Catcher Chapter Questions

Chapters One & Two
1. What does Holden mean when he calls D.B. a prostitute?
2. Where is Holden when he's telling this story?
3. What is Mr. Spencer still living for?
4. Why does Holden fail his history class?
5. What makes Holden's essay "crap"? Do you agree with this assessment? Why?
6. Why is Mr. Spencer so sympathetic?
7. What does Mr. Spencer call Holden? Why?

Chapters Three & Four
1. What is Holden's opinion of Ossenburger? How do you know?
2. How does Robert Ackley's physical description influence our opinion of his personality?
3. How does Ackley bug Holden?
4. Why does being called "Ackley kid" bother Ackley?
5. Why does Holden pretend to be blind?
6. Is Ward Stradlater rude? How do we know?
7. Which is worse: being a secret slob or an obvious one? Why? What does Holden think?
8. Why does Ward ask Holden to cheat? Why does Holden agree?
9. Why is Holden so concerned about Ward Stradlater's date with Jane?
10. Does Ward care about Jane as a person? How do you know?

Chapter Five
1. Why does Holden invite Ackley to the movies?
2. What do Holden and his friends play? Why is this significant?
3. What was Holden's relationship with Allie like?
4. What kind of person was Allie? How do we know?
5. With whom is Holden angry when he breaks all the windows?
6. What reminds Holden of Allie's death?

Chapter Six
1. Why is Holden so worried about Jane? Why might he care?
2. Why does Holden tear up the essay?
3. How does Holden describe athletes? Why does this matter?
4. Why does Holden hit Ward Stradlater? Why does Holden back down in the fight?

Chapter Seven
1. What is canasta?
2. Who is Ely?
3. Why does Holden decide not to go straight home?
4. What does Holden yell at the top of his lungs? Why does he do this?

Chapter Eight
1. Where does Holden go instead of home?
2. What does Holden bring with him?
3. Who is Ernest Morrow?
4. Why does Holden lie to Mrs. Morrow about her son?
5. What does Holden say his name is? How is this significant?
6. What color hair does Holden have? Why is this important?

Chapter Nine
1. Who is Phoebe?
2. Why doesn't Holden call anyone when he gets to Penn station?
3. Where, specifically, does Holden go after he gets off the train?
4. What does Holden wear while he is at the Edmont?
5. Why does Holden watch the "perverts" in the hotel?
6. Who is Faith Cavendish?
7. Why does Holden call her? What is her reaction to his call?
8. How is Faith's name ironic or significant?

Chapter Ten
1. Why does Holden think he's dumb? Is he? How do you know?
2. How are Allie and Phoebe similar?
3. How are Phoebe and D.B. similar?
4. Why does Phoebe write detective stories? What's funny about Hazel's dad (the character)?
5. Why does Holden pretend he's so old? Does he act his age or older? How do we know?
6. Who are the three girls Holden meets? Where are they from? What do they do?
7. What do the three girls want? What does Holden want from them?
8. Who does Holden think about while he's with the three girls? How is this important?
9. What does Holden say his name is? Why?
10. Why does Holden buy the three girls drinks?
11. What are the three girls doing in New York? Why does Holden call them ignorant? Is he right? Why or why not?

Chapter Eleven
1. What kind of relationship does Holden have with Jane? When does he think about her?
2. Based on Holden's description of Mr. Cudahy (Jane's father), what does Mr. Cudahy look like? How do you know?
3. Why does Jane cry? Why does Holden kiss her? (There are two reasons.)

Chapter Twelve
1. Why does Holden obsess about the ducks? What is the cab driver's reaction?
2. What is "Ernie's"? Why is it jam-packed?
3. Why does Holden NOT want public praise? Why does he think Ernie is acting humble? How is Ernie a phony?
4. Why does Holden dislike the football player?
5. Why does Holden dislike the ivy-league guy? What does this tell us about Holden?
6. What is important to the ivy-league guy? What is important to his date?
7. Who is Lillian Simmons? Why does she want to spend time with Holden?
8. What makes Lillian Simmons "phony"?

Chapter Thirteen
1. Why does Holden decide to walk back to the hotel?
2. What does Holden think happened to his gloves? Why does he care?
3. In the elevator, is Holden seeking anything? How do we know?
4. What does Holden think he wants while he waits for the prostitute?
5. What's the symbolism in the prostitute's name (Sunny)?
6. Why does Holden try to converse with the prostitute? Why does he decide he can't sleep with her? What does this tell us about his personality?
7. Should Holden pay Maurice the money? Why? Why does he?

Chapter Fourteen
1. What does Holden call Allie when he won't let Allie go to the lake?
2. What is Holden's attitude about religion? How do you know?
3. Why does Holden cry during the confrontation with Maurice? What does this tell us about him?
4. Is it good that Holden doesn't fight back? Why or why not?
5. Why does Holden say movies can ruin us?
6. How does Holden imagine he'd kill himself? Why is this significant?

Chapter Fifteen
1. Who is Sally? Why does Holden say she is dumb?
2. What does Sally's constant tardiness tell us about her position, status, or personality?
3. What does Holden's father do for a living?
4. What kind of stereotypes do we associate with that occupation? Why?
5. How does Holden feel about his father? How do we know?
6. What kinds of differences are there between rich and poor people, according to Holden?
7. Who does Holden run into at the train station? Where are they from? What do they want?
8. How do these people surprise Holden (or what about them does)?
9. What is Holden's attitude toward money at the end of Chapter 15?

Chapter Sixteen
1. Why does Holden worry so much about the nuns?
2. Why does Holden think his aunt is a hypocrite? Do you agree? Why?
3. What does the family with the boy Holden passes look like? What's probably important to them?
4. Why do the words of the song the boy sings cheer Holden up?
5. Why would Sally like "I Know My Love"? What does this tell us about Sally?
6. What does the scene related to Hamlet tell us about Holden Why does Holden tell the reader about this scene?
7. Why does Holden go to the park?
8. Why does Holden stop to help the little girl? What does this tell us about Holden's personality?
9. Why does Holden go to the museum even though he knows Phoebe is not there?
10. Why does Holden love the museum? What does Holden think is the best thing about the museum?

Chapter Seventeen
1.What does Holden worry about when he passes the schools?
2. What makes Harris Macklin so boring?
3. How do Sally and Holden behave? Why?
4. How do actors behave?
5. What makes the playgoers phonies?
6. Why does Sally want to skate?
7. When Holden tries to talk about things that are important to him, how does Sally react? Why?
8. Why does Holden want to go to Greenwich Village? What reason does Sally give for not wanting to go?
9. How does Holden describe adulthood? How does he feel about it?
10. Why does Sally cry?

Chapter Eighteen
1. Who is Mr. Antolini?
2. Who is Carl Luce?
3. Why does Holden believe Christmas plays are unreligious?
4. Why does Holden spend so much time recounting the movie?
5. What message does the movie send? Is it phony or not? Why?

Chapter Nineteen
1. Why do people in the bar enjoy the French singer so much?
2. What is a "flit"? A "toady"? Why might Holden be so concerned? Why are teens in the 21st century so concerned?
3. Why is it significant that Luce asks Holden when he's going to grow up?
4. What does Holden do that Luce thinks is so rude?

Chapter Twenty
1. Why does Holden call Sally Hayes while he's drunk? Why doesn't he call Jane? How is this significant?
2. What record does Holden buy for Phoebe? What happens to it?
3. What does Holden contemplate/worry about while he wanders the city?
4. Who does Holden worry about? What does this tell us about their relationship?

Chapter Twenty-one
1. How does Holden describe his mother?
2. What is his relationship with her probably like? How do you know?
3. Where does Holden find Phoebe when he gets home? How is this significant?
4. What is Phoebe like?
5. What is her initial reaction to his return home?
6. Holden seems like a fugitive in his own home. Why? How is this symbolic?
7. Why is Phoebe angry with Holden?

Chapter Twenty-two
1. What reason does Holden give for leaving Pencey Prep?
2. Throughout this chapter, what does Phoebe ask Holden to stop doing?
3. Phoebe really lets Holden have it. Is she rejecting him? Helping him?
4. Is Phoebe genuine or a phony? How do we know?
5. Who is James Castle?
6. Why does he jump?
7. What message does Salinger send here?
8. How is James Castle different than Allie in the reasons for their deaths?
9. What, based on Holden's description of his father, are Holden's feelings about adults?
10. Connection to the title of the Book:  Holden tells Phoebe what he wants to do with his life. In his explanation, he references to a piece of literature (he makes a literary allusion).  What is the piece of literature?  What does Holden explain that he wants to be?  Is he sincere in his desire to do this?  Explain why you think this? 

Chapter Twenty-three
1. What made Mr. Antolini a good teacher?
2. How is Phoebe child-like?
3. What is Mrs. Caulfield like in this chapter?
4. Why doesn't Holden just tell his parents he's there?
5. Why does Holden cry? What is he so upset about?
6. Why does Holden want to get caught by his parents? Why is this important?

Chapter Twenty-four

1.       Who does Mr. Antolini remind Holden of?

2.       Why doesn’t Mr. Antolini want D.B. to go to Hollywood?  How do we know this?

3.       Why does Holden like Mr. Antolini so much?

4.       Holden likes digression.  What does this tell us about his personality?

5.       What is the Richard Kinsella story?

6.       How does this story tell us about Holden’s search?  About his life philosophy?

7.       Mr. Antolini predicts a terrible fall.  How is this foreshadowing?  How does this relate to the title?

8.       How does the Wilhelm Stekel quotation relate to James Castle?

9.       How does Holden react to having his hair tousled?  Why?

Chapter Twenty-five

1.       What is Holden’s concern about Mr. Antolini?

2.       What is the magazine article about?  Why is this significant?

3.       Why does Holden want to leave New York?

4.       Why does he need to say good-bye to Phoebe? 

5.       What does Holden find at Phoebe’s school?  What does he try to do?  Why?

6.       How are Holden reactions significant to the title?

7.       Why does Phoebe want to go with him?  Why doesn’t he want her to go?

Chapter Twenty-Six

1.       What does the golden ring symbolize?

2.       Why should we grab for it?  Why should we not grab for it?

3.     How is the last line of the novel important?