Chapter 20

Summary: After Luce leaves the bar Holden stays there for quite some time and ends up getting very drunk. He calls up Sally at a phone booth outside and makes her very angry along with her grandmother who answers the phone. Sally asks him why he is calling so late and she knows right away that he is drunk. He asks her a bunch of questions and then she tells him to go to bed. Holden then went back inside to get his coat and dunk his head in some water to try and sober up before he leaves. He walks out by the pond in Central Park to see if the ducks are there. As he is walking he drops the record that he has bought to give to Phoebe. It shatters on the ground but he picks up the pieces and keeps them. He then sits on a bench is freezing and he thinks he is getting sick. He imagines his funeral and how he missed Allie's funeral because he was in the hospital for hitting a window with his bare hand. Holden wants to talk to Phoebe but has very little money and doesn't want to see his parents. He decides to risk it and is going to go home and hopes his parents aren't up considering it is really late.

Response: Getting drunk was not one of his better decisions. I think that going home is a good thing for him. Maybe talking with Phoebe and coming clean to his family about school and everything else will make him better.

Chapter 19

Summary: Luce shows up at the Wicker Bar a little bit late and tells Holden that he can't stay and talk long. Holden starts asking him about sex and questions like they used to ask each other at school. He tells Holden that he hasn't matured any and he needs to grow up or have psychoanalysis. Luce says he is dating an older woman and is going to Colombia University. Holden continues to ask more and more questions and Luce tells Holden he needs help and then Holden asks Luce if he has gotten help. Luce does not want to answer the question so he gathers his belongings and leaves the bar.

Response: It was a good thing for Holden to talk to Luce for a little while. If made him figure out that maybe someone out there could help him with his problems.

Chapter 18

Summary: He gathers up the courage to call Jane but nobody answers and he hangs up the phone. He calls his friend named Carl to give him some company. Holden says Carl is very smart and he enjoys talking to him. Holden then goes to a movie to kill time since Carl can't meet him for drinks until 10. He hates the movie and when it gets over he walks to the bar named the Wicker Bar to meet Carl.

Response: Holden has finally found someone that wants to meet with him and talk to him. This Carl guy sounds smart and intelligent and maybe he will talk some sense into Holden.

Chapter 17

Summary: At 2 o'clock he meets up with Sally and he says that she is looking very nice. They go to the theater and make out on the way there. Holden thinks that the actors in the movie are all phonies but Sally says that she likes the movie. This makes Holden very angry and kind of annoys him. After the movie Holden takes her skating and they skated for a while and then got tired and go and get a drink. While having there drinks Holden starts to freak out and yells at Sally. He says that he wants her to go with him far away and start a life together. He leaves without her after she won't accept his apology.

Response: This date didn't go as well as Holden had probably hoped. It was going pretty good until Holden got going about phonnies and his crazy talk about moving to Vermont and living with Sally.

Chapter 16

Summary: He then goes on a walk and thinks about Phoebe and how he wants to talk to her so badly but he doesn't want his parents to find out that he is home. So he remembers a record that he wants to buy for her and buys it. He then goes to look for her at a skating park but only sees a girl that knows her but doesn't know where she is. She tells him that she might be at the museum because she sometimes goes there on Saturdays. He gets to the museum and feels depressed and doesn't even go in.

Response: It is a good thing that he wants to see his sister. I just wish that he had a way of communicating with her so he could meet up with her and talk without his parents knowing. I think that would really help out his situation.

Chapter 15

Summary:Holden checks out of the hotel and thinks about his parents and how much they hate it when he losses thing. And he also is telling us about how his mother isn't taking the death of Allie very well. After all of the continued stress from the death of her son, Holden is worried about how she will take the news of him being expelled from school. He then goes into a sandwitch shop and has a bite to eat with a couple of nuns. He gives them ten dollars and leaves but feels guilty that he only gave ten. He also calls up Sally and sets a date with her.

Response: Holden continues to become more and more depressed as the story goes on. He is now starting to give away his money saying that money just depresses people. It is good that he set up a date though, maybe it will help.

Chapter 14

Summary: Holden stays awake longer after she leaves thinking about Allie while smoking. He goes to sleep and is awoken by a loud knock on the door. He opens it up to see the elevator man and Sunny is with him. He is asking and demanding the 5 dollars that he didn't pay and he continues to refuse to pay it. The man from the elevator pins Holden up against the wall punches him in the stomach and takes the money from his wallet and leaves. Holden lays on the floor a while and then goes off to bed.

Response: Holden should know that bad things are gonna happen when he invites a prostitute up to his room. He is so lonley that he needs a prostitute to keep him company even for a couple of minutes. Hopefully this beat down won't affect him to much.