Study Questions
1. According to Holden, Ackley and Stradlater are both slobs. In what way are they different as slobs?

2. What favor does Stradlater ask of Holden?

3. According to Stradlater, what constitutes a good composition?

4. According to Ackley, what was it about Howie Coyle which made him a good basketball player?

5. What does Holden have to say about Stradlater’s sense of humor?

6. What was unique about the way in which Jane Gallagher played checkers?

7. What does Holden say about Jane Gallagher’s home life that piqued Stradlater’s curiosity?

8. How does Holden know that Stradlater would not tell Jane Gallagher that he had been kicked out of Pencey Prep?

9. When Stradlater asks Holden to write the composition for him, what does he say regarding the level of quality he wants?

10. Why is Holden glad to see Ackley return to his room?

Answers
1. Both are slobs, but Stradlater is a secret slob, who looks good on the outside.

2. Stradlater asks that Holden write a composition for him.

3. A good composition, according to Stradlater, is one which has all the punctuation in the right places.

4. Ackley felt that being a good basketball player was simply a question of having a perfect build for basketball.

5. Holden says that Stradlater does not have too bad a sense of humor because he laughed at Holden’s tap dancing.

6. When Jane Gallagher played checkers, she never moved any of her kings. She kept them all in the back row.

7. Holden says that Jane’s stepfather used to run around the house naked in front of her.

8. Stradlater does not care enough about Holden’s predicament to even bother to mention it to Jane Gallagher.

9. Stradlater tells Holden not to work too hard on the composition or make it too good. It is necessary only that it be very descriptive.

10. Holden is glad to see Ackley because his presence distracts Holden from worrying about Jane Gallagher.