Holden Caulfield, the 17-year-old narrator and protagonist of the novel, speaks to the reader directly from a mental hospital or sanitarium in southern California. The novel is a frame story (a story within a certain fictional framework) in the form of a long flashback. Holden wants to tell what happened […]
Read more Character Analysis Holden CaulfieldSummary and Analysis Chapters 25-26
Summary It is dawn on Monday as Holden leaves the Antolinis’ apartment. He sleeps on a bench at the waiting room in Grand Central Station until about 9 a.m. Having second thoughts about Mr. Antolini’s intentions, he wonders if he should have returned and stayed there. Walking up on Fifth […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 25-26Summary and Analysis Chapter 24
Summary It is very late when Holden arrives at the Antolinis’ “swanky” apartment on Sutton Place. The couple hosted a party earlier in the evening, and Mr. Antolini is still drinking heavily. Mrs. Antolini (Lillian) makes coffee and goes to bed. Holden feels dizzy and has a headache. The coffee […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 24Summary and Analysis Chapter 23
Summary On the telephone, Mr. Antolini tells Holden to come right over if he wants. Holden returns to D.B.’s room, now inhabited by Phoebe. She has the radio on, and they dance. Holden lights a cigarette, and Phoebe explains how she can fake a fever. Suddenly, they hear their parents […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 23Summary and Analysis Chapter 22
Summary Phoebe continues to be terribly upset over Holden’s dismissal from Pencey Prep. She is sure that their father will be very upset with her brother. Holden says he’ll merely be sent to a military school, if he is still around; he plans to head for Colorado to work on […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 22Summary and Analysis Chapter 21
Summary Holden wants to visit Phoebe at the family apartment, in the middle of the night, without his parents’ knowledge. Fortunately, there is a new elevator operator on duty who does not recognize him. Holden pretends to be visiting the Dicksteins who have an apartment on the same floor as […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 21Summary and Analysis Chapter 20
Summary Holden stays at the bar and gets quite drunk. He decides to telephone Jane Gallagher but calls Sally Hayes instead. She tells him to go home and go to bed. Holden strikes up a conversation with the piano player. He tells Holden to go home and go to bed. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 20Summary and Analysis Chapters 18-19
Summary It is late afternoon or very early evening on Sunday. Holden telephones Carl Luce, whom he knew during his days at the Whooton School. Carl is three years older and was his student adviser. They agree to meet for a drink at the Wicker Bar in the Seton Hotel […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapters 18-19Summary and Analysis Chapter 17
Summary Sally is ten minutes late but looks terrific in her black coat and matching beret. She is thrilled that they will get to see the Lunts and is impressed by the performance. Holden is less than thrilled, first by the performance on stage and then by Sally’s performance in […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 17Summary and Analysis Chapter 16
Summary When Holden finishes his conversation with the two nuns, it is almost noon. He has two hours until he is to meet Sally at the Biltmore Hotel so he goes for a walk toward Broadway. He wants to buy a recording, for Phoebe, of an old song called “Little […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 16