Catcher in the Rye Study Guide
Ch. 18-20
Vocabulary: Define the word and use in a complete sentence. If you use the sentence from the book, make sure to
include the page number.
1. Precision
2. Furlough
3. Halitosis
4. Ironic (not in book)
Chapter 18:
5. Who is Carl Luce? Why does Holden say he called him? (What information can Carl give him?)
6. Where does Holden go to pass the time until 10:00? Why is this ironic?
Chapter 19:
7. What types of conversations did Carl Luce always get into with Holden in the past? Why is this important to
understanding the story and Holden?
8. Luce also had “expert” information on flits. What is a flit? Why does Holden need to talk to Luce about flits?
9. How does Luce’s comment “He said you could turn into a flit practically overnight…he used to scare the hell out
of us. I kept waiting to turn into a flit or something.” affect Holden’s mental state? How do you know? (use
direct words/phrases/quotes)
10. How does knowing that Luce told Holden this BEFORE Holden’s non-reaction (felt peculiar) to Sunny pulling her
dress off in front of him help make more sense of Holden’s anxiety about that NON-REACTION?
11. Holden keeps pushing Luce to talk about sex with him. Why? (What is Holden hoping to know?)
Chapter 20:
12. What is the significance of Holden’s line, “People never give your message to anybody?” What does he mean?
How does it help our understanding of Holden’s outlook/perception?
13. Who does Holden call when he is drunk? What is this person’s reaction to Holden’s call? Is this different from
the reaction Holden was expecting/hoping for? Why/why not?
14. How does Holden envision his own funeral?
15. Why does Holden decide to go home? Whom is he going to see?
Chapter 21:
16. What does Holden do before he wakes up Phoebe? How is he feeling during this time? HOW DO YOU KNOW?
(use specific words/phrases/quotes!) Why is this feeling significant?
17. What do Phoebe and Holden talk about at first?
18. How doe Phoebe find out that Holden has been kicked out of Pencey? What is her reaction? Why does she react
this way?