Peter Van Graft Monday, March 27th, 2017
Handout: Ch13 Chapter Analysis Presentation
About the chapter:
● Holden is in New York City, alone, walking on his own to his hotel.
● He is drunk.
● It is also freezing cold.
● When Holden returns to his hotel, he runs into the elevator man, Maurice.
● Maurice offers a “throw” to Holden for the night.
● Holden agrees to have a prostitute for the throw in his hotel room.
● When Holden decides that he is too uncomfortable for sex, he is confused because Maurice originally told him the throw was $5, but the prostitute told him $10.
● Due to the confusion, Holden pays her $5 instead of $10, like what Maurice originally said to Holden.
Main characters in this chapter:
● Holden Caulfield: The main character and protagonist in the story. In this chapter, Holden is drunk, and accidentally agrees to have a prostitute in his room for sex.
● Maurice: The elevator man, who offers Holden the prostitute in his room for the night.
● Sunny: The prostitute, who attempts to seduce and have sex with Holden.
Conflict:
● Holden believes that he wants to have sex, but quickly changes his mind once Sunny is in his room. Then, he understands that the price for the prostitute is $5, but Sunny is demanding $10.
Solution:
● Holden does not end up having sex with Sunny. He is too uncomfortable. He lies to her about his recent operation. In the end, Holden pays her $5 even though Sunny is still demanding the $10 she wants.
Quotes:
1. “I said I’d pay you for coming and all. I really will. I have plenty of dough. It’s just that I’m practically just recovering from a very serious--” “What the heck did you tell that crazy Maurice you wanted a girl for, then? If you just had a goddam operation on your goddam wuddayacallit. Huh?”
2. “This is a five. It costs ten.” She was getting funny, you could tell. I was afraid something like that would happen- I really was. “Maurice said five,” I told her. “He said fifteen till noon and only five for a throw.”
What the quotes mean:
1. The first quote means that Holden is uncomfortable, he will still pay Sunny. Sunny is furious on how Holden Maurice made her come up to Holden’s room for the evening.
2. This quote means that Holden is paying Sunny at Maurice’s rate, Sunny is furious and demanding that she is still insisting the $10 she wants.
Questions:
1. Why does Holden decide to have a prostitute in his room for the night?
2. What made Holden decide that he was to uncomfortable for sex?