“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”
The next morning, Holden calls his ex-girlfriend Sally Hayes, and they go to see a theatre show. Holden doesn’t enjoy it. After the show they go ice-skating. Later, in a bar, Sally runs into an old friend, and they start up a conversation. The friend irritates Holden. When they are finally alone again, Holden suggests that they can go away together, so the two of them can live in the woods, get a job and get married. Sally doesn’t want to, and Holden calls her “a pain in the ass”, so she leaves. He feels very lonely.
Then he meets an old school friend, called Carl Luce. But they get into an argument so Carl leaves. Holden gets very drunk and goes into Central Park wondering where the ducks are. “I live in New York, and I was thinking about the lagoon in Central Park, down near Central Park South. I was wondering if it would be frozen over when I got home, and if it was, where did the ducks go? I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over. I wondered if some guy came in a truck and took them away to a zoo or something. Or if they just flew away.”
When he regains his senses he decides to visit his sister Phoebe, so he sneaks into his parents’ house. Holden finds the integrity he is looking for through his sister.
Instead of going back to the hotel, Holden decides to go see his former English teacher Mr Antolini, and asks if he can spend the night there. Mr and Mrs Antolini are very warm and welcoming. Holden tells Mr. Antolini his story, and he trusts Mr. Antolini completely. But in the middle of the night Holden wakes up and finds Mr. Antolini’s hand on his head. He is very scared and thinks Mr. Antolini is a homosexual. He leaves the house as quickly as possible.
After spending the rest of the night at Central Station, Holden decides to run away. He tells little sister Phoebe about his plans, but Phoebe insists of going with him. Holden doesn’t want her to, so they get into an argument. Then Holden changes his plans and takes her to the zoo instead.
The end of the book was a bit vague, but I believe that Holden becomes ill and is diagnosed with tubercolosis. He is sent to a sanatorium for psychological treatment, and he recovers. He realises he hasn’t loved his family and friends enough and he feels happy at last. “I sort of miss everybody. Even old Stradlater and Ackley, for instance. I think I even miss that goddam Maurice. It’s funny.”
● The main character is Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year-old boy who has many issues. He is very cynical and critical about the world and society. He finds the world ugly and the people hypocritical. Through being cynical he tries to protect himself from the difficult world of grown-ups. He has this desire to protect children from adulthood, he wants them to never grow up. He says that children are pure and innocent and less hypocritical than adults. “Grand. There's a word I really hate. It's phony. I could puke every time I hear it.”
● Another important character is his little sister
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