The Catcher in the Rye
Exam:
Name:_______________________________________________
I. Matching- Match the character with their description (2pts each, 40pts total):
1.) Holden
______
a.) Keeps the kings in the back row of the checkerboard
2.) D.B.
______
b.) Had the largest vocabulary of any student at the Whooten School
3.) Allie
______
c.) Says that “life is a game”
4.) Phoebe
______
d.) “A very touchy guy”; tells Holden that it is pointless to worry about ducks
5.) Stradlater
______
e.) Ackley’s foil
6.) Ackley
______
f.) So good at the piano that he’s “corny”
7.) Jane
______
g.) Holden Caufield
8.) Sally
______
h.) Is told that he will one day be a bum who begs for dimes on the
street so he can buy coffee
9.) Ernie
______
10.) Mr. Antolini
______
11.) Jay Gatsby
______
12.) Mr. Spencer
______
13.) Carl Luce
______
14.) James Castle
______
15.) Horwitz
______
16.) Jim Steele
______
17.) Maurice
______
18.) Sunny
______
19.) Mrs. Morrow
______
20.) Faith Cavendish
______
i.) Author of “The Secret Goldfish”
j.) Borrows and accidentally ruins Holden’s turtleneck sweater
k.) Liked to read poetry while playing baseball
l.) Has very clean fingernails
m.) Does not wish to talk; only wants to “do business”
o.) Reaches for the golden ring
p.) Calls D.B. and tells him that he’s too good for Hollywood
q.) Is not a character in The Catcher in the Rye
r.) Is concerned about Holden’s “brain tumor”
s.) A “catcher in the rye”
t.) “Mr. Cawffle” calls her in the middle of the night to make a date
u.) Wants Holden to help trim the family Christmas tree
II. Multiple Choice (2pts each, 20pts total):
1.
______ Holden is beaten up by: a.) Sunny b.) Maurice c.) Ackley d.) Spencer
2.
______ Which of the following is NOT an example of a motif? a.) The ducks in Central Park’s pond b.) Holden’s red
hunting hat c.) The color green d.) The relationship between Ackley and Stradlater
3.
______ Where does the novel’s title come from? a.) The title of a play that Holden had seen with Sally Hayes b.) The
title of the record that Holden buys for Phoebe c.) A poem by Robert Burns d.) A short story by Bernard Malamud that
Holden had enjoyed as a child.
4.
______ The Catcher in the Rye is an example of a bildungsroman because: a.) Holden hates all adults b.) Holden grows
over the course of the novel c.) J.D. Salinger refuses to allow his novel to made into a movie d.) Holden dies in the end
5.
______ What is significant about the profane graffiti that Holden sees on the wall of Phoebe’s school? a.) It leads him to
realize that he cannot be “the catcher in the rye” b.) He doesn’t remember that he was the one that wrote it when he went
there as a child c.) He hates the profanity, yet curses all the time d.) It causes him to go into a psychotic rage
6.
______ Of the following, who does Holden not regard as “phony”? a.) Ernie b.) Actors c.) The nuns in the diner d.)
The Twelve Apostles
7.
______ Why is Holden unable to make a good first with his right hand? a.) Because he injured it during his fight with
Stradlater b.) Because he is left-handed c.) Because he broke it punching windows the night Allie died d.) All of the
above
8.
______ The color green is NOT an example of: a.) Motif b.) Irony c.) Personification d.) Symbolism
9.
______ Which of the following words does NOT describe Holden? a.) Depressed b.) Humorless c.) Defiant d.)
Alienated
10. ______ What conclusion does Holden come to at the end of the novel? a.) He has learned absolutely nothing b.) He
actually misses the people he has described in his story c.) He is going to work hard in the next school that he attends
d.) Allie’s death was justified
II. Make the Connection: Write an analysis of how each of the following things are linked (10pts each, 40 total):
1.) Allie’s glove and Sunny’s dress.
2.) The ducks and fish in Central Park’s pond.
3.) Holden’s memories of the museum, the “catcher in the rye,” and the carousel and the golden ring.
4.) OPINION: At the end of the novel, Holden is unsure whether or not his life is going to change for the better. Do you
think Holden will change, or do you think he will give into his old destructive habits and patterns? Cite evidence from the
text to support your answer.