Catcher in the Rye Analysis
Chapters 1-2
1. Even though Holden
“doesn’t feel like going into
it” on page 1, what do you
learn about him and his
family from his
commentary?
2. “I was trying to feel some
kind of good-by” (4).
What does this tell you about
Holden?
3. On page 9…partly
true/ all true. What
does this tell you
about Holden’s
outlook on life?
4. Look on page
10. How is the
Atlantic Monthly
missing the bed
symbolic?
Chapters 6-8
1. Look at page 40. Holden says
he has a problem remembering
this incident. Do you believe
him? Why?
• Why might he have trouble
remembering (or say that he
does)?
2. Look at page 41.
Why does Holden
tear up the
composition?
3. Look at chapter 7. Why
does the author keep
mentioning the light?
Could it be symbolic?
4. “I was sort of crying”
(52). Holden says he
doesn’t know why he’s
crying. Do you?
5. “Mothers are all
slightly insane” (55).
What does Holden
mean?
Chapters 12-15 (RRN #111)
1. “If you want to stay alive, you
have to say that stuff, though”
(87).
What does Holden mean? What
does this tell us about his
character?
2. “I can’t stand looking at the other
guy’s face is my trouble” (90). Why
might Holden be able to punch
someone if he couldn’t see the other
guy’s face? Why is it different if he
can see his face? What does this tell
us about Holden?
3. Holden comes from a
family with money. He
admits to being well-off.
Why does he make such a
big deal about the five
dollars in chapter 14?
Chapters 22-24 Analysis
1. “Even if you did go around saving
guys’ lives and all, how would you
know if you did it because you really
wanted to save guys’ lives….” (172).
• How does this observation connect to
Mr. Ossenburger? How does it
connect to the nuns?
Burns’ Original
Comin Thro' The Rye.
Chorus.
O Jenny's a' weet, poor body,
Jenny's seldom dry:
She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
Comin thro' the rye!
1.
Comin thro' the rye, poor body,
Comin thro' the rye,
She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
Comin thro' the rye!
2.
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need a body cry?
3.
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the glen,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warld ken?
4.
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the grain,
Gin a body kiss a body,
The thing's a body's ain.
Standard English Translation
Coming Through The Rye.
Chorus.
O Jenny is all wet, poor body,
Jenny is seldom dry:
She draggled all her petticoats,
Coming through the rye!
Coming through the rye, poor body,
Coming through the rye,
She draggled all her petticoats,
Coming through the rye!
Should a body meet a body
Coming through the rye,
Should a body kiss a body,
Need a body cry?
Should a body meet a body
Coming through the glen,
Should a body kiss a body,
Need the world know?
Should a body meet a body
Coming through the grain,
Should a body kiss a body,
The thing is a body's own.
2. What does Holden
mean when he says he
wants to be the Catcher
in the Rye?
3. Why does Holden
cry on page 179?
4. Why do you think Mr.
Antolini touches
Holden on the head
on page 192?
RRN #117 Analysis: Chapters 2526
• http://www.sarahchanaradcliffe.com/art_ne
rvous.htm
1. What signs and symptoms did Holden
present that show he had a nervous
breakdown?
2. Who does Holden assume
wrote the obscene language
on the wall on page 201?
Realistically, who probably
wrote it?
3. What does Holden worry will
happen if a child from
Phoebe’s school were to see
the word on the wall?
Realistically, what will happen?
4. The obscene term that Holden finds on
the wall has certainly contributed to the
banning of this novel over time. However,
was Salinger justified with his choice?
Would this episode in the novel carry the
same meaning if Holden had found a
“lighter” swear word on the wall?
5. Why
is it important that
Phoebe brings her suitcase to
meet up with Holden at the
museum? What does this
force him to do?
• 6. Salinger creates Holden as a
wealthy character. If Holden had
been from a middle or lower class
family, how would that change
some of the themes in the book?
What might Holden have been
focused on then?
7. Read this poem by John Donne:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
How does this poem connect to Holden’s character and the
themes found in The Catcher in the Rye?
Sample Test Question
Holden tells us that his brother D.B. is “out in
Hollywood…being a prostitute. If there’s one thing I
hate, it’s the movies” (2).
Holden calls his brother a prostitute because
a. D.B. owes Holden money, and Holden is upset with
D.B.
b. D.B. tends to have relationships with quite a few
different women.
c. Holden feels like D.B. is selling out his writing talent
to Hollywood, which is unworthy of such talent.
d. Holden thinks D.B. has run out of money and must
sell his body in Hollywood to pay the rent.
On page 121, Holden points out that “the best
thing, though, in that museum was that
everything always stayed right where it was.
Nobody’d move. You could go there a hundred
thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be
just finished catching those two fish…The only
thing that would be different would be you.”
Holden’s love for the museum and its exhibits
reflects his
a. resistance to the changes of growing older.
b. curiosity about different cultures.
c. tendency to care more for genuine people than
“phonies.”
d. well-educated background.