Chapters 9 & 10
Summary
On arrival at New York railway station, Holden starts to feel lonely and
wonders whom to call.
D.B. is in Hollywood, his sister Phoebe will be in bed, Jane is out of the
question, and another girlfriend Sally Hayes has a hostile mother, so in the end he calls no-one, but takes a taxi to the Edmont Hotel.
From the hotel, he ‘phones Faith Cavendish, a woman of questionable morals, but she refuses to see him that night. Holden decides to go to the hotel’s Nightclub, the Lavender Room.
Holden digresses here and we obtain some information about Phoebe, his
younger sister.
In the Lavender Room, Holden encounters three lady tourists from Seattle.
He tries to order a cocktail even though he is under-age and he is normally successful due to his prematurely graying hair, but on this occasion, the waitress refuses to serve him. He flirts with the tourists who laugh at him, although he ends up paying for their drinks.
Interpretation
Holden becomes sexually aroused as he starts his stay in New York, as he
people-watches the characters around his hotel. He would like to call Jane, but is too nervous.
After observing the sexual exploits in the New York street from his hotel
room window, he tries to obtain a date that night, but fails, although Sally does offer to see him the next day.
Holden continues his habitual lie telling as he tells the tourists that he
has just seen Gary Cooper, a further sign of his instability and immaturity.
Holden had considered ‘phoning Phoebe, but she would probably have been
asleep and he did not wish to speak with one of his parents. Holden considers Phoebe to be not only intelligent, but pretty as well, with red hair like Allie’s.
She is the one person with whom Holden can communicate despite their age difference. Phoebe is a gifted artist in her own right and she also writes books. Holden considers Phoebe to be his best friend.
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