Catcher in the Rye Test Questions

Blooms
Level of
Questionin
g
Knowledge
Questions

TEST QUESTIONS

Skill
addresse
d

1. Whose mother does Holden meet on the train to New York?

a. Stradlaters mother
b. Ernests mother
c. Janes mother
d. Ackleys mother
2. What did Holden write Stradlaters [soon destroyed] composition
on?
a. Allies baseball glove
b. Phoebe running away
c. Allies relationship with Holden
d. Stradlaters deceased sibling

Comprehensio
n Questions

1. Which of these best contrasts Holdens relationship with Sally,

versus his relationship with Jane?
a. Sally is much prettier than Jane and Jane is a bookworm,
therefore Holden has a much better time with Sally
b. Both Jane and Holden lost and loved Allie and Sally likes stupid
things like Hollywood, therefore Holden and Allie have an emotional
connection
c. He is too lonely and desperate, therefore no real relationship is
formed between either of the girls
d. Jane shares his interests and Sally is too materialistic, therefore
Holden enjoys Janes company much more
2. Arent you gonna ride, too? she asked me. She was looking at
me sort of funny. You could tell she wasnt too sore at me anymore.
Maybe Ill ride with you next time. Ill watch ya, Holden said.
Why cant Holden ride the carrousel?
a) Holden cant fit on the carousel because hes too old and he is
sad hes too big
b) Holden hates carousels because he thinks they are phony
c) The carousel represents youth and innocence traits that Holden
thinks he doesnt have, therefore he cant ride the carousel
d) Carousel by Melanie Martinez
3. "D. B. isn't as bad as the rest of them, but he keeps asking me a
lot of questions, too. He drove over last Saturday with this English
babe that's in this new picture he's writing." What does this quote
indicate?

Compare
contrast
( Q1)
Compare
and
contrast
(Q2)
Quote #1
(Q2)
Quote #2
(Q3)

Catcher in the Rye Test Questions

Application
Questions

a. Holden was visited by D.B at his school

b. Holdens correctional facility is in California with D.B.
c. Holden is living by himself near Hollywood and D.B.
d. D.B. is trying to get Holden to live with him in Hollywood
1. Which of the following quotes shows Holdens contempt for
Ernies ego?
a. "Anyway, when he was finished, and everyone was clapping their
heads off, old Ernie turned around on his stool, and gave this really
phony, humble, bow.
b. You couldnt see his finger swhile he playedjust his big old
face. Big deal.
c. Ernies a big fat colored guy that plays the piano. Hes a terrific
snob and wont hardly even talk to you.
d. I felt sort of sorry for him when he had finished. I dont think
he even knows anymore if hes playing right or not.
2. What is the significance of Holdens hair?
a. he takes immense care of it, not wanting to be a secret slob like
Stradlater
b. he is conscious of gray hair and covers it up with his hunting hat
c. He thinks gray hair makes him mature, and does not cover it up
at bars
d. He thinks he is lonely because of some of his gray hairs
3. So Stabile, with about six other dirty bastards, went down to
James Castle's room and went in and locked the goddam door and
tried to make him take back what he said, but he wouldn't do it. So
they started in on him. I won't even tell you what they did to him
it's too repulsivebut he still wouldn't take it back, old James
Castle. And you should've seen him. He was a skinny little weaklooking guy, with wrists about as big as pencils. Finally, what he
did, instead of taking back what he said, he jumped out the
window. Why is James Castle one of the few people Holden
tolerates despite the suicide?
a. Holden sees James as a brother figure to replace D.B.
b. Holden admires him for confronting the phony frat boy
c. James was a replacement for Allie for Holden
d. James has a lot of experience with sex
4. I was sorry anyway though. Goddam [sic] money. It always ends
up making you blue as hell. In this context what does the bolded
word mean?
a. blue; as in feeling depressed or down
b. blue; as in Coral Blue Lipstick #2
c. blue(s); as in a genre of unpopular music
d. blue; as in Americas sweetheart, Blues Clues

Quotes
#3-4 (Q1)
Tone (Q1)
Meaning
(Q2)
Quote #5
(Q3)
Word
choice
(Q4)
Quote #6
(Q4)
Word
choice
(Q5)
Quote #7
(Q5)

Catcher in the Rye Test Questions

5. If I were a piano player, I'd play it in the goddam [sic]
closet. Holden seems to use the word goddamn (among other
swear words) quite often. Why does he do this?
a. Swearing makes him seem older and attracts mature women
b. He swears in order to fit in with the gruff New York lifestyle
c. Hes still mad about Frank Oceans procrastination
d. Holden is angry with the inconsistency in his education, family,
etc.

Analysis
Questions

1. Which of these quotes best represents Holdens reluctance to

grow up?
a. I certainly felt peculiar when she [pulled off her dress]. I mean
she did it so sudden and all. P. 106
b. The salesman probably thought [Sunny] was a regular girl when
she bought [the dress]. It made me feel sad and hellI dont know
why exactly. (p. 107)
c. God, I love it when a kids nice and polite when you tighten their
skate for them or something. Most kids are. (p. 133.)
d. And Id be working in some office, making a lot of dough, and
riding to work in cabs and Madison Avenue buses, and reading
newspapers, and playing bridge all the time, and going to the
movies and seeing a lot of stupid shorts and coming attractions and
newsreels. (p. 149)
2. How does Salinger capture the conversational sounds of the city
when Holden first arrives?
a. Holdens eavesdropping on the couple at the club, depicting the
many Joe Yales in New York
b. Horowitzs and Holdens argument in the cab, which sounds
tough and crisp and uses New Yorker slang
c. through the conversation with Lillian at the bar, showing
phoniness in her and her boyfriend
d. Holdens confrontation with the glove-stealer, which shows
everyones hostility
3. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go
over the cliffI mean if theyre running and they dont watch where
theyre going I have to come out from somewhere and catch
them. What might Holden mean by this? FRQ
4. Every time you mention some guy that's strictly a bastard
very mean, or very conceited and all and when you mention it to
the girl, she'll tell you he has an inferiority complex. Maybe he has,
but that still doesn't keep him from being a bastard, in my
opinion. How is this quote by Holden ironic?
5. I don't even know what I was running forI guess I just felt like

Quote #89 (Q1)

Tone (Q2)
Meaning
(Q3)
Quote #10
(Q3)
Quote #11
(Q4)
Quote #12
(Q5)

Catcher in the Rye Test Questions

it. Based on this quote, what can you infer will happen to Holden
after the last chapter?
Synthesis
Questions

1. How does Salinger use the juxtaposition of sex and death to

explain Holdens intent?
2. What can be added to the secondary characters in order to
understand Holdens intent better?

Evaluation
Questions

Compare
and
contrast
(Q1)

3. Assuming one restarts the plotline of the novel, what character

might one create/add in order to steer the main character from
conflicts, and why?
1. Holden uses the word phony a lot. How would you characterize a
phony person, and how is that different from Holdens opinion on
whats phony? And why?
2. Is Holdens sense of constant desertion, false maturity, (etc.) a
true projection of people, or an exaggeration? Why or why not?
Rubric

Blooms level addressed in the question

Number of questions

Points

Knowledge Questions

2/2 DONE

4 pts

Comprehension Questions

3/3 DONE

6 pts

Application Questions

5/5 Done

10 pts

Analysis Questions

5/5 Done

10 pts

Synthesis Questions

3/3 Done

6 pts

Evaluation Questions

2/2 Done

4 pts

Skill addressed in the question

Number of questions

Word Choice

2 DONE

4 pts

Meaning

2 DONE

4 pts

Tone

2 DONE

4 pts

Compare/Contrast representations

2 DONE

4 pts

From the 20 questions total, 12 use

specific quotations or passages
from Catcher in the Rye

15 pts

Catcher in the Rye Test Questions

Test typed in example format
Test contains answer key.
Test is printed on due date.

15 pts

Score on another peers test

10 pts