The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 13 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does Holden reflect on while walking back to the Edmont Hotel?

   • The composition he wrote for Stradlater about Allie's baseball mitt
   • The games of checkers he used to play with Jane Gallagher
   • His argument with the cab driver Horwitz about the ducks
   • Correct answer: A pair of gloves stolen from him at Pencey Prep and his own cowardice

   Holden thinks about his stolen fur-lined gloves and imagines confronting the thief, but admits he would never follow through because he is a coward.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Who offers to send a prostitute to Holden's room?

   • Correct answer: Maurice, the elevator operator
   • A bellhop at the Edmont Hotel
   • The hotel front desk clerk
   • A man he met at Ernie's nightclub

   Maurice, the elevator operator at the Edmont Hotel, doubles as a pimp and casually offers Holden a girl for five dollars 'a throw' or fifteen until noon.

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3. 3

   Question 3. How much does Maurice tell Holden the prostitute will cost for 'a throw'?

   • Three dollars
   • Correct answer: Five dollars
   • Ten dollars
   • Fifteen dollars

   Maurice quotes Holden a price of five dollars for 'a throw' or fifteen dollars until noon. This becomes a point of dispute later when Sunny claims the price was ten.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What fake name does Holden give the prostitute?

   • David Copperfield
   • Rudolf Schmidt
   • Correct answer: Jim Steele
   • Edgar Marsalla

   Holden tells Sunny his name is Jim Steele -- a tough-sounding alias that contrasts ironically with his self-admitted cowardice and his obsession with other people's phoniness.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What is the prostitute's name?

   • Correct answer: Sunny
   • Lillian
   • Sally
   • Faith

   The prostitute introduces herself as Sunny. Holden is struck by how young she seems -- approximately his own age.

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6. 6

   Question 6. Why can't Holden go through with the sexual encounter?

   • He feels nauseated after drinking Scotch and sodas at Ernie's nightclub
   • He suddenly recognizes Sunny as someone he already knows from school
   • Correct answer: He feels depressed rather than aroused and wants genuine conversation instead
   • He decides that Sunny is much older and plainer than the elevator man promised

   Holden says he felt "more depressed than sexy"; Sunny's youth and her dress in the closet make him sad, and he asks her to talk instead.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What excuse does Holden give Sunny for not having sex?

   • He announces that he is engaged to marry another girl
   • Correct answer: He claims he recently had an operation on his 'clavichord'
   • He explains that he must catch an early train tomorrow
   • He insists he cannot afford the price she is asking

   Holden tells Sunny he recently had an operation on his 'clavichord' -- a clavichord is actually a keyboard instrument, not a part of the body. He claims it is in the spinal canal.

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8. 8

   Question 8. How much does Sunny claim the price actually was?

   • Twenty dollars
   • Five dollars
   • Fifteen dollars
   • Correct answer: Ten dollars

   Sunny insists the price was ten dollars, not the five that Maurice quoted Holden. Holden refuses to pay more than five, leading to a dispute.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does Sunny call Holden before leaving?

   • A child
   • Correct answer: A crumb-bum
   • A cheapskate
   • A phony

   Sunny calls Holden a 'crumb-bum' as she leaves with only five dollars, expressing her contempt for him.

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10. 10

    Question 10. When Holden tells Sunny he is twenty-two, what does she say?

    • Correct answer: "Like fun you are."
    • "Ya got a watch on ya?"
    • "You're cute."
    • "Old enough to know better."

    Sunny answers "Like fun you are." Holden thinks it was a funny thing to say and that "It sounded like a real kid," since he expected a prostitute to talk much tougher.

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11. 11

    Question 11. Which of the following events actually happen in Chapter 13?

    • Holden reflects on gloves stolen from him at Pencey and calls himself a coward.

      Happened

      Walking back to the hotel, Holden imagines confronting the thief and admits, "I'm one of these very yellow guys."

    • Maurice offers Holden a prostitute in the hotel elevator.

      Happened

      The elevator man offers to send a girl up for "Five bucks a throw," and when Sunny arrives she confirms that Maurice is the elevator boy.

    • Holden goes to Central Park to look for the ducks.

      Didn't happen

      Holden walks all forty-one blocks back to his hotel; he does not go to the park in this chapter.

    • Sunny arrives at Holden's room and he tells her his name is Jim Steele.

      Happened

      Holden introduces himself to Sunny as "Jim Steele," though she does not care what his name is.

    • Holden and Sunny have a long, meaningful conversation about their lives.

      Didn't happen

      Sunny gives short answers and keeps telling him to hurry; Holden calls her "a lousy conversationalist."

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12. 12

    Question 12. Which of these statements about Chapter 13 are true?

    • Holden cannot go through with the sexual encounter and says he just wants to talk.

      Happened

      Holden asks, "Don't you feel like talking for a while?" and later asks whether she minds "if we don't do it."

    • Holden pays Sunny ten dollars without argument.

      Didn't happen

      Holden hands her a five-dollar bill, and when she says "It costs ten," he refuses to pay any more.

    • Holden tells Sunny he recently had an operation on his 'clavichord.'

      Happened

      To get out of it, Holden tells her he had "an operation very recently" on his "clavichord."

    • Sunny accepts one of Holden's cigarettes and smokes it while they talk.

      Didn't happen

      When Holden offers her a cigarette, Sunny answers, "I don't smoke."

    • Holden hangs Sunny's green dress in the closet for her.

      Happened

      Sunny asks for a hanger so her dress will not get "all wrinkly," and hanging it up makes Holden feel "sort of sad."

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'nonchalant' mean in the line "I was getting more and more nonchalant as it went along"?

    • Rude and openly disrespectful toward other people
    • Innocent and inexperienced, in the way a small child is
    • Nervous and jumpy, unable to sit still or relax
    • Correct answer: Calm and unconcerned, showing no worry or excitement

    Nonchalant means calm and casual, showing no worry. Holden claims he was "getting more and more nonchalant" with Sunny, though he has already admitted, "I was a little nervous."

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14. 14

    Question 14. What does 'premature' mean when Holden tells Sunny, "I was a little premature in my calculations"?

    • Planned carefully and well ahead of time
    • Happening later than expected or hoped
    • Correct answer: Happening or done too early, before the right time
    • Wrong because of a careless error in arithmetic

    Premature means happening too early. When Sunny asks why he sent for a girl, Holden says, "I thought I'd be feeling a lot better than I do," part of the operation story he invents.

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15. 15

    Question 15. What does 'rile' mean when Holden imagines saying something "very cutting and snotty, to rile him up"?

    • To humiliate someone in front of others
    • To pacify or soothe someone who is upset
    • Correct answer: To irritate or provoke someone into anger
    • To awaken someone suddenly from a deep sleep

    To rile someone is to irritate him until he gets angry. Holden pictures riling the glove thief with words "instead of socking him in the jaw," because he admits he would not have the guts to fight.

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