She finds that weird, so she demands to be paid. They haggle over the money with Sunny arguing that her fee is actually double what her pimp quoted him. Later her pimp forces his way in, takes what they believe they are owed. The pimp punches him, after Holden insults him, calling him a “dirty moron” (135).
The next day after giving money to some nuns he meets at breakfast, Holden spends the day with Sally Hayes, a girl he used to date. Sally Hayes is a bit pretentious but very pretty and they catch a movie and go skating. At one point when they’re taking a break from skating, Holden suggests they run away together and live in a cabin in the woods and she sort of dismisses the idea, so he tells her “You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth” (173). This makes her cry and he has to apologize for it. She then refuses to let him take her home. He thinks about phoning Jane again but instead meets up with Carl Luce, a kid he knew at Whooton, which is the school he was presumably thrown out of before Pencey. They just have one drink together at the Wicker Bar as Carl seems annoyed by everything that comes out of Holden’s mouth, even the more neutral things. Holden begs Carl to stay for another drink, but he leaves, saying that he is late. Holden continues to drink alone.
Holden then wanders around Central Park until the freezing temperature coaxes him back to his parents’ apartment where his younger sister Phoebe is, age 10. Phoebe quickly figures out that he had been kicked out of school again and has a pointed remark for him: she asserts that he doesn’t like anything and then presses him to name one thing that he likes. She then presses him to name something he’d like to be. This is when Holden shares with her his fantasy, inspired by the Robert Burns poem, of being the guy that catches kids who are playing in a field of rye from falling off the edge of the cliff. This fantasy is the inspiration for the novel’s title. Their parents arrive home and Holden sneaks off again.
Holden has already made plans to stay with his old English teacher, Mr. Antolini. Holden has known Mr. Antolini a long time; he was his teacher at Elkton Hills, another private school Holden attended. Antolini is someone who has married a wealthy woman who is older than he, largely in a marriage of presumed convenience. Holden and Antolini smoke and drink and his teacher gives him some good life advice about developing his native talents and finding out more about how his mind works. However, Holden wakes up in the middle of the night to find his teacher crouched on the floor beside his couch, stroking his head. Holden freaks out when that happens, thinking his former teacher is making a pass at him. He flees, passing the rest of the night at Grand Central Station. In the morning, he wonders if he made the correct assessment about Antolini’s intentions.
The next day, he heads straight to Phoebe’s school and leaves a note for her, explaining that he’s going to hitchhike out west. He instructs her to meet him at the museum so he can give her back the money she lent him. Heartbreakingly, she comes to the museum with a suitcase and demands to runaway with him. He can’t agree to that, so instead they go to the park and she rides the carousel. It’s starts to pour and all the other parents and siblings watching their little ones go under the awning. However Holden just sits there and gets soaked, minimally protected by his hunting hat. That’s when the recollected adventure ends and Holden tells us that he’s still under care at an institution of some sort. We can assume it’s a mental health facility as he alludes to being psychoanalyzed. He also tells us he will be starting a new school in the fall. The book ends with Holden’s advice to the reader about remaining emotionally unattached to others.
Introduction One of the great American novels, J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye is a spot-on depiction of disaffected, disillusioned youth attempting to come to grips with the sad reality that growing up means selling out. Holden doesn’t want to sell out; on the contrary, he wants to be the “catcher in the rye”—the one who allows children to live forever in their innocence and maintain their state of grace
1. "I can't see anything religious or pretty, for God's sake, about a bunch of actors carrying crucifixes all over the stage" (137). ironic in his rejection of martyrs. 2. "we looked at the stuff the Indians had made in ancient times" (118). This simplicity makes Holden happy 3. "They gave me Out of Africa" (18). Allusion to a more mysterious and exotic place, but escape is still desired (implied in
Sets up the fact that no one can really be trusted. f. "They were always showing Columbus discovering America" (120). Shows Holden's disillusionment with the world and discovery. g. "told her I was going to South America with my grandmother" (58). Illustrates his conception of exoticism; depth/scope of imagination 5) Antolini's (possible) sexual advance -- ironic because it is what Holden was seeking from girls through much of the book, found unsought and
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye was first published in 1951. The novel deals with the issues of identity, belonging, connection and alienation. This paper will review five articles written on the novel. "Holden's Irony in Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye" This article by Lisa Privitera was published in Explicator in 2008. The article postulates that the irony of Holden Cauldfield is that the harder he
Antolini when he takes refuge on the man's sofa. He is rude to the girls to whom he is attracted, showing a discomfort and immaturity regarding his sexuality. The only person to whom Holden can relate is little sister Phoebe. When imagining a future for himself, Holden can only envision becoming a 'catcher in the rye.' This imaginary occupation is someone who prevents children playing in rye fields from falling
J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. The writer discusses the isolation that is experienced by the protagonist Holden and how that isolation is illustrated in the book. In today's world teenagers are said to have a harder time than those of yesteryear. Many experts disagree with this statement and point to J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye to illustrate that teens have historically had a hard time finding their way