The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye
by J. D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye Chapter 11 Summary

  • Back in the Lobby, Holden again starts thinking about Jane Gallagher – and again, more specifically about her sitting in Ed Banky's car with Stradlater.
  • He's pretty certain there was no sex, but still.
  • He says he never hooked up with Jane, but they saw each other all the time (played golf, etc.) so he knew her really well.
  • He recalls how he met her: Holden's mother got upset that the Gallagher's dog kept peeing on their lawn, so she called them up and complained.
  • A few days later, when Holden tried to say hello to Jane, she was an ice princess about it. He had to convince her that he personally didn't care where the dog relieved itself.
  • They ended up going golfing together. Jane lost eight balls. Holden, on the other hand, is an amazing golfer.
  • Then he gets into a nice long description about this girl. She's not exactly beautiful, he says, but she really knocks him out, especially the way her mouth moves when she talks. He says she's the only person to whom he's ever shown Allie's baseball mitt.
  • Holden's mother doesn't like Jane, probably because she squabbles all the time with Jane's mother.
  • OK, so there was this one afternoon where he and Jane almost hooked up. It was a rainy Saturday and they were playing checkers on her porch. Her drunk stepfather came out and asked Jane if there were any cigarettes. She refused to look up or answer, even when he asked repeatedly.
  • Finally, after he went back into the house, Jane started crying. Holden moved over so sit right next to her and started kissing her everywhere – her nose, eyes, ears – everywhere except her mouth.
  • They ended up going out for a movie; Holden asked if the stepfather (Mr. Cudahy) had ever tried anything with her. She said no, and he's never really figured out what the deal was.
  • They just held hands. Jane is an excellent hand-holder.
  • Which reminds him of this time in the movie theater. Jane reached over and put her hand on the back of his neck. It's something you always see older people do, Holden remarks, like a mother to her husband or her kid or something, but when a girl Jane's age does it, "it's so pretty it just about kills you."
  • Anyway, Holden's done reminiscing and the lobby is getting depressing, so he decides to get out of there and go to Greenwich Village, where D.B. used to take him once in a while to listen to this guy Ernie play the piano.

Next Page: Chapter 12
Previous Page: Chapter 10