Rivera 1

Briana Rivera

Ms. Wight

AP Lang

10 August 2020

The Catcher in the Rye Annotations

Chapter 1:

Character: Holden Caulfield, the main character in the story seems to distance himself from his

past and his family members.

Setting: Holden attends Pencey Prep a private school that is advertised very well to seem as a

wonderful place to send young boys, Holden seems to despise the place and does not see the

good in the school.

Figurative Language: Holden uses some slang in his sentences such as “bucks” or “dough” this

shows his youthfulness and highlights how he is still an adolescent.

Possible Theme: Holden seems to think of many aspects in his life as phony from his family and

personal life, his school and even his headmaster. This reveals how he reads people and

situations

Vocab: Ostracized, exclude from a society or a group

Character: Spencer is a school mate of Holden and seems to be one of the few people Holden

does not hate

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Plot: The main character appears to be Holden Caufield a teenage boy attending a boarding

school named Pencey Prep. He does not really like anything about feels like the school, people

and faculty are all phonies. Due to failing nearly all his classes he has been kicked out and

cannot return after break

Chapter 2:

Character: Old Spencer is one of the adults (his history teacher) that Holden seems to

appreciate and visits him before leaving school

Imagery: Holden provides a lot of detail on the appearance of old Spencer the way he was

dressed made him uncomfortable because of his age and the way he described the scent showed

how his illness was making him look

Character Shift: Holden identifies his own immaturity; this shows how he is learning from his

actions and shows when he is not acting his age but does not like when someone else comments

on his age or attitude

Figurative Language: He was as hot as a firecracker was used to describe the current state of

Mr. Spencer, he seems to be extremely frustrated with Holden about how he performed in history

class. While he is reading Holden’s essay to him Old Spencer is flustered and upset.

Symbol: The ducks in central park show a more innocent side to Holden, while speaking to Old

Spencer he does not really feel the need to nurse his pride. When thinking about the ducks he

shows genuine concern and curiosity on what happens to the when the water freezes over.
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Theme: A possible theme could be how phoniness misinterprets someone’s character. Holden

says that phoniness is something that infuriates him so much it puts him in a depression

Plot: Old Spencer has a long discussion with Holden about his future since he is leaving his

school. Old Spencer is angry with him since he was not a good student and tries to get him to

notice the error of his ways. Old Spence attempts to get through to Holden but he just leaves

after Old Spencer wishes him luck

Chapter 3:

Character Shift: Holden seems to use more swear word when describing someone Phony or

who he thinks is bad. This shows his frustration with phony people

Symbol: The red hunting hat shows his individuality and how he stands out from the rest of the

school.

Character: Ackley who is a senior and shares a shower with Holden is very annoying and seems

to be oblivious with how people react to him.

Imagery: The way Holden describes Ackley really give a feel for his personality. The

description of his teeth and body shows how Holden is not very comfortable with him and does

not really like him at all.

Figurative Language: Holden language becomes more aggressive and uses more swear words

whenever he gets more frustrated or passionate by a person or situation which shows his

immaturity.
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Plot: Holden leaves Old Spencer’s home and makes his way back to his dorm and tries on his

new hat. Ackley goes to his room which clearly bothers Holden and after Holdens roommate

returns Ackley leaves.

Chapter 4:

Character Shift: Holden talks about his habit of turning the water on and off which seems to

happen in situations that make him uncomfortable, this reveals a sort of immature and innocent

personality.

Character: Stradlater, Holden’s roommate is described to be a secret slob who is very full of

himself. He establishes dominance by talking down to Holden when asking him to do his

homework for him.

Character: Jane Gallagher who was an old neighbor of Holden is going on a date with Stradlater

and Holden discusses her rough childhood.

Shift: Holden seemed to have a soft spot for Jane and did not like the fact that Stradlater was

going out with her

Symbol: Holden makes fun of Ackley for his hygiene and says he most likely did not even have

a hanker chief which seems to symbolize class and cleanliness

Plot: Stradlater tries to get Holden to do his English homework for him but Holden is very

hesitant throughout the whole chapter. Stradlater reveals that he is going on a date with a girl

from his past named Jane who Holden seems to have known well.
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Possible Theme: Knowledge does not determine the character of someone. This can be seen

how when Stradlater asks Holden to do his composition he says not to put the commas in the

right places most likely to make it seem as if it was his work. Holden knows where the commas

go but is flunking and Stradlater is very full of himself.

Chapter 5:

Character Shift: Holden appears nicer when describing the children eating saying how they do

not know any better for eating the gross food, but shames Ackley for eating all his food.

Symbol: The snowball could signify destruction; Holden did not want to throw it at anything

because it was nice and white almost innocent and pure.

Symbol: The red hunting hat seems to be a security item for Holden and only wears it when he

feels comfortable.

Character: Allie who is Holdens younger brother passed away from leukemia. Holden seems to

cherish him explaining how he was extremely intelligent and sweet.

Shift: Holden cares about his brother deeply and when describing his death, it still feels painful

to him because that is when his parents wanted to get him analyzed for breaking all the windows.

Plot: Holden, Ackley and a friend go downtown to hang out and when they return Ackley

bothers Holden until he forces him to leave. He begins to write Stradlater's composition but can

only think about his younger brother. The death of his brother seemed to be the first bit of trauma

in Holden’s life.
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Chapter 6:

Character Shift: Holden gets very upset with Stradlater when he gets upset mad at him for

writing about a catcher's mitt. Holden rips up the composition and smokes to get Stradlater mad.

Figurative Language: Holden uses an exaggeration when talking about how Stradlater pinned

him down after he failed to sock him in the face.

Plot: Holden and Stradlater get in a huge fight after Holden asks him if he had sex with Jane and

Stradlater beats Holden up and then Holden goes to Ackley’s room.

Symbol: After the fight with Stradlater Holden puts on his Hat, I think it not only gives him a

sense of security but also a sense of control he says he puts it on just the way he likes it.

Chapter 7:

Character Shift: Ackley gets annoyed with Holden for being in his room and Holden always

just gives subtle hints at Ackley when he is in his room.

Shift: Holden sleeps in Ackley’s room because of the fight with Stradlater even though he does

not really like Ackley

Imagery: Holden hates the fact that he knows exactly how Stradlater would have treated Jane

and that bothers him extremely.

Symbol: The skates Holden’s mother gave him made him sad because it probably seemed as if

he was failing his family while packing up to leave.

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Symbol: Before leaving Pency Holden puts on his hat to sort of gain control of a situation he is

going to New York with no plan

Plot: After a big fight with Stradlater and a small dispute with Ackley Holden decides to leave

school and make his way home packing p all his things and leaving to New York.

Chapter 8:

Figurative Language: Holden thinks that the magazine stories are phony and unrealistic and

that he doesn't like them but still reads them.

Character Shift: While on the train he runs in to the mother of a student at Pency named Ernest.

Holden lies to her about his son and makes him seem like a nice person but really, he despises

him.

Shift: This is the first time that Holden sees an interest in girls. He usually seemed to show care

for girls he talked about but with Ernest’s mother he finds he attractive.

Shift: Holden tries to appear older by offering alcohol and smoking I think he tries to show more

maturity when around adults

Plot: Holden goes on a train to New York when a woman sits next to him and it turns out to be

the mother of a student he dislikes. He lies to her about why he is on the train and even who he is

and continues his journey on the train after she leaves.

Chapter 9:
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Symbol: The ducks in the central park lagoon seems to symbolize his curiosity because he

always wonders what happens to them when the water freezes over.

Character: The cab driver seems very closed off to Holden and thinks Holden is tricking him

when really Holden just wants answers to his curiosity

Shift: When Holden finally gets to the hotel, he realizes it was full of weird people and sees

strange things out his window which makes him very curious about sex and girls.

Imagery: Holden describes the hotel as weird there was strange people that made him curious

such as a man dressed as a woman and a couple spitting water on each other.

Character: As curiosity gets the best of him he remember an old friend gave him the number of

a “prostitute” named Faith Cavendish who is at first angry at the fact that she was woken up but

soon warms up after they talk for a bit. He wanted to meet her but could not because of the time.

Plot: Holden finally arrives in New York and checks in to this strange hotel where he sees some

things that make his curiosity spike and he calls a prostitute but is unable to meet with her.

Chapter 10:

Character: Phoebe who is Holden’s sister is a nice smart girl, who Holden seems to adore for

her personality.

Imagery: Phoebe is a short little girl with slightly red hair that is very long, and she loves

movies and is very smart. Holden gives a very deep description of her when he wanted to call her

on the phone.
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Shift: Holden dances with a girl in the lavender room but she is not really paying attention to

him. After a while he finds her to be a moron, but he still thinks she is a great dancer.

Figurative Language: Holden calls the girl he is dancing with a great conversationalist as a

form of sarcasm because she did not pay much attention to them.

Shift: Holden finds the girls a bit dumb but Bearnice seemed to peak his interests because she

did beautiful things while dancing. He still found her attractive even though he found her

personality awful.

Plot: Holden decides to go to the lavender room, after failing to get alcohol he finds a group of

girls to hang out dances with three of them. He spent the evening with them and then called it a

night after the girls said they had to leave to catch the first showing of a festival. Holden paid for

the drinks and everyone said goodbye.

Chapter 11:

Figurative Language: “I knew her like a book” this phrase was used to describe how much

Holden knew about Jane.

Shift: Holden opens up to Jane and shows her Allie’s catcher's mitt which he has only ever show

to his family which shows how he trust her which he normally doesn't do with people.

Vocab: Kidded, playful teasing

Shift: Jane gets very uncomfortable and upset when her mother’s boyfriend talks to her and even

shed a tear which mean she may be very afraid of him or does not like him.
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Plot: While sitting in the lobby of the hotel Holden begins to think about Jane. They were next

door neighbors who hung out almost every day and held hands and once almost kissed. After

reminiscing he decides to go to this club named Ernie’s.

Chapter 12:

Figurative language: Holden describes the cabs smell as if someone tossed cookies in it which

means it smell like vomit.

Shift: Holden still is curious about the ducks asking a new person about them.

Symbol: The ducks at central park represent Holden’s curiosity and immaturity because most the

adults he asks them about do not care.

Shift: While at Ernie’s Holden gets frustrated at everyone there because everyone is praising

Ernie for playing piano and Holden feels like he is a phony

Character: Lillian Simmons is an old friend of his brother and Holden thinks she is annoying

and a phony.

Plot: Holden goes to Ernie’s and strikes up a conversation with a cab driver about the ducks in

the lagoon, but still he finds no answers. When he arrives at Ernie’s it is very crowded and runs

in to an old friend of his brother. He does not like her and leaves in order to avoid her.

Chapter 13:
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Symbol: While in the cold Holden puts on his hat in order to protect himself from the weather,

which shows how he uses the hat to feel safe and comfortable.

Figurative Language: Yellowness is used to describe Holden which describes how he is

carefree of things that are important.

Shift: A guy in the elevator asks Holden if he wants a prostitute for the night and even though it

is against his moral, he agrees

Character: Sunny is the prostitute that came to Holden’s room she seemed young and very

nervous when being with Holden.

Shift: Holden did not want to have sex with the prostitute and felt very dirty.

Plot: After arriving to the hotel he gets asked if he would like a prostitute. Holden agrees but

later regrets his decision and the prostitute leaves.

Chapter 14:

Character Shift: Holden talks out to Allie because he is upset, and this comforts him.

Shift: Holden gets scared when the elevator guy and Sunny come back to his room for more

money, even though he does not.

Character: Sunny takes the money out of Holden’s wallet making him cry and yell at Maurice.

Imagery: Holden invasions getting back at Maurice and how he would shoot him and then

calling up Jane.
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Plot: Sunny and Maurice go to Holden’s room trying to get more money. Holden refuses but

Sunny takes the money from his wallet making him cry. Holden then starts screaming at Maurice

which makes him hit Holden very hard.

Chapter 15:

Character Shift: While wanting to call up Jane who chooses to call Sally Hayes even though he

finds her a bit phony.

Figurative Language: Holden call the perverts in the building modest to be sarcastic

Shift: While checking his funds he finds that he is running a bit low, which is a habit of his to

always spend which drives his parents crazy.

Shift: Holden does not like people with cheap suitcases, which he knows seems wrong.

Character: Holden meets two nuns while at Grand Central Station. He gives them a contribution

and strikes up conversation with them.

Plot: Holden calls up Sally Hayes and plans a date with her. He goes to grand central station for

breakfast and ends up talking to two nuns and donating money to them.

Chapter 16:

Shift: While on a walk he thinks about the two nuns he met and how they were very giving and

kind causing him to reflect on the people he knows. He discovers that he knows no one that

would ever participate in tasks that the nuns did.

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Shift: After seeing a little boy singing on the street very carefree it cheers Holden up. Also, after

buying a record for Phoebe he gets excited to give it to her.

Character: A little girl around Phoebe’s age was at the park, and Holden asks her if she knows

Phoebe she says yes and says she may be at the museum

Symbol: Holden explains how he loves the museum of natural history because nothing ever

changes or moves. This symbolize fear of growing up and maturing because of his desire to keep

and protect his innocence.

Character: Holden reminisces on Phoebe and how she is like him at her age. He doesn’t want

things for her to change like things are changing for him.

Plot: Holden wants to meet up with Phoebe but cannot find her instead he goes to the Museum of

natural history and makes his way to his date with Sally.

Chapter 17:

Shift: While waiting for Sally to arrive he gets a bit upset because she is late, but when she does

arrive, he notices that she looks very pretty and uses that to excuse her.

Shift: Holden thinks that the play is very phony but does not think it was the worst thing ever

which shows a change on his opinion on film

Character: An old friend of Sally’s approaches the two to say hello after they play. Holden

finds him very phony and stuck up and Sally flirts with him right in front of Holden.

Figurative Language: Holden compares Sally’s ankles bending to looking stupid as hell to

describe how silly she looked.

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Shift: Holden starts getting aggressive while talking to Sally which he does not realize and

eventually asks her to run away with him. Sally gets scared and tells him to go away which he

does thinking he is crazy for what he said

Plot: Sally arrives late to their date but still they go to the show. Holden thinks sally is being a

phony because of how she is behaving in the lobby and toward a guy named Andover. They go

ice skating and Holden tries to talk to her about stuff and goes on a rant. He gets very aggressive

and asks Sally to run away with him she gets frightened and starts to cry. The date ended

horribly and Holden leaves

Chapter 18:

Symbol: After the ordeal with Sally he goes to eat a swiss cheese sandwich and a malted milk

which he earlier mentioned is what he ate when he was younger. This may show how he wants to

go back to a more childlike version of himself. He feels as though going back to something

similar will protect his innocence.

Character: It is revealed that Jane has a boyfriend that Holden does not like. He seems rude and

this shows how Jane suffers with issue like Holden

Shift: Holden starts to feel lonely again calling someone's to meet up. Holden does not really

like the people he is meeting with which is odd because he does not want to be a phony.\

Shift: Holden goes to see a film although he doesn't like films. Holden begins to create sort of

gory ideas in his head about dying

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Plot: After Holden get some food, he thinks of calling Jane, but instead calls an old friend Carl

Luce. They decide to meet up for drinks and to pass the time Holden goes to Radio city music

Hall. Holden finds the film very phony and think about war and his brother D.B. He decides that

he does not want to join the military.

Chapter 19:

Shift: Holden begins to judge everyone at the bar seeing everyone as a phony and questioning

group of people

Character: Luce arrives, and Holden is already a bit drunk. He notices his immaturity and is

disinterested in what Holden has to say.

Shift: Holden shows curiosity in sex and asks many inappropriate questions which makes Luce

uncomfortable.

Plot: Holden meets with Luce at a bar when Holden arrives, he takes notice of all the groups.

When Luce arrives, he begins to ask him inappropriate questions about his sex life as he gets

drunk. Luce advises Holden to see a therapist, but Holden continues to ask Luce inappropriate

questions. Holden call Luce a friendly bastard making him leave quickly leaving Holden alone at

the bar.

Chapter 20:

Symbol: Holden always feels like calling Jane maybe because she reminds him of a better time

in his life, he always wants to but never does.

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Symbol: The broken record that he was supposed to give to phoebe may show how he is losing

connection with his own innocence.

Shift: He does not want to die and make Phoebe sad and she is the main reason he keeps going.

Plot: Holden gets very drunk at the bar and stays out very late. He makes his way to a phone

booth thinking of calling Jane but instead calls Sally who is not pleased with Holden’s behavior.

He goes back to the bar and dunks his head in cold water. He leaves and heads to central park

breaking the record her had bought for Phoebe. As he sits there cold, he is worried he will die

and imagines his funeral. He feels bad for Phoebe if he died so he decides to try and sneak into

his house to see Phoebe without getting caught.

Chapter 21:

Symbol: Phoebe is sleeping in her brother room which may show how she feels safer and more

protected under in her older brothers' bed.

Shift: Holden finds happiness in watching his sister sleep because she looks so peaceful which is

because of her youthfulness and innocence.

Shift: At first Phoebe was very happy to see Holden but then is upset with him when she realizes

he was kicked out of school

Plot: Holden can sneak into his apartment and sees phoebe sleeping in D. B’s room. He looks at

her sleeping and looks at all her work which makes him happy. When Phoebe wakes up, she is so

happy to see him and she tells her that their parents are at a party. Phoebe puts together that
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Holden got kicked out of school giving him the silent treatment then Holden tells her he will

work on a ranch in Colorado.

Chapter 22:

Shift: Phoebe is upset with her brother and says that their father will be very upset. Holden tries

to excuse himself on why Pencey was a terrible place.

Shift: Phoebe gets Holden to reflect on himself and he notices that he does not like many things

Symbol: Holden says how he wants to be a catcher in the rye, this shows how he wants to

preserve innocence. He feels that he must protect his sister and himself from losing innocence.

Plot: Holden is trying to defend himself to Phoebe who thinks he is crazy for getting kicked out

of Pencey. He tells her it is a terrible place. Phoebe accuses him of not liking anything and he

cannot find something he genuinely like other that Allie and her. He reminisces on a student who

killed himself at school. Phoebe asks him what he would like to be, and Holden cannot say a

profession that would keep him from being phony. He tells Phoebe that he wants to be the

catcher in the rye, and he goes to call Mr. Antolini.

Chapter 23:

Character: Mr. Antolini is an old teacher of Holden’s who is very respected by him and one of

the only teachers that he likes.

Character: Phoebe is very sassy with Holden but enjoys the company of her older brother as

they dance, and she even covers for him when they get caught.
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Shift: Holden feels very bad about having to get Phoebe in trouble and borrow money from her

almost as if he is taking her innocence.

Symbol: Holden gives her his hat; this could be his way of protecting her and keeping her safe in

situations.

Plot: On the phone with Mr. Antolin he says that Holden can stay with him. He lights a cigarette

and goes to phoebes room where he dances with her. He notices his parents arrived and hides in

the closet. Phobe covers for him and he must ask to borrow money. Phoebe gladly gives him

some money and tells her he will go see her play and pay her back. Phoebe says that he can stay

with her making him very emotional and sneaks out after giving her his red hunting hat.

Chapter 24:

Shift: Although Holden has respect for Mr. Antolin he does not want to hear about how he needs

to grow up and apply himself.

Shift: When Holden wakes up to his old teacher stroking his hair, he is very uncomfortable and

takes off. This shows a shift in someone who he trusted and respected. now becoming someone

who he thought was creepy

Plot: When Holden arrives at Mr. Antolini’s house he realized that they had just had a party and

he sits with him and talk. Mr. Antolini talks to him about school and Holden says how much he

hated it. Mr. Antolini says that he must apply himself and mature or else he will have a bad

future. Sleepily he goes to sleep on the couch but when he wakes up, Mr. Antolini was caressing
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Holden’s hair. Holden is freaked out and say he must go get his things from Grand central

station. Weirded out, Holden leaves thanking him for the advice.

Chapter 25:

Shift: Holden feels bad for how he reacted to Mr. Antolini which only makes him feel worse

about the situation he is in.

Symbol: the fuck you message that holden see repeatedly could represent how Holden feels he is

giving up his innocence.

Shift: Holden acts different when around kids he wants them to feel safe and he protects them in

order to preserve their childhood.

Symbol: When Phoebe throws his hunting hat at him it could show how he can no longer protect

her and how she is growing up and losing her innocence.

Plot: Holden is very upset and begins to think he overreacted with Mr. Antolini only making him

more upset. Holden becomes paranoid while walking the streets of New York and decides to

head west. He has to say goodbye to Phoebe, so he wrote her a note for them to meet at the

museum. As Holden is walking to her school to deliver the note, he sees the words fuck you

written on the wall. As he tries to cover it up, he thinks over killing the person who did it. He

delivers the note and sees another fuck you message but cannot get it out. He heads to the

museum where two little boys ask where the mummies are. He takes them but they get scared

and leave. He sees yet another fuck you message and goes to the restroom where he passes out.
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He wakes up and waits for Phoebe when she arrives, she says she is going with him. He won't let

her make her upset and running off he walks to the zoo where Phoebe follows and make up.

Chapter 26:

Plot: Holden reveals that he is in a place most likely a mental health facility. His brother visits

him frequently and he tells him he wishes he did not tell many people about his journey because

he begins to miss everyone.

Quotes:

• “Mr. Antolini was very nice. He said I could come right over if I wanted to.

• “If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a damn if she's late?”

• “She was depressing. Her green dress hanging in the closet and all. And besides, I don't

think I could ever do it with somebody who sits in a stupid movie all day long.”

• “Well. He's a very sensitive boy. He's really never been a terribly good mixer with other

boys. Perhaps he takes things a little more seriously than he should at this age.”

• “My aunt's pretty charitable she does a lot of Red Cross work and all, but she's very well

dressed and all, and when she does anything charitable, she's always very well dressed

and has lipstick on and all that crap”

Possible Themes:

A main theme that I found throughout the book was the preservation of innocence. Throughout

the story Holden does not want to grow up and mature. This is seen with how he is still immature
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to some people his age. He also wants to protect his little sister Phoebe. Olden struggle

throughout the book for answers about f=growing up. He gets a prostitute talks to cab drivers and

even old friends.

Use of Language:

• When Holden is describing Ackley, he uses very descriptive words to give a good

description on what he looks likes which helps the reader understand his character.