Catcher in the Rye Litblog Ch. 3-4

Mary Ann MacDonald
Period 5
4/17/13

 

Chapters 3-4

 

Summary: Holden heads back to his dorm room and reads his book until Ackley- the kid in the next dorm comes in to bug him like he always does. Ackley hates Stradlater (Holden's roommate) and only came when he wasn't around. Ackley is s a rude, dirty, and an annoying senior and he continues to bug Holden until Stradlater arrives. In chapter 4, Holden goes with Stradlater to the bathroom. Stradlater is handsome, a secret slob, and is experienced with sex and women. Stradlater asks him to do a paper for him and tells him about his date and his date tonight is a girl that Holden used to live next to named Jane. Holden becomes worried for Jane when he finds out that she is Stradlater's date and wants to go see her. Then later Ackley barges in again.

Quotation: "I kept thinking about Jane, and about Stradlater having a date with her and all. It made me so nervous I nearly went crazy. I already told you what a sexy bastard Stradlater was"(34).

Quotation Significance: Holden is worried about Jane because he knows that Stradlater just wants to have sex with her and he doesn't want Jane to be pressured to do anything she doesn't want to do and he likes Jane and he thinks that she deserves better.

Reflection: In these chapters we get to know how Holden's life is at school. We learn about his roommate, Stradlater. He is a womanizer, strong, fit, conceited, handsome, and a secret slob. He is always going on dates with girls and he is angry because his date is only allowed to be out until 9:30. Stradlater only wants to have sex and he is mad that he wont have time to do this if she goes home at 9:30. Holden then finds out his date is Jane and he talks about how she loves to dance, checkers, and her family situation. It seems that it is possible that Holden is in love with Jane. He is concerned when he finds out that Stradlater is going on a date with her and he doesn't want Jane to be pressured to do something she doesn't want to do and he thinks that she deserves better than Stradlater. He might also be upset because she isn't going out with him. I think that Holden thinks that he has no chance because Stradlater is handsome and strong and he abandons his plans to say hello to her and heads to his room. Holden is also constantly bombarded by Ackley. Ackley hates Stradlater and he is always picking up Holden's things, not listening to Holden, and is also treating Holden like a kid. It seems like Ackley just wants to have a friend and be the boss of someone.

Discussion Question: Do you think that Holden is in love with Jane?