The Catcher in the Rye help with homework Chapter 9

What Holden sees the couple at the Edmont Hotel squirting water at each other, what does he think?

The hotel doesn’t do much to lift Holden’s spirits. The bellboy is an old man with a comb-over, “a gorgeous job for a guy around sixty-five years old.” (pg. 61) And the other hotel guests, who Holden can see through his window, he dismisses as a bunch of “perverts and losers.” Among those he can see are a man dressing up in women’s clothes, and a couple spitting water, in delight, at each other.

Holden does, however, find these strange behaviors fascinating; he thinks that squirting water at a girl might be fun, though he’d feel “crumby” doing it. This speaks to his more general trouble with girls, his trouble reconciling his heart, his body and his head. As well these things reinforce that Holden isn’t wrong: there is phoniness in the adult world. And Holden actually finds himself aroused by it. That may be part of why he hates.

Holden is very aware of the way he acts and of his own identity. Cite two examples of explanations he gives for his behavior.

One example in Chapter Nine whould be Holden’s stay at the Edmond Hotel. While there, he looks out of the window and can see the other side of the hotel. From this view he can see other rooms; in one of them, a man and woman spit their drinks at one another. In response to his voyeuristic behavior, Holden thinks that he himself is the “biggest sex maniac you ever saw”, but then paradoxically claims that he does not understand sex at all. Second example when he was saying how gross the room was and how he didn’t care if he got a good view. He was making fun of the 65 years bellboy and his hair.

What does Holden have against bald men?

The bellboy is an old man with a combover who depresses Holden to look at. He says that he would rather be bald than comb all of his hair over to the side. He says that it was a “gorgeous” job for a guy around 65 years old to be doing, carrying luggage and waiting around for a tip. It shows that Holden does have compassion and certainly has an specific idea of what he thinks a person with a good life should be doing as an adult.

What does Holden have against bald men?

The bellboy is an old man with a combover who depresses Holden to look at. He says that he would rather be bald than comb all of his hair over to the side. He says that it was a “gorgeous” job for a guy around 65 years old to be doing, carrying luggage and waiting around for a tip. It shows that Holden does have compassion and certainly has an specific idea of what he thinks a person with a good life should be doing as an adult.

Why does Holden want to give Faith Cavendish a phony name over the phone?

Holden thinks about calling Jane Gallagher. Instead, he calls a woman named Faith Cavendish, whose telephone number he was given from some “guy that went to Princeton”. Although not a prostitute, she supposedly “does not mind doing it once in a while”. On the phone, Holden explains that he is feeling “pretty horny”, but gets no response. Since the phone call proves unproductive, Holden remains alone and frustrated.