The Catcher in the Rye Ch. 11: Jane Gallagher

J.D. Salinger

An Excerpt

Jane Gallagher Remembered

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Summary

Waiting in the hotel room, Holden goes back to Jane Gallagher and the summer her family rented near his in Maine. They played checkers on the porch almost every day. When she got a king she left it in the back row. He loved that caution. One afternoon she was crying. Her stepfather had come home drunk, and Holden put an arm around her. They did not spell out what had happened. The porch became a refuge, and he never pushed past what she wanted to give.

He remembers a movie in a neighbouring town, her hand in his during a frightening scene, a party where she danced with someone else and he was jealous, a night they drank beer while the stepfather stayed inside. She was one of the few people he respected completely. That restraint now hurts, because he imagines Stradlater had none of it.

He had her number at Pencey and never called. In the Edmont he still does not. Stradlater has made the summer feel used. Holden would rather stay inside that porch than face Sunny's return or Maurice in the hall. The memory ends. The room does not. The porch was careful. The hotel hallway will not be. He is still on the wrong side of the door.

In this chapter: Terms Characters Key Quotes Modern Story

Why This Matters

Placing the Call You Keep Rehearsing

A perfect memory can become a way of never acting. Holden can describe Jane's kings in the back row and the afternoon she cried on the porch, and he still will not use the number he has.

If there is someone you respect and have not contacted, send the short message today, and Do not wait until you can sound like the summer.

This chapter

Inside the Mind: Jane Gallagher

On the porch she cried, and he put an arm around her without making her explain, yet he still has her number and still does not use it. A call would give the summer a new sentence, and a new sentence could spoil the file. Stradlater has already made the memory feel used, so Holden would rather stay on that porch than meet the girl who lives past it.

Continue this thoughtJane Leaves Her Kings in the Back Row

Coming Up in Chapter 12

Morning sends Holden out of the Edmont with a record for Phoebe under his arm. He will sit with two nuns, ask another driver about the ducks, and call Sally Hayes because she will answer.

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Chapter 11

Jane Gallagher Remembered

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Jane Gallagher Remembered

Summary

Why This Matters