Illustration of a man smoking a cigarette

The Catcher in the Rye

by J. D. Salinger

Start Free Trial

Editor's Choice

What does Holden find annoying about Luce in The Catcher in the Rye?

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Carl Luce is three years older than Holden, a graduate of the Whooton School, and a very intelligent boy. Despite these qualities, Holden seems to have some reservations about him, considering him to be quite "flitty" and once calling him a "fat-assed phony."

Holden and Luce get a drink in New York, and Luce spends most of their conversation fielding invasive question from Holden about Luce's sex life. Holden realizes that he's getting too personal and acknowledges his biggest complaint about Luce: that he tries to control every conversation and has no interest in sharing personal details about his own life despite his inquisitiveness about the personal lives of others. Holden comments that Luce "always wanted everybody to go back to their own room and shut up when he was finished being the big shot" and thinks that perhaps Luce "was afraid somebody'd say something smarter than he had." Luce closes the conversation by suggesting that Holden see a psychoanalyst so that he can learn to "recognize the patterns" of his own mind. With this advice, Luce leaves Holden alone in the bar and takes off for his date. 

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

A lot of things about Luce annoy Holden, but in Chapter 19, Holden says specifically, "that was one of the annoying things about Luce...he'd make you describe the most personal stuff that happened to you, but if you started asking him questions about himself, he got sore...these intellectrual guys don't like to have an intellectual conversation with you unless they're running the whole thing".  It was annoying to Holden that Luce wanted to control the direction of every conversation.

Get Ahead with eNotes

Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Approved by eNotes Editorial