Chapter 25 summary- Zhongyi

Chapter 25 Summary

Key Events
In this chapter, Holden escaped from Mr. Antolini’s apartment and spent the night on the benches at Grand Central Station. He became distressed and thought he would die from cancer or from disappearing into the road. Holden then decided to leave for the West and live away from the outside world.
As Holden still wanted to see Phoebe, he left her a note asking her to meet him in front of the Museum of Arts before he leaves. Unexpectedly, when Phoebe appeared, she brought her trunk and wanted to leave with him. Phoebe got angry with Holden when he refused to take her. The two then went to the zoo together where they reconciled and Holden watched Phoebe on the merry-go-round. He suddenly felt happy and decided to live life as it is.

Techniques and Effects
· Repeated hyperbole – “a million people started coming”, “and a million other things”, “a million little kids”, “a million holes to lace up”, “if you had a million years” etc. This showed that Holden felt the need to exaggerate his criticism on everything going around him, and hence suggesting he was angry with the world
· Symbolism – the red hunting hat symbolised isolation, the Museum symbolised things that never change e.g. Holden’s childhood memories, the zoo symbolised innocence and happiness – what Holden used to have before Allied died.
· Impersonal tone / direct address – establish the speaker as equal to the audience and hence enable the audience to have a more personal understanding of Holden’s experiences. Examples include “I wish you could’ve been there” and “You can’t trust anybody in a … school.”
· Digression and flashbacks – the disorganised order of narration presents the disorientated teenager’s voice in a thoughtful way. This gives the impression that Holden is directly speaking with the audience.

Links to Individual and Society
Apart from the physical intention to leave New York, Holden’s separation from society is also revealed in his cynical tone. One instance of this was Holden being “positive” at expecting rude words on his gravestone, because he assumed no-one in the world is honourable. This is a huge discrepancy between the individual’s expectation on society and reality.
In addition, the juxtaposition between Holden’s long-lost happiness and rain, which is a common symbol for sadness, may have suggested that Holden is quite opposite to everyone else.