Chapter 15 Practice Quiz — The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 15
What does Holden do first thing Sunday morning in Chapter 15?
He calls Sally Hayes and arranges an afternoon matinee date with her.
How does Holden describe Sally Hayes?
He calls her stupid and phony, yet he is attracted to her and, by the end of the phone call, convinces himself he is in love with her.
What does Holden do after checking out of the Edmont Hotel?
He takes a cab to Grand Central Station and stores his bags in a lock box.
Where does Holden eat breakfast in Chapter 15?
At a sandwich bar near Grand Central Station, where he orders orange juice, bacon and eggs, toast, and coffee.
Who sits next to Holden at the sandwich bar?
Two nuns carrying cheap straw suitcases. They are schoolteachers from Chicago heading to a convent uptown near Washington Heights.
What subjects do the two nuns teach?
One teaches English and the other teaches history and government.
What literary work does Holden discuss with the English-teaching nun?
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.
Who is Holden's favorite character in Romeo and Juliet?
Mercutio. Holden admires his wit and independence and is more upset by Mercutio's death than by the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Why does Holden blame Romeo for Mercutio's death?
He believes Romeo's impulsive interference in the fight with Tybalt is what gets Mercutio killed, and he resents Romeo's recklessness.
How much money does Holden donate to the nuns' charity collection?
Ten dollars.
How does Holden feel after donating ten dollars to the nuns?
He feels guilty for not giving more, especially given how much money he has been spending recklessly on cabs, nightclubs, and hotels.
What depresses Holden about the nuns after they leave?
He imagines them eating lunch at some cheap, unglamorous restaurant and thinks it is unfair that nuns never get to go anywhere "swanky" for meals.
Who is Dick Slagle?
A former roommate of Holden's at Elkton Hills who came from a less wealthy family and owned cheap, inexpensive suitcases.
What happened with Dick Slagle's suitcases at Elkton Hills?
Dick hid his cheap suitcases under his bed. When Holden put his expensive Mark Cross bags under his own bed to reduce the contrast, Dick pulled Holden's bags out and displayed them on the rack so others would think they were his.
What do the suitcases symbolize in Chapter 15?
Class difference and economic inequality. They are visible markers of social standing that reveal and distort relationships between people of different economic backgrounds.
Why does the memory of Dick Slagle surface during the nun encounter?
The nuns' cheap straw suitcases remind Holden of Dick Slagle's inexpensive luggage, triggering his painful memory of how class differences destroyed their friendship.
What makes Holden's interaction with the nuns different from his other social encounters?
He does not judge them as phony, does not look for hidden motives, and engages with them genuinely and warmly -- a rare instance of authentic connection in the novel.
What does Holden's preference for Mercutio over Romeo reveal about his values?
He values wit, independence, and loyalty over romantic passion and impulsiveness. He distrusts people whose emotional recklessness causes harm to others.
What is ironic about Holden's phone call to Sally Hayes?
He describes Sally as stupid and phony yet speaks to her with enthusiasm he does not feel, engaging in exactly the kind of performative behavior he condemns in others.
What is significant about Holden storing his bags at Grand Central?
It leaves him completely unmoored -- without luggage, without a hotel room, without school -- physically embodying his psychological homelessness and displacement.
What does Holden wonder about the English-teaching nun?
He wonders how she feels about the sexy or romantic parts of the books she has to teach, reflecting his preoccupation with innocence and its exposure to adult content.
What literary device does Salinger use when Holden remembers Dick Slagle?
Flashback -- the nuns' suitcases trigger a memory from Elkton Hills that deepens the chapter's exploration of class and inequality.