Questions from chapters 5-9

Chapter 5.

1. Who is Allie and why is his baseball mitt so special to holden?

Allie is Holden's brother. His baseball mitt is so special to him because Allie, who was two years younger than him, wrote all over it poems in green ink, so he had something to read while he was in the field and no one was up at bat. He got leukemia and died.

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

Because the night Allie died he broke all the windows in the garage, he was only 13 when that happened.

Chapter 6

1. What does Stradlater criticize Holden for?

He criticizes him for doing everything backwards and not doing anythin the way he is supposed to.

2. Why is Holden so concerned about whar happened with Jane Gallagher and Stradlater? What does this possibly reveal about Holden?

Because they used to be friends and neighbors when they were younger and this reveals that Holden has a crush on Jane.

3. What does Holden and Stradlater fight over?

Holden got jealous because Stradlater had a date with Jane.

4- What does Holden put on after the fight? Have we seen him put thin on before?

He put on his hunting hat, which he was wearing when Ackley visited him at his room.

Chapter 7

1. Holden decides to go visit Ackley. How is he received buy Ackley?

He's lying on his bed in the dark with white stuff on his face and "trying" to sleep.

2. What is he thinking about while lying in bed?

Holden was thinking about Jane and the fight he had with Stradlater because of the date he had with Jane and what could have possibly happen in the car between them.

3. Why doesn't Holden want to stay at Pencey anymore?

He didn't want to hang around anymore, it made him too sad and lonesome.

4. Where does Holden then decide to go?

To New York and then to his home.

5. What is his final goodbye to Pencey Prep?

"Sleep tight, ya morons". He woke everyone up and someone threw him peanut shells.

6. Why do you think Holden was crying when he left?

He was sad and dissapointed because he was leaving behind an important part of his life. Even though he said he didn't like Pencey, he really did because he was sad to leave.

Chapter 8

1.What does Holden think of Mrs. Morrow?

He thinks she's a nice person and has a lot of sex appeal.

2. What are some of the lies Holden tells Mrs. Morrow?

He tells her his name is Rudolf Schmidt, that he still goes to Pencey, he said some lies about Ernest. Also he lies about the reason blood is coming out of his nose.

3. Why do you think he tells her these things?

Because he likes her and want to impress her.

4. "But I wouldn't visit... Morrow if for all the dough in the world, even if I was desperate." Desperate for what? Is Holden desperate?

He's desperate because he feels lonely and doesn't have a lot of friends.

Chapter 9

1. Sally Haye's mother says that Holden "was wild and that he had no direction in life". Would you agree? Why?

We do agree because he has been expelled from different schools and doesn't take anything seriously.

2. The cab driver thinks Holden is kind of crazy for asking him a certain question. What is this question? Is it a question that he has been concerned before?

He asks where the ducks go when the lake gets frozen.

3. What's so terrible about the bellboy? What does this reveal about Holden's character?

The bellboy was around 65 years old and he was bold. Holden says that even though if he wasn't intelligent it was terrible to carry people's suitcases and wait for a tip. It reveals that he is afraid to end up like that and that he criticizes a lot.

4. What kind of person is Faith Cavendish?

She wasn't a whore but didn't mind to do it once in a while. She used to be a burlesque stripper.

5. Holden calls other people phony. Does he count as one sometimes as well?

Yes, he is phony because sometimes he pretends to be someone he isn't.


We find out a lot about Holden through his reactions to and thoughts about Jane Gallagher. What do we discover about Holden's character?

Holden is a really agressive guy and doesn't take anything seriously, but when it comes to Jane his whole attitude changes.

Usually he talks a lot about sex and making out with girls, but with Jane he's different, he really likes her. "I really got to know her quite intimately" (J.D. Salinger, 76). "You don't always have to get too sexy to get to know a girl". (J.D. Salinger, 76)

Also he got in a fight with Stradlater because of her, we could say that when it comes to the people that he cares he would do anything to protect them.

Holden likes everything about her, even the little things, like holding hands with her. "That doesn't sound like much, I realize, but she was terrific to hold hands with." (J.D. Salinger, 79)

In the inside Holden is a really sweet guy, even though he doesn't show it. With Jane he doesn't have to pretend or worry. "You never even worried, with Jane. All you knew was, you were happy. You really were." (J.D. Salinger, 79)

Do you like or not like Holden so far? Why?

We don´t like Holden so much because we think he lies a lot and he doesn´t care about things or people.
We also think that he is a person that doesn´t appreciates things, like his family, his friends and the opportunity of going to a boarding school.

Why doesn´t Holden like school? Why is he failing? Is he dumb?
We don´t think he is dumb, in fact he seems as someone that really knows what he´s doing and someone that can get interested in what he does. The problem is that he doesn´t seem interested in school issues.

Is Holden writing his story, or do you think what you´re reading is him narrating it? Why?
We think that he is writing his story. Because there are a lot of feelings and details that look real and that they would seem that real if they weren´t happening in that precise moment of his life.