The Catcher in the Rye: Chapters 22-26

by J.D. Salinger
In J.D. Salinger's classic novel, Holden Caulfield leaves his prep school and experiences disillusionment and alienation while wandering around New York City.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-5, Chapters 6-11, Chapters 12-16, Chapters 17-21, Chapters 22-26

Here are links to our lists for Salinger’s short stories: A Perfect Day for Bananafish,
Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut, Just Before the War with the Eskimos, The Laughing Man, Down at the Dinghy, For Esmé–with Love and Squalor, Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes, De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period, Teddy
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. fraternity
    a social club for male undergraduates
    And they had this goddam secret fraternity that I was too yellow not to join.
  2. repulsive
    offensive to the mind or senses
    I won't even tell you what they did to him — it's too repulsive — but he still wouldn't take it back, old James Castle.
  3. infirmary
    a health facility where patients receive treatment
    Old Mr. Antolini felt his pulse and all, and then he took off his coat and put it over James Castle and carried him all the way over to the infirmary.
  4. asthma
    respiratory disorder characterized by wheezing
    She had asthma pretty bad.
  5. digress
    turn aside from the main subject of attention
    And if the boy digresses at all, you're supposed to yell 'Digression!' at him as fast as you can.
  6. stuffy
    excessively conventional or narrow-minded and hence dull
    "Holden...One short, faintly stuffy, pedagogical question. Don't you think there's a time and place for everything? Don't you think if someone starts out to tell you about his father's farm, he should stick to his guns, then get around to telling you about his uncle's brace? Or, if his uncle's brace is such a provocative subject, shouldn't he have selected it in the first place as his subject — not the farm?"
  7. pedagogical
    relating to the study of teaching
    "Holden...One short, faintly stuffy, pedagogical question. Don't you think there's a time and place for everything? Don't you think if someone starts out to tell you about his father's farm, he should stick to his guns, then get around to telling you about his uncle's brace? Or, if his uncle's brace is such a provocative subject, shouldn't he have selected it in the first place as his subject — not the farm?"
  8. provocative
    serving or tending to excite or stimulate
    "Holden...One short, faintly stuffy, pedagogical question. Don't you think there's a time and place for everything? Don't you think if someone starts out to tell you about his father's farm, he should stick to his guns, then get around to telling you about his uncle's brace? Or, if his uncle's brace is such a provocative subject, shouldn't he have selected it in the first place as his subject — not the farm?"
  9. unify
    bring together for a common purpose or action
    I mean he'd keep telling you to unify and simplify all the time.
  10. harrowing
    causing extreme distress
    "Apparently before he phoned me he'd just had a long, rather harrowing letter from your latest headmaster, to the effect that you were making absolutely no effort at all."
  11. humility
    a lack of arrogance or false pride
    And — most important — nine times out of ten they have more humility than the unscholarly thinker.
  12. becoming
    displaying or setting off to best advantage
    For one thing, it may save you an extraordinary amount of time trying on ideas that don't suit you, aren't becoming to you.
  13. accordingly
    in agreement with
    You'll begin to know your true measurements and dress your mind accordingly.
  14. hormone
    the secretion of an endocrine gland transmitted by the blood
    It was all about hormones.
  15. affected
    speaking or behaving artificially to make an impression
    She was pretty affected, but very good-looking.
Created on Thu Mar 14 09:21:16 EDT 2013 (updated Wed Jul 02 14:26:25 EDT 2025)

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