The Catcher in the Rye help with homework Chapter 14

Is Holden religious? Supply proof for your answer.

When Holden gets very depressed, he sometimes talks “sort of out loud” to his younger brother. He does so after Sunny leaves. His communication with Allie is almost religious, a confession of Holden’s boyhood lack of consideration for the kid. Eventually, he goes to bed.In bed, Holden has greater difficulty with conventional prayer. He wants to speak with Jesus but can’t. He “likes” Jesus but finds the Disciples annoying and considers himself an atheist. He is bothered that the Disciples repeatedly let Jesus down, indicating the importance of friendship and loyalty to Holden. It is telling that, other than Jesus, Holden’s favorite character in the Bible is “that lunatic and all, that lived in the tombs and kept cutting himself with stones.” He refers to Mark 5: 1-20, in which Jesus meets the troubled soul whose “name is Legion: for we are many.” Holden himself is a troubled soul and, like the man from the tombs, resists being tamed.

On page 103, Holden says, “I thought I was dying.” In Chapter 1 Holden says, “…I felt like I was sort of disappearing.” Find two statements he makes in this chapter to indicate his mental state.

Salinger also uses hyperbole to show what a “madman” Holden is. When Holden enters his “fantasy world” where he is bleeding from the gut. On page 103, right after Holden gets punched in the stomach by Maurice, Holden says, “About halfway to the bathroom, I sort of started pretending I had a bullet in my guts. Old Maurice had plugged me.” Holden was using hyperboles to describe the pain he was feeling. He over exaggerated his pain by using hyperboles. “The goddam movies. They can ruin you. I’m not kidding.”  So, there are two statements that Holden makes in this chapter to indicate his mental state: first, he thinks that is a good thing to rape girls, second he thinks fighting is a good thing.

After Sunny leaves, what does Holden think about?

After Sunny leaves his room, Holden feels miserable and depressed. He begins reminiscing about Allie. He remembers an incident shortly before Allie’s death when he excluded Allie from a BB-gun game—he still feels guilty for having left Allie out. When he finishes the story, he goes to bed. Holden feels like praying, but does not. He says that he cannot always pray when he feels like it. Instead, he reflects on discussions he has had with Arthur Childs about Jesus and the disciples. He again tries to pray but is obsessed by thoughts of Sunny calling him a crumb-bum.

Why does Sunny come back to Holden’s room?

Holden gets into bed and thinks about religion and Jesus. He considers himself an atheist. He hears a knock on his door and opens it, still wearing his pajamas. Maurice and the prostitute, Sunny, come into his room and demand five dollars. Holden refuses to give it to them, even when Maurice threatens him. Sunny takes Holden’s wallet and pulls out five dollars. He begins to cry and calls them thieves. Maurice snaps him in the privates, punches him in the gut, and leaves him crumpled on the floor. Holden pretends he’s been shot and fantasizes his revenge.

Back at Wooten, what had Holden often discussed with his friend Arthur Childs?

It is dawn on Sunday by the time that Sunny exits.  Holden smokes a couple of cigarettes and reflects on his relationship with his deceased brother,  Allie, as well as his feelings about religion. He reflects on discussions he has had with Arthur Childs about Jesus and the disciples: “ I used to get in quite a few arguments about it, when I was at Whooton School, with this boy that lived down the corridor, Arthur Childs. Old Childs was a Quaker and all, and he read the Bible all the time. He was a very nice kid, and I liked him, but I could never see eye to eye with him on a lot of stuff in the Bible, especially the Disciples. He kept telling me if I didn’t like the Disciples, then I didn’t like Jesus and all”. Holden himself is a troubled soul and, like the man from the tombs, resists being tamed. Recall that he tells us his story from a mental health clinic or sanitarium in California. It is little wonder that Holden identifies with the madman. Holden, too, is one of the legion, one of the many.