The Catcher in the Rye Book Notes Summary

Pencey Prep: The high school Holden is kicked out of at the beginning of his story. This is the third private school Holden has attended. Pencey Prep is, according to Holden, full of phonies.

Ossenburger Memorial Wing: Holden's dorm at Pencey Prep, named after a gift-giving alumnus who Holden believes to be a huge phony.

Holden's red hunting hat: Holden buys a red hunting hat in New York for a dollar after he loses Pencey's fencing equipment. The hat has a very long peak, and Holden wears it backwards, with the peak aiming behind him. He puts this hat on when he's under a lot of stress and ends up giving it to his sister Phoebe near the end of the story.

Allie's left-handed baseball mitt: Allie wrote poems in green ink on his baseball mitt so he'd have something to read while waiting around in the outfield. Holden writes a descriptive essay about this mitt for Stradlater's homework assignment, but rips it up after Stradlater complains about the topic.

ice skates: Holden's mother sent these up to Pencey Prep a few days before Holden is kicked out of school. They're the wrong kind. Holden wanted racing skates and these are for hockey. But the thought of his mother going to the store, asking the salesman 100 questions, then mailing the skates to him makes him sad about letting his parents down again.

Edmont Hotel: The seedy hotel where Holden spends an eventful night. Here he meets some women in the hotel bar and is visited by a prostitute.

Central Park Lagoon and its ducks: Holden is very curious, throughout the story, about what happens to the ducks of the Central Park lake when wintertime comes and the lake freezes.

the record: Holden buys his sister Phoebe a record he's sure she'll love. The song is called 'Little Shirley Beans.' When he gets drunk, however, Holden drops the record and shatters it.

Wicker Bar: The bar where Holden meets Carl Luce. After Luce leaves, Holden stays on and gets drunk by himself.

Ernie's: The piano bar where an affected man named Ernie plays the piano. Holden goes here for a few drinks, but leaves after he's patronized by one of his brother D.B.'s old girlfriends.

Catcher in the Rye: Holden starts thinking about the catcher after he hears a little boy singing a song: '''If a body catch a body coming through the rye.''' (pg. 115) In his imagination, Holden constructs a story and a job for this catcher--he'll stand at the edge of a field where children are innocently playing and catch them if they get too close to the edge.