The Catcher in the Rye

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-4

Reading Check

1. What does Holden's brother do for a living?

2. Why does Holden lose his position on the fencing team?

3. Whose house does Holden visit after the football game?

4. How many times has Holden been kicked out of school?

5. What does Mr. Spencer show Holden?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Holden stand at a distance from others at the football game, and what does this reveal about him?

2. Why does Holden wish to say goodbye to Pencey, and how does this challenge our understanding of his character?

3. For what does Holden criticize Mr. Spencer? Is this fair or unfair, and what does this reveal about Holden?

4. Why does Holden respond with anxiety when he finds out about Stradlater's date?

Paired Resource

“Speaking of Psychology: Does Nostalgia Have a Psychological Purpose?”

• Audio and transcript of an American Psychological Association podcast interview with Dr. Krystine Batcho on the merits and purposes of nostalgia
• This interview considers the role of nostalgia in the human psyche. In what way can nostalgia clarify one's identity? What does Holden's nostalgia reveal about his identity and values?

Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. What does Stradlater ask Holden to write for him?

2. What is wrong with Holden's hand?

3. Where does Holden ask to sleep before he leaves Pencey?

4. Who does Holden sit next to on the train leaving Pencey?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Holden write about for Stradlater, and why is that significant?

2. What did Holden do on the night of Allie's death, and what does this tell us about Holden?

3. Why do Holden and Stradlater get into a fight?

4. Why does Holden put on the red hunting cap after his fight with Stradlater?

5. Why does Holden choose to go to New York? Does this decision seem well thought-out? Why or why not?

Paired Resource

“The Evolutionary Advantage of the Teenage Brain”

• This article, based on an interview with UCLA psychology researcher Adriana Galván, explains how the teenage brain develops, and why teens often behave in impulsive or irrational ways.
• Connects to the theme of Coming-of-Age as Losing Innocence
• In Chapter 7, Holden engages in risky behavior by rashly deciding to take a train to New York. How might this connect to Holden's brain development? Think of a time when you engaged in behavior that may not have been the most well-considered. How can you connect your experience to Holden's?

Chapters 9-11; 12-14

Reading Check

1. Who does Holden call when he gets to the hotel in New York?

2. Where does Holden go after leaving his hotel room for the first time?

3. What does Holden think about in the hotel lobby in Chapter 11?

4. What does Ernie do?

5. Who does Holden speak to when he is back in his hotel room?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When Holden sees the three women at the bar, he considers them to be ugly, but he dances and sits with them anyway. What does this suggest about Holden?

2. How do Holden's memories of Jane contrast with his environment in Chapter 11?

3. When Holden asks the taxi driver, Horwitz, about the ducks, Horwitz responds by saying that the fish have it worse than the ducks because they stay in the pond. What is the significance of this conversation in the context of Holden's life?

4. Why doesn't Holden sleep with Sunny?

5. Why can't Holden pray? What does this keep him from being able to do regarding processing his brother's death?

Paired Resource

“Teens Are Lonelier Than Ever. What Do Smartphones Have to Do With It?”

• This article from Institute of Family Studies explains the connection between teenage loneliness and smartphone use.
• In Chapters 9-13, Holden engages in a variety of activities to help suppress his loneliness, such as drinking, dancing, and hiring a sex worker, all of which only make him lonelier. How do teenagers attempt to quell loneliness in 2022? Are these methods helpful or harmful? How does social media affect loneliness? Would the use of social media help or harm Holden?

Chapters 15-18

Reading Check

1. Who does Holden call in Chapter 15?

2. What does Holden buy for Phoebe?

3. What book does Holden say he loves in Chapter 18?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Holden so drawn to the nuns in Chapter 15?

2. Why doesn't Holden go into the Museum of Natural History?

3. Why does Holden say he will never join the military?

Paired Resource

“Children and Grief”

• This scholarly article from Home Healthcare Nurse lays out the stages of grief and explains the complexity of grief in different age groups.
• Connects to the themes of Coming-of-Age as Losing Innocence and Post-Traumatic Stress
• In this section, Holden's grief comes to a head. After reading the article, explain where in the grieving process you believe Holden to be, and why he struggles to move forward in processing his brother's death. Also consider how many of Holden's actions in the novel (dropping out of school, social withdrawal, violence) may stem from grief. What does Holden need to be able to get better?

Chapters 19-23

Reading Check

1. Who does Luce tell Holden he needs to see?

2. What does Holden drop and break while drunk?

3. What does Holden tell Phoebe?

4. What song does Holden sing for Phoebe?

5. How does Holden know Mr. Antolini?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Holden so curious about psychoanalysis?

2. Why is it significant that there are no ducks in the pond when Holden arrives at Central Park?

3. How does Holden treat Phoebe, and why?

4. What is the meaning of the catcher in the rye song, for Holden?

5. Why does Holden respect Mr. Antolini more than his other teachers?

Paired Resource

“The Case for Delayed Adulthood”

• This New York Times opinion essay by psychology professor Laurence Steinberg discusses the delayed entry of young people into adulthood over the course of the past few generations. (Subscription may be needed for viewing.)
• Connects to the themes of Coming-of-Age as Losing Innocence
• In this section of the novel, Holden tells Phoebe about his dream to be the "catcher in the rye." Holden's dream is to preserve innocence and childhood. Can prolonged adolescence ever be a good thing? Do you agree or disagree with Holden that childhood and innocence are preferable over adulthood? Why or why not?

Chapters 24-26

Reading Check

1. What does Mr. Antolini write down for Holden to keep?

2. Who does Holden ask to protect him when he feels he cannot make it across the street?

3. Where is Holden at the end of the novel?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Mr. Antolini write down the advice about not dying for a cause? What does it mean in the scope of Holden's life so far?

2. What is the symbolic significance of Holden's fear of crossing the road?

3. What does the novel's ending imply about Holden's future?

Recommended Next Reads 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

• The Great Gatsby is a story that focuses on idealism and dreams, and the effect of this idealism on the narrator.
• The Great Gatsby on SuperSummary

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

• Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys who, stranded on an island, must govern themselves and face losing their innocence.
• Lord of the Flies on SuperSummary