The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 18 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Who does Holden try to call at the beginning of Chapter 18?

   • D.B.
   • Sally Hayes
   • Correct answer: Jane Gallagher
   • Phoebe

   Holden tries to call Jane Gallagher, the girl he genuinely cares about, but she does not answer the phone. When her phone doesn't answer, he looks through his address book for someone else who might be free that evening.

   Read the passage
2. 2

   Question 2. Who does Holden arrange to meet for drinks?

   • D.B.
   • Stradlater
   • Ackley
   • Correct answer: Carl Luce

   Holden calls Carl Luce, who graduated from the Whooton School after Holden left, is about three years older, and now goes to Columbia. Luce can't make dinner, so they arrange to meet for a drink at the Wicker Bar at ten o'clock.

   Read the passage
3. 3

   Question 3. Where does Holden go to kill time before his meeting with Carl Luce?

   • The Museum of Natural History
   • Correct answer: Radio City Music Hall
   • A bar near Times Square
   • Central Park

   Holden goes to Radio City Music Hall, where he sits through the stage show and the Christmas show and then watches a war movie he considers 'putrid.'

   Read the passage
4. 4

   Question 4. What does Holden think about the Christmas show at Radio City?

   • Correct answer: He finds it phony and excessive, mixing religion with commercial entertainment
   • He falls asleep during the performance and misses most of the stage show
   • He enjoys it and finds the costumes and the singing genuinely moving
   • He thinks it is one of the most beautiful and genuinely religious shows he has ever seen

   Holden says he can't see anything religious or pretty about a bunch of actors carrying crucifixes all over the stage, and that the performers could hardly wait to get a cigarette. Seeing it with Sally the year before, he told her Jesus probably would have puked at all those fancy costumes.

   Read the passage
5. 5

   Question 5. What does Holden remember about the kettledrum player at Radio City?

   • The player was fired for making a mistake during a performance
   • D.B. once knew the kettledrum player personally and introduced him to the family
   • The player was the star of the show and received a standing ovation from the audience
   • Correct answer: He and Allie used to love watching the player, who seemed genuinely absorbed in his modest role

   Holden says he has watched the kettle drum player since he was about eight; he and Allie used to move their seats way down to watch him. The drummer only gets to bang the drums a couple of times during a whole piece, but he never looks bored while he waits.

   Read the passage
6. 6

   Question 6. What does D.B. say about A Farewell to Arms?

   • Correct answer: He said it was terrific and got Holden to read it
   • He said it was too violent and disturbing to finish
   • He said it reminded him how much he enjoyed the Army
   • He called it a phony, dishonest book not worth reading

   D.B. got Holden to read A Farewell to Arms last summer and said it was so terrific. Holden can't understand it: he thinks Lieutenant Henry is a phony and does not see how D.B. could hate the Army and war so much and still like the book.

   Read the passage
7. 7

   Question 7. What novel does Holden say he is 'crazy about'?

   • A Farewell to Arms
   • Correct answer: The Great Gatsby
   • Oliver Twist
   • Of Human Bondage

   Holden says he was crazy about The Great Gatsby. By contrast, he calls A Farewell to Arms a phony book and can't see how D.B. could like a phony like its Lieutenant Henry.

   Read the passage
8. 8

   Question 8. Why does Holden say he could never be in the military?

   • He is physically unfit for service
   • He is a committed pacifist who believes it is always wrong to shoot another person
   • Correct answer: He could not tolerate the regimentation, conformity, and prolonged commitment
   • He has already been rejected by the military for health reasons

   Holden says it wouldn't be too bad if they just took you out and shot you, but you have to stay in the Army so long, and it would drive him crazy to march with guys like Ackley, Stradlater and Maurice all the time. His objection is to the Army's long hold and regimentation, not a pacifist principle.

   Read the passage
9. 9

   Question 9. What does Holden say about the atomic bomb?

   • Correct answer: He is glad it was invented and says he would volunteer to sit on top of one
   • He refuses to discuss it because it frightens him
   • He thinks only the military should decide how to use it
   • He thinks it should be banned permanently so that nobody can ever start another war

   In a darkly comic moment, Holden says he is sort of glad the atomic bomb was invented and that, if there is ever another war, he will volunteer to sit right on top of it.

   Read the passage
10. 10

    Question 10. Which of the following events actually happen in Chapter 18?

    • Holden tries to call Jane Gallagher but gets no answer.

      Happened

      After a sandwich at a drugstore, Holden calls Jane from a phone booth, but her phone doesn't answer, so he hangs up.

    • Holden arranges to meet Carl Luce for drinks at the Wicker Bar.

      Happened

      Carl Luce can't make it for dinner but agrees to meet Holden for a drink at ten o'clock at the Wicker Bar, on 54th.

    • Holden enjoys the Christmas show at Radio City.

      Didn't happen

      Holden says he can't see anything religious or pretty about a bunch of actors carrying crucifixes all over the stage.

    • Holden watches a war movie at Radio City Music Hall.

      Happened

      After the stage show Holden watches a picture about Alec, an Englishman who was in the war and lost his memory; Holden says it was so putrid he couldn't take his eyes off it.

    • Holden meets D.B. for dinner to discuss war novels.

      Didn't happen

      Holden does not see D.B. in this chapter; he only thinks about D.B.'s four years in the Army while he walks to the Wicker Bar.

    Read the passage
11. 11

    Question 11. Which of these statements about Holden's reflections in Chapter 18 are true?

    • D.B. hated the Army and said it was full of bastards.

      Happened

      Holden says D.B. hated the Army worse than the war and said it was practically as full of bastards as the Nazis were.

    • Holden prefers A Farewell to Arms over The Great Gatsby.

      Didn't happen

      Holden calls A Farewell to Arms a phony book but says he was crazy about The Great Gatsby.

    • Holden remembers watching the kettledrum player at Radio City with Allie.

      Happened

      Holden says he and Allie used to move their seats way down so they could watch the kettle drum player, the best drummer he ever saw.

    • Holden declares he would volunteer to sit on top of an atomic bomb.

      Happened

      Holden says he is sort of glad the atomic bomb was invented; if there is ever another war, he will sit right on top of it and volunteer.

    • Holden says he could not stand being in the Army for so long.

      Happened

      Holden says it wouldn't be too bad if they just shot you, but you have to stay in the Army so long, and that is the whole trouble.

    Read the passage
12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'furlough' mean when Holden remembers D.B. coming home on furlough?

    • A measurement of distance equal to one eighth of a mile
    • Correct answer: A soldier's official leave of absence from military duty
    • A period of additional training before deployment overseas
    • A formal ceremony that honors soldiers returning from war

    A furlough is a leave of absence, especially one granted to a soldier. Holden remembers that when D.B. came home on furlough from the Army, all he did was lie on his bed.

    Read the passage
13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'inferiority complex' mean when Jane says Al Pike has one?

    • A large building containing numerous shops and offices
    • An exaggerated belief in one's own superiority over others
    • Correct answer: A lasting feeling of being less worthy or capable than others
    • A complicated academic system for ranking students

    An inferiority complex is a lasting feeling of being less worthy or capable than other people. Holden calls Al Pike a show-off, but Jane says Pike has an inferiority complex; Holden complains that girls say this about any boy they like, however mean, and call any boy they don't like conceited.

    Read the passage
14. 14

    Question 14. What does 'sacrilegious' mean when Holden remembers Sally calling him a sacrilegious atheist?

    • Refusing to believe that any god exists at all
    • Deeply devoted to religious worship and all its rituals
    • Willing to give up something valuable for another person's sake
    • Correct answer: Disrespectful toward something that others hold sacred or holy

    Sacrilegious means disrespectful toward something sacred. The year before, Holden told Sally that Jesus probably would have puked at the Radio City Christmas show and all its fancy costumes, and Sally called him a sacrilegious atheist.

    Read the passage