Chapter 12 Practice Quiz — The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 12
Where does Holden go in Chapter 12?
He takes a cab to Ernie's, a nightclub in Greenwich Village.
Who is Horwitz?
The cab driver who takes Holden to Ernie's. He becomes irritated when Holden asks about the ducks in Central Park.
What question does Holden ask Horwitz during the cab ride?
He asks what happens to the ducks in the Central Park lagoon when the water freezes in winter.
How many times has Holden asked a cab driver about the Central Park ducks by Chapter 12?
Twice. He asked a previous cabbie in an earlier chapter and now asks Horwitz, making the ducks a recurring preoccupation.
How does Horwitz respond to Holden's question about the ducks?
He gets angry and redirects the conversation to the fish, arguing that the fish have it harder because they are stuck in the frozen water but survive by absorbing nutrients through their pores.
What do the Central Park ducks symbolize in the novel?
The ducks symbolize Holden's own displaced condition -- his fear about where he belongs and whether something vulnerable can survive when its environment becomes inhospitable.
Who is Ernie?
A talented Black piano player who owns and performs at the Greenwich Village nightclub where Holden goes. Holden believes he has sold out his artistry for crowd approval.
Why does Holden criticize Ernie's piano playing?
He thinks Ernie adds too many showy flourishes and trills to his music, performing for the crowd rather than playing with genuine artistic integrity. He also notes Ernie has a mirror and spotlight focused on himself.
To whom does Holden compare Ernie?
His brother D.B. Holden considers both to be talented artists who sold out -- Ernie to his adoring nightclub fans and D.B. to Hollywood.
What kind of crowd fills Ernie's nightclub?
Mostly students from prep schools and Ivy League colleges home for Christmas break, whom Holden considers phony and shallow.
Who is Lillian Simmons?
A former girlfriend of Holden's older brother D.B. She spots Holden at Ernie's and approaches him with exaggerated friendliness.
Who accompanies Lillian Simmons at Ernie's?
A Navy officer she is dating.
Why does Holden find Lillian Simmons phony?
He believes her friendliness is not genuine -- she is only being nice so Holden will mention her to D.B., not because she has any real interest in Holden himself.
What does Lillian invite Holden to do?
She invites him to join her and the Navy officer at their table.
How does Holden respond to Lillian's invitation?
He tells her he was just leaving and walks out of the club rather than sit with them.
What pattern of behavior does Chapter 12 illustrate about Holden?
He seeks out social situations because he is lonely, then finds everyone phony or intolerable and retreats back into isolation -- a self-defeating cycle of approach and withdrawal.
What theme does Holden's critique of Ernie represent?
The theme of artistic integrity versus selling out. Holden believes genuine talent becomes corrupted when artists perform for popularity rather than for the sake of honest creative expression.
What does Holden observe about the couples at Ernie's?
He notices a man neglecting his date while describing a football play, and phony Ivy League types talking loudly -- details that reinforce his sense that the social world around him is shallow and disconnected.
How does Chapter 12 end?
Holden leaves Ernie's after his encounter with Lillian Simmons and walks back to his hotel alone, choosing solitude over what he sees as phony company.
What literary device is used in the contrast between the crowded club and Holden's inner state?
Juxtaposition -- the warmth and noise of the packed nightclub contrasts with Holden's emotional coldness and isolation, emphasizing his disconnection from the social world around him.
What does the frozen lagoon represent in the cab conversation?
The frozen lagoon symbolizes the cold, inhospitable world Holden faces, and the absent ducks mirror his own feeling of having no safe place to go.
Why is Horwitz's fish analogy significant?
It suggests that survival sometimes means staying in place and adapting to harsh conditions rather than fleeing -- a form of resilience that Holden has not yet developed.