The Lavender Room Chapter Summary

He even went as far as trying to call up a sexually open girl and arranging a meeting with her for a drink. The action of calling this girl and attempting to meet up with her shows that he realizes his need to grow up, acting older than he probably should, and making rash decisions in his attempts to act like an ‘adult’. His flashbacks serve as a reminder that no matter how hard he tries to forget Jane, he will always have feelings for her. It also serves as a pointer that Holden still desires to be with Jane, as the more he tries to forget her, the more he remembers all of the moments they shared, from the time he first decided to talk to her, to the time he tried to comfort her when she began to cry, to the many times they played checkers or held hand together. He begins to talk to himself about the smaller details of Jane, her interest in reading and sports, the way her mouth is alway just a tiny bit open, the way she lights up when she is interested in something and how her mouth begins to seem to move in all directions as she's talking about it. The memories of his past and the actions he took in what would be considered the present all show that Holden is changing as a person, becoming more accepting of his repressed sexuality, and

Although Holden has qualms about Jane being with Stradlater, he lets go of his worries because he knows that Jane is not the type of girl to have “the time” with Stradlater.

Holden’s date with Sally Hayes exhibited his difficulty at cooperating with others. At first he gives us a dire impression of Sally, “I wasn’t too crazy about her, but I’d known her for years.” (p. 105) Later, he wants to marry Sally and says he is in love with her. The biggest mystery of all when it comes to women is with Jane Gallagher. Constantly mentioning Jane, Holden recalls playing checkers with her before he got sent to boarding school. When his roommate, Stradlater, has a date with Jane, Holden asks him a peculiar question, “Did you ask her if she still keeps all her kings in the back row?” (p. 42) Holden, jealous of Stradlater’s date with Jane, longs to see Jane but never has the courage to call her. Interactions with other people especially women perplex and overwhelm Holden. He therefore resorts to isolation, illustrating a characteristic of his mental state.

While Holden undergoes hardships and fears of the adult world, his heroic characteristics slowly reveal. Holden often thinks everyone is phony because of his loneliness in life. During the conversation with Mr. Spencer, Holden asserts “Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side…Nothing. No game”(Salinger 8). From the beginning of the story Holden commented on the game of life, testifying his true feelings of isolation and unfortunate contradicting his identity as the son of an intellectual lawyer, having access to a favorable education, and immense wealth. In addition, Holden also encounters a rough relationship with both men and woman, as seen in the text, Holden got in a fight with his amorous and arrogant roommate Stradlater, then another conflict with the deal of the prostitute Sunny. However, the death of Holden’s beloved brother Allie clearly framed an abhorrent impact on him. As evidence from the book where Holden portrayed his behavior after realizing the death of Allie, “I slept in the garage that night he died…just for the hell of it.”(Salinger 39). The effect was undoubtedly painful and fearful, that led Holden into a depressive break down state, and it may have altered Holden’s concept of getting along with others.

Stradlater doesn’t know or care. Holden becomes so overwhelmed by the thought of him “giving Jane time,” he gets into a physical altercation with his roommate. After this incident, Holden begins to idealize Jane’s image increasingly, leading to him imagining a fantastic scene after he gets robbed by a pimp, Maurice. “Then I’d crawl back to my room and call up Jane and have her come over and bandage up my guts. I pictured her holding a cigarette for me to smoke while I was bleeding and all” (Salinger 104). This is why Holden can’t talk to Jane; he has created another disjointed image of her in his mind that he uses to rescue himself. Jane saves him; but it’s not really Jane, more likely than not, the Jane in Holden’s head hasn’t existed for years. His image of her becoming more and more warped, and his cowardice in refusing to talk to her, show Holden’s inability to reconcile the past, his childhood, with the present: the fact that he and others around him are growing up. [ADD SOMETHING HERE?]

Holden’s behavior drastically changed when he found out that Allie had died. He was more than just a brother to him, he was a symbol for Holden and taking it away caused him to spiral into depression. Holden says,

Holden's childhood friend, Jane Gallagher, also needs protection. She is vulnerable because of her childhood. "` Her mother and father were divorced. Her mother was married again to some boozehound... [He would] run around the goddamn house, naked, with Jane around and all.'" (32) Holden was afraid that Jane's stepfather abused her. "I asked her on the way, if Mr. Cudahy- that was the boozehound's name- had ever tried to get wise with her." (79) Even though Holden likes Jane, he does not try to take advantage of her because she needs the safety of their friendship. Holden is angry with Stradlater because he threatened Jane, and could have harmed her.

Holden never going to Allie’s funeral gives us insight into why Holden is still holding onto Allie. After Allie’s death, Holden still went through experiences that caused his BPD, neglect and separation. During the time following Allie’s death, Holden’s family was in great grieving, making Holden feel isolated and not getting the attention he needed to fully grow mentally as a child (“National Allegiance on Mental Health”). Holden also expresses twice, that his mother is still grieving over Allie’s death by stating his mother, “still isn’t over my brother Allie yet” (Salinger 155). Holden is also never close to anyone. He meets with his family a limited amount of time throughout the year, and is kicked out of schools, giving him no permanent guidance in his life. Holden constantly describes his expulsion as, getting “the ax” (107). He shows a continuous changing in guardians, because of his attachment to both Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini, both old school teachers from schools he flunked out of. He also dealt with the separation from D.B. his other brother, who moved to Hollywood, Holden seems to be very inspired by him throughout the novel, but is mad that he left (1).

In this situation, Jane has had her fall. She has mentally broken down and is bawling right before Holden’s eyes. Holden’s sees this opportunity to be a “catcher in the rye”, and comes to her rescue. He does this by consoling her and kissing her.

Holden’s deep depression arose from Allie’s death, and at Holden’s lowest moments, he starts to think about Allie. His depression started when Holden “broke all the goddamn windows with [his] fist” (39). Holden is unable to properly grieve for his brother leaving him in bitter depression with the lingering memories of Allie to bring him comfort. At the park, Holden’s contemplation on his own death leads him back to thoughts about Allie at the cemetery. Holden recalls the feeling of guilt he felt when he had to leave Allie at the cemetery so eventually he stopped going. Allie brings Holden back to reality at the park making him go see Phoebe and eventually Allie’s death reminds Holden of why he can’t leave Phoebe. The pain Holden constantly feels because of Allie’s death drags him deeper into depression, but also gives him some comfort in his toughest times. Holden’s contrast of emotions about Allie portrays his inability to stop thinking about Allie and to accept that Allie is gone.

Holden experiences extreme difficulty accepting his current realities and one of the main factors causing this is the lasting negative impact his brother Allies death had on his life. Firstly, when Holden decides to leave his school, he tells readers , “I don’t care if it’s a sad goodbye or a bad goodbye, but when I leave a place, I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t, you feel even worse” (Salinger, 4). Holden’s need for closure is evident in this quote. When Allie died, it was very unexpected and he was not prepared to let him go, resulting in his denial that his brother is actually

Jane Gallagher remains a constant though out the entire novel. She represents the way of life he once followed, and the track he should be on but doesn't get back to. He never calls her because he claims he isn't "in the mood" (Salinger 33). This emphasizes that Holden is trying to avoid finding his purpose, his track, because the truth, like the

Holden allows the reader to hypothesize that he is attracted to a girl named Jane Gallagher, by constantly telling of his fond memories of her, but when push comes to shove his tendency to alienation himself from society, to "protect himself from losing his innocence", takes him over. On page 116 of the novel, Holden tells the reader that after he got his sister a record he went to a phone booth and called Jane's house. But when her mother picked up the phone he hung up. Holden tells the reader that he "didn't feel like getting into a long conversation with her mother" so he hung up but in reality Holden's personal preference of alienating himself frightened him and prevented him of making any contact with Jane.

Later on Holden recalls when he was attending Pencey College how his gloves were stolen by some crook. He continues describing the situation of confrontation hypothetically, at first with assertion and authority. Eventually he admits to himself, “Only, I wouldn’t have the guts to do it. I’d just stand there, trying to look tough” (Salinger P. 99). Holden goes on to describe to the reader his unaware fear of confrontation and violence, hinting at a dread of vulnerability and a closed off persona, another clear sign of Major Depressive Disorder. When Holden was a younger boy he knew a girl named Jane Gallagher whom he was childhood friends with, they often even held hands and had an emotional bond. Ever since he heard about Stradlator (his old roommate) taking her out on a date he’d been thinking of calling her up. Finally on page 130 he calls her up and her mother picks up. Startled, she hangs up and admits he should’ve asked for Jane, “But I didn’t feel like it. You really have to be in the mood for that stuff” (Salinger P. 130). His inability to feel motivated to make an effort for somebody he once loved shows his social-isolation.

Holden’s connection with his little brother Allie was very special to him. This is evident in the way he talks about Allie. He holds Allie up to these great expectations, saying “You’d have liked him” (Salinger, 1945-6, p.33) and convincing you how great he was and how intelligent and special he was. You are now able to connect and sympathise for Holden, because he has told you all about the things that mean most to him, and you can’t help but feel a little sorry for him.