Catcher In The Rye Timeline
Whitney Brumley
Christine Baik
Rachel Ko
Amy McElroy
Saturday Afternoon
1 p.m.
•Fencing
equipment
goes
missing
2 p.m.
3 p.m.
Thomsen
Hill
4 p.m.
5 p.m.
Meet Stradlater
Meet Ackley
Mr. Spencer
Earlier in the day, New York
"I was the goddam
manager of the
fencing team. Very
big deal" (3).
His sarcasm conveys his
apathy about the fencing
team and even about his
schoolwork. He does not
care about his
responsibilities to both the
fencing team and Pencey
Prep.
3:00, Thomsen Hill
 "...you were
supposed to commit
suicide or something
if old Pencey didn't
win" (2).
 Holden's depressed state
of mind is shown in this
sentence when he
mentions suicide, which
he treats facetiously.
Committing suicide is
something that most
people don't consider, but
Holden's passing
thoughts about suicide
may suggest that he has
depressing thoughts.
A little after 3:00
 Mr. Spencer's,
Anthony Wayne
Avenue
 "All of a sudden then,
I wanted to get the
hell out of the room"
(10).
 Holden is very moody
and somewhat bipolar.
He constantly changes
his mind about things,
proposes crazy getaway
schemes, and contradicts
himself often. He didn't
mind visiting Mr.
Spencer's until Holden
thought he was going to
be lectured.
Later, Pencey Prep, Holden's room
 "'Stop calling me 'Ackley
kid,' God damn it'" (25).
 Holden Caufield has a
condescending and
slightly sadistic attitude
sometimes. He likes to
push people's buttons
and does not think much
about the consequences.
 Robert Ackley is the
type of boy that likes
to build himself up to
be more that what he
is, which is why
Holden's
condescending name
of "Ackley kid" is not
appreciated.
Halfway through the game
 Pencey Prep, the
restroom
 "Suspense is good for
some bastards like
Stradlater" (28).
 Not only is Holden's
sadistic tendencies
evidently at work, Holden
also contradicts himself
and changes his mind
about Stradlater.
 Earlier, he had defended
Stradlater against Ackley
and mentioned the
decent kind of things
Stradlater did. Now,
Holden has decided that
Stradlater is a "bastard"
and continues to think
negatively about
Stradlater.
Saturday Night
9 p.m.
10 p.m.
11 p.m.
12 p.m.
Ackley’s Room
Holden’s Room
Holden’s Room
9:30 pm, Holden’s Room
 Pencey Prep,
Holden's room
 "I slept in the garage
the night he died, and
I broke the goddam
windows with my fist,
just for the hell of it"
(39).
 Holden is very depressed
and angry about his
brother, Allie's, death.
Though his anger is more
apparent the night of
Allie's death through his
violent actions, Holden's
negativity still exists in his
vulgar words and violent
and depressing thoughts.
11:00(ish)
Pencey Prep, Holden's
room
 "'You don't do one damn
thing the way you're
supposed to'" (41).
 Holden does not like to
do things the way he is
supposed to. He enjoys
being different.
 His nonconformity is
one of the major
themes of the novel
and his composition
about Allie's mitt,
which was supposed
to be of a room, is an
example of his
nonconformity.
11:30(ish)
 Pencey Prep,
Ackley's room
 "'What's the routine
on joining a
monastery?'" (50).
 Holden is extremely
impulsive. He considers
very outrageous schemes
that involve running away
and starting a new life
that does not involve
schoolwork. Later in the
book, he considers
another scheme involving
running away with Sally.
Late Saturday Night
12 p.m.
Leaves
Pencey
1 a.m.
Meets
Mrs.
Morrow
2 a.m.
Ask
Cabbie
about
ducks
3 a.m.
4 a.m.
Lavender
Room
Sunny
Leaves Pencey
 Holden decides to
leave Pencey early
 Before he goes he
sells his typewriter
and takes the money
he has gotten from
his grandmother
 “Sleep tight ya
morons!” (52).
 He yells this as he is
walking out the front
doors
Boards Train
 He boards the train to
New York and meets
Mrs. Morrow who is
Earnest mother
 “He adapts himself
very well to things. He
really does mean he
knows how to adapt
himself” (55).
 Holden lies to her
about her son
because he feels bad
Ducks in Central Park
 Once in New York,
Holden ask his cab
driver if he knew
where the duck in
Central Park went
 “By any chance, do
you happen to know
where they go, the
ducks, when it gets
frozen over?” (60).
 Holden is thinking of
those who are
innocent and cant
help but wonder what
they do
Lavender Room
 Holden goes to the
Lavender Room and
meets Marty, Laverne
and Bernice
 “I danced with them
all- the whole three of
them” (73).
 He dances with them
because he feels
sorry for how stupid
they are and because
he doesn’t have
anything to do
Sunny the Prostitute
 He had a prostitute
come to his room
after the elevator guy
ask if he wants one
for $5 dollars
 They both come back
and demand more
money saying that it
was $10 and that’s
what he was told
 “’Who’s hurtin’
anybody?’ he said,
innocent as hell”
(101).
 This annoys Holden
because he was the
one who got hurt.
Meeting the Nuns
 Holden goes into a
sandwich bar to have
his Swiss cheese
sandwich and a
malted milk and he
sits next to two nuns.
 They talk about the
book Romeo and
Juliet
 “They let me give
them 10-bucks for a
contribution” (110).
 Holden presses the
money to them and
thinks about all those
who stand on street
corners trying to get
money.
Sunday
12 p.m.
Meets
Nuns
1 p.m.
2 p.m.
Purchases Holden
looks for
“Little
Phoebe
Shirley
Beans”
3 p.m.
Meets
with Sally
4 p.m.
Talks about
running
away
Noon
 Holden leaves the
sandwich bar and walks
down Broadway. There,
he encounters a father,
mother, and little boy
walking down the street.
The little boy is singing "If
a body catch a body
coming through the rye".
(abt. noon)
 Stops into a record store
and buys recording of
"Little Shirley Beans" for
Phoebe.
 Goes to the theater and
buys two tickets for the
play "I Know My Love"
for his date with Sally
Hayes.
 Travels to Central park
to see if Phoebe is
there.
12:45(ish) - 1:30(ish)
 Still looking for Phoebe,
Holden walks across the
park to the Museum of
Natural History. He
decides not to go into the
museum.
 "If Phoebe had been
there, I probably would
have, but she wasn't"
(Salinger 122).
 This is when he is
looking for Phoebe
and decides to go to
the museum but
decide not to because
she wasn’t there.
 Holden takes a taxi to
the Biltmore and
meets Sally Hayes.
2:00pm
 Holden goes to
Biltmore Hotel to
meet Sally, who is
late, arriving at 2:10
pm
 They go to the
theater to see the
play which is starring
the Lunts. During
intermission Sally
meets an old friend,
George “something.”
After the play, Sally
and Holden go ice
skating at
Rockefeller Center.
They have an
argument over
different sodas.
4:00(ish)
 Holden begins to rant
about “phonies” and
how he and Sally
should run away
together, leaves
without Sally.
 "You never saw so
many phonies in all
your life, everybody
smoking their ears off
and talking about the
play so that
everybody could hear
and know how sharp
they were" (Salinger
126).
Sunday Evening
5 p.m.
6 p.m.
Goes to the
drugstore
7 p.m.
Watches a
movie at
Radio City
8 p.m.
5:30(ish)
 After his date with
Sally, Holden is
hungry so he goes to
the drugstore and has
a Swiss cheese
sandwich and malted
milk.
 He then tries calling
Jane Gallagher but
there is no answer so
he gives up
6:30(ish)
 Holden calls Carl Luce.
They make plans for
drinks later that night
 Holden goes to the
movies at Radio City. He
watches the Christmas
pagent and the movie. He
notices a women crying
next to him, who is
ignoring her son.
 The movie was him
passing time

“The Part that got me
was, there was a lady
sitting next to me that
cried all through the
goddam picture. The
phonier it got, the more
she cried. You’d have
thought she was
kindhearted as hell, but
I was sitting right next to
her, and she wasn’t. she
had this little kid with
her. . .” (139).
Sunday Night
10 p.m.
The Wicker Bar
11 p.m.
Carl Luce
leaves
12 p.m.
While drunk
he calls
Sally
10:00
 Holden meet with Carl
Luce
 They meet at the Wicker
Bar on 54th Street. They
have an argument
because Holden pesters
him about subjects Carl
does not want to bring
up, and Carl gets
annoyed with these
questions
 Carl then begins to
question Holden’s
mental health
11:00
 “You still going
 They are talking
around with that same
about the girls that
babe you used to at
Carl has dated in his
Whooton? The one
personal life, which
with the -”(144).
Carl gets annoyed of.
 This is when Holden
 Holden then
and Carl are catching
continues to stay at
up.
the bar after Carl
Luce leaves for he
has a date
11:30(ish)
 He calls Sally, insisting
on speaking to her
when her family says
she is asleep
 This leaves a bad
impression on her
family after they are
unable to understand
his slurred speech.
 “Boy was I drunk! I
was still even
holding onto my
guys. ‘They got me.
Rocky’s mob got
me. You know that
Sally? You know
that?’“(152).
Monday Morning
1 a.m.
2 a.m.
Goes to the
apartment
Drops the
record
3 a.m.
Borrows $
Wants to be
Catcher
Phoebe
guess the
truth
Calls Mr.
Antolini
Parents come
back
1:00
 While in the
bathroom, a “flitty”
guy cautions Holden
to go home
 Holden then leaves
The Wicker Bar
 He goes to the lagoon
in Central Park. He
drops the record
“Little Shirley Beans”
and decides to sneak
into his home to see
Phoebe.
2:00
 Holden walks home
and sneaks into the
apartment. He
wakes up Phoebe,
who is sleeping in
D.B’s room.
 Holden gives her the
pieces of the broken
record.
 They have a long
conversation and
Phoebe guesses that
Holden’s been kicked
out of school.
3:00
 Holden leaves and
 “She’s very
get cigarettes from
affectionate. I mean
the box on the table in
she’s quite
the living room before
affectionate, for a
he goes
child. Sometimes
 This is before Holden
she’s even too
leaves and both are
affectionate. I sort of
crying. Phoebe does
gave her a kiss”
not want him to go;
(161).
she wants him to stay
for her play.
Phoebe finds out that Holden dropped out
 Pg. 217
 Beginning of Chapter 22
 Significance: Phoebe gets mad and Holden admits that he hates
school because of phonies and reveals that he still thinks about
Allie. This is important because it proves that Holden is
depressed and cynical.
 “‘Just because somebody’s dead, you just don’t stop liking them,
for God’s sake - especially if they were about a thousand times
nicer than the people you know that’re alive and all”’(223).
Holden says that he just wants to be the
catcher in the rye.
 Pg. 225
 End of Chapter 22.
 Significance:It is the theme of
book and it’s title. Catcher in
the rye is a poem by Robert
Burns and when it is sung,
Holden imagines a cliff on a
field of rye, which represents
the edge of childhood onto
adulthood, and Holden wishes
to catch everyone before they
go over the cliff. Holden’s wish,
symbolizes the of the saving
the innocent.
“‘What I have to do , I have
to catch everybody if they
start to go over the cliff - I
mean if they’re running and
they don’t look where they’re
going I have to come out
from somewhere and catch
them”’(224,225).
Holden calls up Mr. Antolini
 Pg.225
 End of chapter 22 & beginning 23.
 Significance: Holden has no place to sleep and he’s lonely.Mr.
Antolini was his best teacher and Holden remembers that Mr.
Antolini was the first person to touch the dead body of James
Castle. Holden actually respects this person.
 “I said I’d flunked out of Pencey, though. I thought I might as well
tell him”(226).
Holden’s parents come back from their party
and he hides in her closet.
 Pg. 229
 Middle of chapter 23.
 Significance: Rebellious towards
parents. Loyalty to Phoebe, who
is not ‘phony’ to Holden.
 “I grabbed my shoes and got in
the closet and shut the
door”(229).
Holden borrows money from Phoebe and gives
his hunting hat to her
 Pg. 232
 End of chapter 23.
 Significance: Holden is
dependent on Phoebe. When
Holden give his hunting hat to
Phoebe, it symbolizes that he
is less rebellious around
Phoebe.
 “She put the dough in my
hand”(232).
Later Monday Morning
4 a.m.
Goes to Mr.
Antolini’s
5 a.m.
6 a.m.
Wakes to Mr.
Antolini’s
petting
7 a.m.
Leaves to go
to Grand
Central
8 a.m.
Holden falls asleep on Mr. Antolini’s couch, while they
were having a conversation about Holden’s situation.
 Pg. 235-248
 Begin. & mid. of Chapter 24
 Significance: While Mr. Antolini deeply
discusses Holden’s life, Holden still does
not feel like talking about his future and
becomes sleepy. This is the effect of
Holden’s depression and cynical attitude.
 “‘I have a terrible feeling that you’re riding
for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall. But
I don’t honestly know what kind . . . Are
you listening to me?’”(242).
Holden wakes up to the petting of Mr.
Antolini and leaves.
 Pg.249
 End of chapter 24
 Significance: Displays the distrust
of people in Holden’s attitude.
Holden is pessimistic.
 “What he was doing was, he sitting
on the floor right next to the couch,
in the dark and all, and he was
sort of petting me or patting me on
the goddam head”(249).
Holden goes to Grand Central Subway and
sleeps in the waiting room
 Pg. 252
 Beginning of Chapter 25 around 9:00 am, Monday.
 Significance: Adds to the fact that Holden and his
thoughts wander around. He is too depressed to think
straight or act reasonably.
Monday
9 a.m.
Goes to
eat and
has a
breakdown
10 a.m.
Decides to
go west
and writes
to Phoebe
11 a.m.
12 p.m.
Phoebe
meets him
and wants
to go with
Phoebe
rides the
carousel
Holden goes to a cheap restaurant and has a
breakdown on 5th avenue.
 Pg. 256
 Begin. & mid. Chapter 25
 Significance: At the restaurant Holden
finds that he cannot sallow the
doughnuts. When he walks down fifth
avenue, Holden feels as if he was
disappearing into nothing. His mental
illness is affecting his physical health
and behavior.
 “I thought I’d just go down, down,
down, and nobody’d would ever see
me again. Boy, did it scare me”(256).
Holden decides to go west and writes Phoebe a note to meet him at
the Museum.
 Pg.260
 Middle of Chapter 25
 Significance: Holden is making irrational
decisions to cope with his loneliness from
recently being with Phoebe and Mr. Antolini.
He is trying to run away from his cynical and
depressing view of the world.
 “Dear Phoebe, I can’t wait around till
Wednesday any more so I will probably hitch
hike out west this afternoon”(260).
Phoebe meets Holden, intending to go with him. She also chucks
the hunting hat at Holden.
 Pg. 268
 End of chapter 25. Around lunchtime.
 Significance: The hunting hat
symbolizes rebellious individuality.
When Holden tells her that she can’t
come, she throws the hat in anger.
Holden is left alone to be the rebel.
 “All she did was, she took off my red
hunting hat - the one I gave her - and
practically chucked it right in my
face”(269).
Phoebe rides the carousel two times and Holden nearly cries.
 Pg. 274
 End of chapter 26.
 Significance: The carousel symbolizes the
continuance of innocence, because it is a
part of childhood that goes round and round
and never changes. Holden even mentions
that they played the same song they played
when he was young. As Phoebe rides the
carousel, he accepts that his dream of
“saving the innocent” is a childish dream
and nearly cries as Phoebe rides for the
second time.
 “I felt so damn happy all of the sudden, the
way old Phoebe kept going around and
around. I was damn near bawling”(275).
Work Cited
 "The Catcher in the Rye: Chronology."
GeoCities: easy-to-use siteﾊ tools. 26 Jan. 2009
<http://www.geocities.com/deadcaulfields/Catch
erChronology.html>.
 "Catcher in the Rye." Welcome to
Masconomet.org. 26 Jan. 2009
<http://www.masconomet.org/teachers/trevenen/
catcher.html#Key%20Characters%20and>.
 Lemonlight. 26 Jan. 2009
<http://www.lemonlight.org/photos/uncategorized
/2007/11/28/carousel.jpg>.
Work Cited Continued
 "Lagoon - Central Park on Flickr - Photo Sharing!"
Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing. 26 Jan. 2009
<http://flickr.com/photos/scrunt/296118647/>.
 "NYC - Radio City Christmas Spectacular - New
Yorkled." New Yorkled - New York City Informational /
Pictorial Magazine - NYC. 26 Jan. 2009
<http://www.newyorkled.com/moreNYseasonal_Christma
s-Spectacular.htm>.Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the
Rye. Boston: Little Brown & Company, 1951.
 ..:: Welcome to WHS Online ::.. 26 Jan. 2009
<http://whs.wsd.wednet.edu/Faculty/schafercloke/images
/Rye5.jpg>.
??QUESTIONS??