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Holden Caulfield gets kicked out
Holden Caulfield gets kicked out of school, because he flunks four subjects and doesn't apply himself at all. -
Goodbye mr. Spencer
Holden says goodbye to his former history teacher. Holden feels insulted and gets annoyed. He leaves as fast as possible. -
Ackley
Holden goes back to his room to find Ackley learking around, as usual. -
Stradlater
Holdens roommate Stradlater asks Holden to write a discriptive essay for him about a room. Instead, Holden writes about his dead brothers baseball mitt. Stradlater gets angry and the two of them get in fist fight. -
Holden leaves Pencey
Holden decides he can't stay another night at Pencey. He leaves in the middle of the night, screaming "Sleep tight, ya morons!". -
New York
Holden can't go home because his parents don't know he has been expelled, so he books a room in a hotel in New York. -
The Lavender room
Holden dances with three ladies in the Lavender room in the hotel. They eventually ditch him with the bill. -
Maurice and Sunny
Maurice, the elevator man, offers Holden a night with a prostitute for five dollars. Holden meets Sunny, the prostitute, in his hotel room, but he only wants to talk. After a boring conversation, Holden pays Sunny five dollars. Later that night Maurice comes back and insists it cost ten dollars. He punches Holden in the stomach. Sunny takes five more dollars out of Holden's wallet. -
The singing boy
The next day, Holden overhears a little boy singing "If a body catch a body coming through the rye". Holden said that this made him feel happy and not so depressed anymore. This was the first time Holden said he felt happy. -
Sally
Holden goes on a date with his Ex-girlfriend Sally, which ends with Holden insulting Sally and he leaves without her. -
Luce
Later in the evening, Holden meets his old friend Luce, who he doesn't really like, at a bar. Holden keeps asking Luce personal questions that Luce doesn't want to answer. Luce gets annoyed and leaves. Holden continues to get drunk alone at the bar. -
The park
After Holden leaves the bar, he goes to the park. He wants to see if the ducks are there in the winter. Holden doesn't see any ducks and realizes that he is going to die from pneumonia if he stays out in the cold any longer. -
Phoebe
Holden decides to sneak into his own apartment to wake his ten-year-old sister Phoebe. He is very quiet so his parents don't wake up. Phoebe is pleased to see Holden, but angry that he got kicked out of school. Holden explains to Phoebe that he wants to be "the catcher in the rye". That he wants to help kids that fall off in life. -
Mr. Antolini
Holden spends the night at his former English teachers apartment. Mr. Antolini gives Holden a pep-talk on how school is cool, and then Holden goes to bed on his couch. Holden wakes up to Mr. Antolini stroking his head and he gets very scared. Holden runs away. -
The note
After spending the rest of the night in the waiting room at Grand Central, Holden asks the principal of Phoebes school to send her a note. The note explains that Holden is going away and that he wants Phoebe to meet him in the Museum at 12:15 to say goodbye. -
Goodbye Phoebe
Phoebe meets Holden at the museum, but she has brought her suitcase. She tells Holden that he is not leaving without her. When Holden says he is, Phoebe starts a tantrum. -
The carrousel
Holden takes Phoebe, who still won't talk to him, to the zoo to calm her down. After her first round on the carrousel, Phoebe tells Holden that she isn't angry anymore. She goes on the carrousel for a second round and it starts to rain. While Holden is watching her laughing on the carrousel in the rain, he realizes that he is happy. -
The last chapter
In the last chapter Holden explains that he decided to stay and that he is starting at a new school in the fall. He says that he is in therapy and that he doesn't know what to think about all of this. All he knows is that once he starts to tell his story to people, he starts to miss everyone in it, including Maurice.