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Chapters
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Chapters
Structure
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The Catcher in the Rye has 26 chapters.
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Chapters list
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Chapters26 items
Chapter 1
Holden Caulfield introduces himself from some kind of rest facility, making clear he won't give a conventional life-story recap.
Chapter 2
Holden visits his ailing history teacher, Mr. Spencer, in his home.
Chapter 3
Back in his dorm room, Holden introduces his living situation at Pencey and two key characters: his neighbor Ackley, a socially oblivious and hygiene-challenged classmate who barg…
Chapter 4
Stradlater tells Holden he has a date that night and asks Holden to write an English composition for him as a favor. When Holden finds out the date is with Jane Gallagher, a girl…
Chapter 5
It is Saturday night and most students go into town. Holden and Ackley eat together and then go to a movie.
Chapter 6
After Stradlater returns from his date with Jane Gallagher, Holden is consumed by jealousy and anxiety about what may have happened between them.
Chapter 7
After the fight, Holden feels lonely and out of place at Pencey. He visits his neighbor Ackley, hoping for company, but finds little comfort there.
Chapter 8
Holden walks to the train station in the cold and boards a train to New York. On the train he meets the mother of a Pencey classmate named Ernest Morrow, a boy Holden actually con…
Chapter 9
Holden arrives in New York and checks into the Edmont Hotel, a seedy place where he can watch other guests through his window.
Chapter 10
Holden goes down to the Lavender Room, the hotel's nightclub, and thinks about his younger sister Phoebe, describing her with genuine warmth and affection — a sharp contrast to ho…
Chapter 11
Holden sits in the Edmont lobby and thinks about Jane Gallagher, his old neighbor and close friend from years ago. He recalls specific memories of her — playing checkers, her habi…
Chapter 12
Holden takes a cab to Ernie's jazz club in Greenwich Village. During the ride, he tries to have a real conversation with the cab driver, Horwitz, asking where the ducks in Central…
Chapter 13
Holden walks back to the hotel in the cold, thinking about courage and cowardice. He admits to himself that he is not particularly brave.
Chapter 14
After Sunny and Maurice leave, Holden sits in his room feeling low and begins talking out loud to his dead brother Allie.
Chapter 15
Holden wakes up and calls Sally Hayes, confirming their date. He checks out of the Edmont and leaves his bags at a locker in Grand Central Station.
Chapter 16
Holden spends the morning wandering New York, thinking about where to take Phoebe that afternoon. He buys a record for her, watches a small boy walking along the curb singing to h…
Chapter 17
Holden meets his ex-girlfriend Sally Hayes for a date at a theater. They watch a play and run into one of Sally's acquaintances, which irritates Holden because the interaction fee…
Chapter 18
After the disastrous date with Sally, Holden calls a girl named Jane Gallagher but cannot bring himself to go through with the call.
Chapter 19
Holden stays at the bar after Carl leaves and gets progressively drunk. He calls Sally Hayes again and says strange, affectionate things to her before hanging up.
Chapter 20
Holden leaves the bar and wanders to Central Park in the middle of the night, drunk and increasingly distressed. He looks for the ducks in the lagoon — a question he has been aski…
Chapter 21
Holden sneaks into his family's apartment while everyone is asleep, determined to see his younger sister Phoebe. He moves carefully through the dark apartment, avoiding waking his…
Chapter 22
Holden hides in the closet when his mother checks on Phoebe, then comes back out once the coast is clear. Phoebe challenges Holden to name one thing he actually likes, and he stru…
Chapter 23
Holden calls Mr. Antolini and arranges to visit him later that night.
Chapter 24
Holden arrives at Mr. Antolini's apartment late at night.
Chapter 25
Holden spends a miserable night in Grand Central Station and wakes up feeling physically and emotionally wrecked. He wanders around Manhattan in a deteriorating state, experiencin…
Chapter 26
In the final chapter, Holden wraps up his story from what appears to be a psychiatric or rest facility in California.
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