The Catcher in the Rye Chapters 5-9
Holden and Ackley are bored, and end up taking a bus into town (along with another student, Mal Brossard), where they eat and play arcade games. The outing is uneventful and somewhat dull, so the boys return to the dorm. Holden writes the essay that Stradlater had commissioned.
Holden elects to write about his brother’s left-handed baseball fielder’s mitt. His younger brother, Allie, died about two-and-a-half years prior, and Holden misses him dearly. The fielder’s mitt that Holden has kept is described as having poems written on it, in green ink, so that Allie would have something to read when he was bored. The mitt has profound sentimental value to Holden, as it is representative not only of his brother’s intelligence, but more importantly, of his innocence. Holden sometimes “consults” with his brother’s spirit. Holden keeps his brother’s mitt as a memento, and cherishes it deeply. He completes the essay around 10:30 PM.
Stradlater returns shortly after the essay is finished, but as a shallow and self-absorbed boy, does not understand the meaning. He expresses his displeasure, so Holden tears it to shreds. Then, when Stradlater hints at events regarding the date with Jane, which Holden finds infuriating, Holden takes a swing at Stradlater. Stradlater easily defeats Holden in the ensuing fight. Stradlater leaves, but Holden is also angry about the fight and frustrated with all things regarding the school. He decides to leave immediately. He walks to the train station, headed for New York City.
On the train, by random chance he meets an attractive woman that turns out to be the mother of classmate Edward Morrow, who, incidentally, is very much disliked by Holden. In the course of conversation, he introduces himself under a phony name, tells a number of wildly untrue (but oddly and ironically flattering) stories about Edward, and even tells her that he is leaving school because he has a brain tumor.
After the train journey is over, Holden considers calling a number of his friends, but decides against it. He takes a cab to a hotel. Then, from the window of his room, probably about 1AM, he observes a number of odd happenings in other rooms. Finally, he makes a phone call to Miss Faith Cavendish, a girl known for being promiscuous. To Holden’s disappointment however, no plans are made to meet up.
Analysis:
We see Holden as an occasionally aimless teen, looking for fun, but often hampered by bashfulness or plain old teenage angst. He also demonstrates his penchant for lying, possibly even full-on compulsion, with a number of mistruths. To see him extol the virtues of a kid that he does not even like, simply for the purpose of telling a lie, suggests that lying is something he is very comfortable with.
His adolescent sexual desires are haphazard. He finds most, perhaps nearly all, women as possible sexual conquests, even when he might find them unattractive. He seems to have brief, but clearly unrequited, fantasies about many of them. As many teen boys do, he seems to fancy himself a little more capable and marketable as sexual partner than he actually is.
