?

the ducks prove that some vanishings are only temporary. Traumatized and made acutely aware of the fragility of life by his brother Allie's death, Holden is terrified by the idea of change and disappearance. The ducks vanish every winter, but they return every spring, thus symbolizing change that isn't permanent, but cyclical. Finally, the pond itself becomes a minor metaphor for the world as Holden sees it, because it is "partly frozen and partly not frozen." The pond is in transition between two states, just as Holden is in transition between childhood and adulthood.

What evidence is there that shows us that Holden probably doesn't look as old as he says he looks?

the waiter at The Lavendar asked if he was under 21, and the girls he danced with asked how his father was doing

what was the past relationship like between holden and jane?

they dated, but they cared about each other feelings and not about physical things (checkers, holding hands, going to movies)