The Catcher

in the
Rye
Study Guide
 The Catcher in the Rye: Study Guide

1. Characters
a. Holden
i. Hypocrite/Indecisive
1. Girls
2. Movies
3. People
ii. Seventeen/eighteen years old→ acts like a kid
iii. Personality
1. Bitterly sarcastic/Sardonic
2. Lonely
3. Careless
4. Sentimental
iv. Likes/Dislikes
1. Hates his school (Pencey)
2. Likes having a “good-bye
v. Family
1. Lonely Childhood
vi. Success/Wealth=phoniness
1. Pressure Self
2. Doesn’t want to be successful (?)
3. Know how to be successful (?)
4. Lazy
5. Not trying to hard
vii. Insecure
1. Gray hair
viii. Skin Deep=Phoniness
ix. Protective of Jane, doesn’t like the idea of Jane and Stradlater
x. Unreliable narrator
xi. Doesn’t apply himself
b. Parents
i. Touchy
ii. Not genuine
iii. Can’t relate to his parents
iv. Successful
v. Father: Wealthy, Corporation lawyer, invests money in bad shows
1. Similar to Holden, both invest themselves in bad things
vi. Mother: Nervous since Allie died
c. D.B.
i. “Prostitute”
ii. Jealous
iii. Successful
iv. Wrote stories=Progressed into Movies

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d. Ackley
i. Doesn’t go to game
ii. Annoying
iii. Zits, bad teeth, slob
iv. Goes to Pencey
e. Stradlater
i. Popular
ii. Jock type
iii. Secret Slob
iv. Holden’s roommate
f. Jane Gallagher
i. Holden’s old neighbor
ii. They used to play checkers with each other
iii. Stradlater’s date
iv. Holden wants to keep Jane in a “play world”
1. Once she has sex with Stradlater she’s ruined
g. Allie
i. Holden’s little brother
ii. Died when Holden was thirteen
iii. Compared to D.B.
1. D.B.: Adult; Allie: Kid
h. Sally Hayes
i. Not to bright
ii. Holden’s ex-girlfriend
iii. Invited Holden to decorate the Christmas tree
iv. Meets Holden for a date at the matinée
i. Phoebe
i. Holden’s younger sister
ii. Holden really likes her
iii. Doesn’t like sick people, Alice was feeling Grippe
j. Carl Luce
i. Used to go to Whooton with Holden
ii. Holden meets him at a bar in New York
iii. Talks about gay men
iv. Holden compliments him
v. Knows a lot about sex→ adult
1. When Holden meets him he doesn’t want to talk about it
k. Mr. Antolini
i. Young
1. Drinks & Plays tennis
ii. Trustworthy
iii. Drinks a lot (good thing)

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iv. Witty
l. Mr. Spencer
i. Older
1. Sick
ii. Holden initially likes him but gets annoyed
2. Tone
a. Saying what is on his mind
b. Choppy sentences
c. Looks for flaws or weaknesses
d. More like a conversation
3. Setting
a. Near Hollywood, In California
b. Holden is at a mental institution
4. Plot
a.Chapter 1 &2:
i. Leaving Pencey
ii. He runs over to Mr. Spencer’s house
1. His history teacher
2. They talk about his history report
a. He writes about the ancient Egyptians (Mummies)
i. Similarly Holden is like the mummies since he’s trying to
preserve himself and that’s why he’s not adapting well
to his different schools.
3. He says good-bye to his teacher
a. Sentimental
b. He doesn’t like sick people and he doesn’t like old people
b. Chapter 3-5:
i. Holden is in his room and Ackley comes in
1. Holden is in control of the conversation
ii. Stradlater comes in from the game
1. Stradlater has a date with Jane Gallagher
a. Holden doesn’t like the idea
iii. Stradlater goes to shave and Holden hangs out with him
1. Stradlater is in charge of the conversation
iv. After Stradlater leaves Holden gets nervous about the idea of Jane and
Stradlater
1. Holden doesn’t like the thought of sex
2. Holden’s worried that Jane will be seduced by Stradlater
v. Holden does Stradlater’s English assignment
c. Chapter 9-11:
i. Holden gets to New York
1. Wants to call someone

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a. Holden is independent but needs people

b. Holden’s been trying to get away from people but still wants to
connect
c. People to call
i. Sister: parents will pick up
ii. DB: Hollywood, expensive
iii. Jane’s mom: Doesn’t feel like it
1. Risky, emotional
iv. Sally Hayes
2. Gets into a Taxi and talks about ducks
a. Ducks
i. Holden’s not so uncaring
ii. Where do you go when you have to leave your home?
iii. Cycle of freezing & thawing=Holden’s life
b. Holden puts on his hunting hat
i. True personality
ii. Although he takes it off to fit in
3. Goes to a Hotel
a. Gets to his room and sees people from the window
i. Man dresses up as a woman
ii. Man and woman spiting drinks at each other
iii. Represents sex and growing up
1. Can’t decide about sex
a. If he fools around with a girl he can’t
undo it
b. He calls Faith Cavendish
i. He breaks his rules about sex
c. Goes to the Lavender Room
i. Meets three girls
1. Ugly, trying to celebrities, dumb
ii. Dances with them
1. Trying to act older
iii. Pays the girls tab
iv. Leaves when the club starts to close
d. Reminiscent of Jane Gallagher and their relationship
i. Played checkers, golf, and tennis
ii. Went to the movies
1. Shows that he liked Jane
iii. Held hands and kissed once
1. Innocence
iv. Allies mitt
1. Allie is close and personal to Holden

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v. Different relationship
1. Honest/Sincere
2. Less guarded
vi. Step father
1. Jane’s relationship with him is off
e. Goes to a nightclub in Greenwich Village
i. DB used to go there
d. Chapter 12-14:
i. Holden gets into another cab and talks about the ducks
1. Ducks
a. Free
2. Fish
a. Trapped
b. Adults/Kids
ii. Holden asks the cab driver to get a cocktail with him
iii. Gets to the nightclub
1. Meets Lillian Simmons
a. D.B.’s ex-girlfriend
iv. Walks back to the hotel
1. Puts on his red hat
2. Talks about being yellow/coward
a. Holden and fighting
i. Stradlater: Ex-Roommate
1. Fights for Jane’s honor
ii. Maurice: The Pimp
1. Fights for his own honor
v. Gets back to the hotel and gets a prostitute
1. Eventually backs out of having sex with Sunny
a. Sunny is different than the other girls
i. Doesn’t say stop
ii. Cold to Holden at the beginning
b. Holden tries to connect with Sunny
c. Changes his name: Jim Steele
vi. After Sunny leaves Holden tries to pray
1. Holden doesn’t like the disciples
a. Disciples always ruin things for Jesus
i. Judas- betrayed Jesus
ii. Thomas- doesn’t believe in the resurrection
iii. Peter- denies Jesus three times
b. Holden compares himself to Jesus
i. People always ruin everything
vii. The Pimp shows up at Holden’s door to get him to pay

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1. Holden won’t hand over the money

e. Chapter 15-16
i. Holden finally calls someone (Sally Hayes)
1. Holden is inconsistent/hypocrite
a. Holden doesn’t like phoniness
b. Holden doesn’t like her
c. Holden doesn’t like the movies/theater
ii. Holden goes to Grand Central Station
1. Meets nuns
a. Feels bad because they have bad suitcases
i. Old roommate was the same
1. Causes Holden to room with Stradlater
b. Gives them money
i. Holden’s running low on money
c. Talks about Romeo and Juliet
iii. Goes on a walk and sees a Catholic family
1. The little boy is singing “Coming through the Rye”
f. Chapter 17-18
i. Holden goes on a date with Sally
1. He proposes to Sally during the date (hypocritical)
a. Holden tries to connect with her but fails (recurring motif)
b. Sally denies him and wants to wait till they’re adults
i. Holden gets pissed off and calls her a pain in the ass
c. Sally and he have different views of marriage
i. Sally wants to wait till they are adults
ii. Holden wants to run off to Vermont and get married
now
d. Sally denies him and wants to wait till they’re adults
i. Holden gets pissed off and calls her a pain in the ass
ii. Holden compares girls and boys point of views on people
iii. Holden talks about D.B. being in the army
1. Holden doesn’t like uniformity and so he doesn’t want to be in the army
a. Similar theme to the mummies
i. Holden wants to stay himself and preserve himself but
as people grow up, you change.
iv. Holden goes to the movies
1. He hates the movie but tells the entire plot
a. He finds the movie phony
i. He wants to live in a movie world
ii. He wants to fit in and connect to society
g. Chapter 19-20
i. Holden meets up with Carl Luce

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1. Holden wants to talk about Carl’s sex life

a. Carl cuts him off every time he starts
i. Shows that Luce matured
2. Luce has matured while Holden hasn’t
a. Holden lost a role model in Luce
ii. After Carl leaves Holden gets drunk
1. He pretends he has a bullet in his gut again
a. Holden wants to escape reality
i. Doesn’t want to deal with being alone
ii. Wants to look sick
iii. Doesn’t want to deal with the situation with Sally and
Jane
2. He goes and calls Sally Hayes again
a. He keeps screaming into the phone
b. Sally sounds worried because she knows he’s drunk
c. Holden tells him he’s going to come over and trim the tree
i. Sally tells him to go home and go to bed
3. Holden goes to get his coat
a. The coat check girl makes him put his hat on
i. Holden thinks someone likes his true self
b. He asks her to get a drink and go on a date with him
4. He walks to the park to see the ducks
a. The lake is partly frozen and not frozen
i. The ducks are gone
1. Holden doesn’t know what to do
2. The half frozen pond symbolize Holden’s in the
middle of childhood and adult
a. Since the ducks aren’t there the ducks
know that you can’t stay in childhood
forever. Holden still doesn’t know that.
5. Holden decides he’s going to go home.
6. Holden talks about Allie
a. He doesn’t like Allie being in a cemetery
i. Everyone can leave while Allie has to stay
ii. He worries about Allie’s body getting wet
h. Chapters 21-26
i. Holden takes off the hat before he goes in the building
1. Holden is unreliable
2. The regular doorman is not there
a. Holden takes on a different identity
i. Holden pretends that he is his neighbors nephew
ii. Holden goes home and his parents aren’t home

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1. He sees Phoebe in DB’s room and they talk

a. Holden gets irritated that Phoebe’s acting like a child
i. When she puts ink all over a boys jacket
b. Phoebe finds out that Holden got kicked out
i. She starts treating him like his equal
c. We find out the meaning of Catcher in the Rye
i. Holden wants to be a person that prevents people from
growing up (falling off the cliff)
1. Holden thinks that adults don’t pay attention to
kids
2. Holden likes it because it’s not about being
phony and it comes out of goodness
3. Holden represents youth (?)
ii. We originally hear it when there is a little kid singing it
iii. He leaves his house and goes and stays to his teacher Mr. Antolini’s house
1. Holden tries to get help
2. His teacher tries to molest (?) him by touching his head
a. Holden gets excited and starts to yell
b. We never see Mr. Antolini side of the story
c. Holden is starting to avoid emotions again
iv. He leaves and goes and sleeps at Grand Central Station
1. He feels indecisive about Mr. Antolini
2. He walks down the street along the curb
a. The curb is like the cliff and falling into adulthood
i. Second mention of the curb
1. The little kid that was singing catcher in the rye
a. Holden relates to the kid like no one
else
3. He cuts himself off from society
a. He’s not reaching out to his parents or friends
b. He keeps creating alternate realities
c. He avoids what has happened to him
v. Phoebe meets Holden at the museum
vi. Phoebe starts to ride the carousel and Holden is really happy for the first time
1. Phoebe on the carousel represents youth
a. Holden still thinks of her as a child
2. Holden admits that it’s okay for kids to fall off
a. Grow up
3. Holden also doesn’t want to get on the carousel
vii. Holden is starting to reconnect
viii. Holden has a nervous breakdown
1. Signs of being sick

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a. Imitates movies
b. Jittery and indecisive
c. Can’t stay in one place
d. His job as a catcher in the rye
e. He’s been feeling sick
f. Sense of time
g. Talks to Allie as if he is right there
5. Catcher in the Rye notes
a. We never meet Jane
i. Adulthood, sex, girls make Holden anxious
ii. Jane is part of his childhood and now that he is reconnecting he doesn’t want to
go back
b. Purpose of finding out Holden is in a mental hospital
i. Holden is inconsistent so we wouldn’t know where he would end up
ii. The story would have a different tone
6. Conflicts
a. Parents have to find out he’s been expelled
b. Meet Jane again? Phoebe? D.B.?
c. Chose an identity
d. His internal conflict
7. Theme/Motif/Symbol
a. Theme-Abstract, big idea
i. Growing Up (Coming of age)
ii. Identity
iii. Connection to Society
b. Motif-Reoccurring idea
i. Phoniness
ii. Inconsistency/Hypocrisy
1. Holden is an unreliable narrator
iii. Identity/ Finding your identity
1. Holden keeps creating
2. Holden preserving himself and other people
iv. Falling
1. Talking to his teacher
2. The carousel
3. The sidewalk
a. Holden with Allie
b. The little kid singing “Catcher in the Rye”
c. Symbol-object
i. Hat-Personality & Childhood
ii. Ducks-Change
1. Possibly Foreshadowing

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a. Holden moves onto adulthood

2. Holden are the ducks
3. Society: Holden keeps trying to connect but it keeps leaving him behind
4. Holden is the lake, the adults are the ducks, fish are the kids
iii. Allie-child, innocence
8. Bildungsroman
a. Story of an individual
b. Struggle against society
i. Trying to find their place in society
ii. Repeated clash with society
c. Loss at the start of the story
i. Pushes them away from home/family
ii. Catcher in the Rye
1. Pencey
2. Old people
d. At the end of the novel
i. Accepts society and embraces it
9. Focus Points
a. Connection to society
b. Inconsistencies
c. Holden’s red hunting hat
i. Theme/Motif/Symbol
d. Has Holden’s perspective changed?
e. Ducks
f. People always ruin things for Holden
g. Fake Identity
h. Holden’s dislike of phoniness
i. Adults aren’t fleshed out while kids are
j. Is he going to get help?
10. Test Next Tuesday
a. Match up all characters
b. Short answer questions
c. Quotation section (Paragraph)
i. Sometimes situation and who’s speaking
ii. So what?
iii. Person, Problem, Motif, Situation

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