Chapters 14-16

Chapter 14

As the sun rises, Holden admits to feeling very depressed and begins to talk aloud to his brother, Allie. He then discusses religion. He claims to be 'sort of an atheist' (p89), (an atheist is a person who does not believe in any gods or religion) but that he likes Jesus and dislikes all the other people in the Bible. He reveals that in the past he has often had conversations about religion with schoolmates.

As Holden tries to sleep, Maurice and Sunny return and knock on the door. They are demanding an extra five dollars. Holden tries to stand firm and eventually Maurice attacks him. Much like the incident with Stradlater, Holden cannot hold his mouth and begins pointlessly and childishly insulting Maurice. Maurice hits him again and leaves. Holden then pretends to be in a movie. He acts as though he has been shot, and imagines how he is going to exact his revenge on Maurice. When he finally goes to sleep Holden admits to wanting to commit suicide. He decides against it because he would not want 'rubbernecks' looking at him.

Analysis

Salinger again links Allie's death to Holden's depression. Holden reveals that when he is very depressed he often pretends that he is talking to Allie. Whether you take this as an indication that Allie's death is a cause for Holden's behaviour or that Holden's current state of mind brings up memories of his brother is up to you. Certainly, though, as Allie can be taken to be a symbol of purity, the mention of him contrasts with the incident with Sunny as well as with the impending meeting with Maurice.

Holden's attitude towards religion further demonstrates that Holden cannot make up his mind. For a person so obsessed with purity it is not a surprise that he is also interested in religion. The reader can see that Holden has had numerous in-depth conversations with people about religion but he is unsure what to make of it. After claiming to be an atheist, he contradicts himself by telling us that he likes Jesus. Eventually he even tries, albeit unsuccessfully, to pray.

The incident with Maurice demonstrates that he really is not a coward. It is easy to believe that Holden would have paid the ten dollars, as he tells Maurice, mostly because he has been very easy with spending his money. (It is worth mentioning here that a bottle of coke - about 200mls - cost five cents in 1951, so ten dollars is substantial.) Holden, however, is standing up to Maurice on the principle of the matter.

Notice, also, that Sunny and Maurice are well aware not only that Holden is younger than he claims, but that he is a 'high-class kid' (p92). Holden is completely out of place at the Edmont and at all the bars where he has been. Where, in Pencey Prep, the reader can see similarities between Holden and Ackley and Holden, at times, looks up to Stradlater, there is no one in this world who is of similar standing or who can be a role model. This displacement of setting compounds Holden's confusion and dissatisfaction.

After fantasising about murdering Maurice, Holden contemplates suicide. It has not even been 12 hours since he left Pencey Prep and almost every action that Holden has undertaken has left him more and more dissatisfied. The reader is left to ponder whether Maurice and people like Maurice, or Holden himself, is a greater threat to Holden.

Chapter 15

Holden makes a date with Sally Hayes, a girl he has known for years but was not 'too crazy about' (p95). He decides to leave the hotel to avoid 'getting my brains beat out' (p96) so he catches a cab to Grand Central Station instead, where he puts his baggage in a locker. He meets two nuns in a cafe where he is eating breakfast and is surprised that they talk about Romeo and Juliet, as 'that play gets pretty sexy in some parts' (p100). Holden gives them ten dollars as a donation, interestingly the same amount that Maurice wanted.

Throughout the chapter Holden ponders the difference between rich and poor and also discusses the exclusion and inclusion that revolves around religion.

Analysis

Instead of calling Jane, Holden makes a date with somebody he cares less about. Again it seems as though this is the easy way for Holden to avoid any real human contact. Holden discusses money in some detail in this chapter. Up to this point in the novel it has only been implied that Holden's family is quite wealthy, through the private school and Maurice's comment about Holden being a 'high class kid'. Firstly, Holden tells the reader that his father is 'quite wealthy' (p97) and then tells a story about an old roommate who was less well off. The suitcases are symbolic here as a gauge for wealth and Holden sums it up by stating that 'it's really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs - if yours are really good ones and theirs aren't' (p98). This interest in financial inequality goes to the core of Holden's frustrations with the adult world.

It is noteworthy that Holden admits to being embarrassed while talking to the nuns about Romeo and Juliet. This demonstrates that Holden does not properly understand purity. If we take Holden's idea of purity as protecting innocent people from anything sexual or crude, then it is interesting to think that it is not the protection of those people but how they deal with their interactions with crudeness that makes them pure. Holden will come to this realisation as he discovers that he cannot protect Phoebe from the swear words at the school and eventually lets her reach for the gold ring on the carousel.

Chapter 16

Holden kills some time before he meets Sally Hayes. He buys a record, 'Little Shirley Beans', for Phoebe and tickets to a sophisticated play starring the Lunts (a very popular acting couple widely considered to be the greatest acting team in American theatre history). He then looks for Phoebe. He goes to the park and asks about her whereabouts from children who look around the same age. This brings up memories of the museum and Holden spends some time reminiscing about his visits there. Importantly, he notes that 'the best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was' (p109). He then admits that 'the only thing that would be different would be you' (p109). When Holden reaches the museum he cannot bring himself to go inside.

Analysis

In this chapter Holden first hears a small child innocently singing 'if a body catch a body coming through the rye' (p104) - a misinterpretation of a Robert Burns poem 'If a body meet a body coming through the rye'. He is fixated throughout this chapter on the innocence and purity of childhood. He tightens the skate of a polite child (p107) and reminisces about his trips to the museums, where he focuses on little differences such as wearing an overcoat, having a new partner or teacher or seeing a gasoline rainbow (p109-110). Imagine the changes that he would see in himself if Holden were to enter the museum now. Are these changes things that he wants to face?

Holden also expresses his distaste for actors because 'They never act like people' (p105). Consider Holden's opinion that all the people he meets are 'phonies' implying that even real people don't act like people and so it stands to reason that people who are trying to act like people do not either. This might imply that Holden cannot find anything real to hang onto. This is the possible reason for his obsession with children. They are too young to be confused, their motives are simple and seldom hidden.