1. Read the scene where Holden plays catch on his last day at Pencey Prep (pp. 4-5). Recall the last time you played catch. Think about the significance of the game. Now imagine playing in the darkening twilight, like Holden. What's it like? Consider the moment. Then read this: The Fort / Da Game.

2. Allie, Holden's dead brother, is crucially important to an understanding of Holden. Collect the references to Allie (e.g., pp. 38-39). Put yourself in that garage with Holden. What is he doing? What is he feeling? What is the result? How does the incident (or the narrative of the incident) affect your reading of the character?

3. Visualize Holden's red hunting cap. It's a symbol. What do you make of it? (There's a sample paragraph on this topic.)

4. Holden's relationship with Jane is complicated. How do you explain it? You might consider his fight with Stradlater -- and of course those kings in the back row. What is her playing strategy? How do you understand it?

5. What evidence can you find about Jane's family circumstances (i.e., her childhood, her life at home)? Any speculations here?

6. Holden hates the movies, and any phony acting. Yet he is fascinated by theatricality, such as Hamlet and the Lunts. Read his dying scene after the fight with Maurice (pp. 103-04), his comments on Hamlet (p. 117), or his remarks about movies (pp. 138-39). What can you say about the issues of authenticity and pretense as they relate to Holden Caulfield?

7. What about Holden's sexuality? Consider knowledge, experience, fantasy, orientation, anxiety, whatever. Are there any moments in the novel that shed light on this question? Where? What light?

8. Why does Holden like museums so much? What do you make of it?

9. On pp. 132-34 Holden develops some future plans. What do they indicate about his hopes, wishes, fears?

10. What are Holden's attitudes toward religion? Do you think he holds any religious beliefs?

12. Read the conversation with Luce (around p. 145). What is the tone here? Do you think Luce is a phony?

13. One of Holden's classmates, James Castle, commits suicide by jumping from a dormitory window while wearing Holden's sweater. What do you make of this?

14. On p. 173 Holden tells (us) about his favorite fantasy of being the catcher in the rye. Think about this. What position is he imagining himself in? Why? Is he successful in being what he wishes to be?

15. Read the visit to Mr. Antolini (pp. 187-93). The episode ends abruptly. How do you understand Mr. Antolini's actions and Holden's reactions?

16. What does the novel tell us about Holden's parents? What do you make of this information?

17. Consider Holden's and Phoebe's trip to Central Park and the carousel (pp. 210-213). What is he enacting or re-enacting? Why does he become so happy yet sad? This scene deserves major attention.

18. At several moments (e.g. p. 13, p. 197) Holden is afraid to cross the street. What do you make of this fear?

19. The Catcher in the Rye is a monologue: one person talking to another person. For Holden, that other person is (1) his psychiatrist, and (2) his reader. What does this speaker want from you? Can you provide it? Is it easy?

20. Within what kinds of social arenas do the events of Catcher occur? How would you describe the general society of the novel, in terms of class, affluence, levels of education, or other social factors?

21. This novel is frequently subject to censorship efforts in public schools and libraries. Why do you think this is the case? How might you defend the book against efforts to remove it from school libraries? (Here is a useful Web site from the American Library Association.)