TEST 2

1. B
2. A
3. C
4. C
5. B
6. A
7. B
8. A
9. B
10. C

11. One clue begins with the second sentence of the novel. But you'll have to go over the book carefully to find most of the other remarks Holden makes about his parents. He mentions his mother more often than his father, and we even see his mother in the scene with Phoebe. But he suggests a great deal about his father when Phoebe asks him what he wants to be when he finishes school. You'll have to integrate these references to plan an essay on this question.

12. It would probably be a good idea to narrow your subject. One way to do that is to list all the people Holden talks to during the story, then to select four or five characters who have something in common. You can then use this common thread to tie your essay together. You could, for example, write only about the strangers Holden tries to talk with-Mrs. Morrow, the two cab drivers, the three women at the bar. Or you could write only about conversations that end in hostility, like those with Ackley, Stradlater, the three women, Sally Hayes, and Carl Luce. Another thing to remember about a general question like this one is that it doesn't suggest what point you should make in your essay. That's another thing you should decide before you start writing. An essay about Holden's failed attempts to communicate might point out that the failure is often his fault, or that it's always funny, or that it shows how sick he is.

13. In preparing an essay on Allie you should reread at least three sections of the book: Holden's first mention of his brother, when he writes the composition for Stradlater; his conversation about Allie with Phoebe; and his plea to Allie during the emotional crisis that arises just before he meets Phoebe at the museum. When you put all these together (and add Holden's other references to Allie), you'll see that Allie is more than a memory, more than a well-loved brother, even more than a symbol of childhood innocence. He has a religious significance in Holden's life, and any essay on Allie should mention this.

14. This is the kind of question that calls as much on your personal experience as it does on your reading of the novel. The best way to prepare an essay answer is to connect dozens of quotes from the novel to support your opinion. Your essay will have some strength if your statement is backed up by his references to disappearing, to falling, and to not being able to cope. Once you've established what Holden is like, your next job is to give some evidence for what most people his age are like. These two parts of your essay will then be the basis for your overall conclusion that Holden is or is not typical of American teenagers.

15. Since the assignment asks you to be creative, there's obviously no "right" answer. There is, however, a right way to approach this kind of essay. It involves accumulating evidence from Holden's words and trying to project from that evidence the kind of adult the speaker might become. You might also separate his opinions into two groups: those that will take a more adult form in ten or fifteen years, and those that Holden will have to discard as he grows older. If you're feeling really creative, you could write this essay in Holden's voice as an adult.

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