The Catcher in the Rye Group

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soccer21
soccer21

In chapter 9 of "The Catcher in the Rye", why does Holden think that he might die?

Where is Holden going at the end of chapter 9? Why?

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Posted by soccer21 on Wednesday September 17, 2008 at 11:50 AM and tagged with chapter 9, characters, die, holden, the catcher in the rye.

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  1. pmiranda2857
    pmiranda2857 Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    In Chapter 9, Holden arrives in New York and is determined to not run into his parents. He feels that if they discover that he is in New York, early, before Christmas vacation has started, they would kill him.  Not literally, but he equates the level of trouble that he would get into if discovered, with the saying, Oh my parents are gonna kill me.

    He can't go home, he is all alone in New York City, feeling isolated and disconnected from everyone.  He can't call his brother, he can't call his little sister, so he is more depressed when he arrives. 

    He knows that in order to not be seen by them or any of their friends, that he can't check into any nice hotels on the East Side.

    So he checks into the Edmont, a downtown, modest hotel where undesirables work and hang around.  Holden says that "the hotel was full of perverts morons." (Salinger)  From his room he can see into another hotel room, and there are strange things going on in the other room, this makes him uncomfortable. 

    He watches other people interact, but he will not call anyone familiar, he won't reach out for any comfort to deal with getting kicked out of Pencey.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/catcher/summary

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    Posted by pmiranda2857 on Wednesday September 17, 2008 at 1:53 PM