Blooms

Level of
Questionin
g

Knowledg
e
Questions

Test Questions

1.
a.
b.
c.
d.
2.

a.
b.
c.
d.

Compreh
ension
Questions

What is a phony?
An actor/actress
A realist
Someone who is fake
Someone Holden likes
The best one in it was The
Secret Goldfish. It was about this
little kid that wouldnt let anybody
look at his goldfish because hed
bought it with his own money. It
killed me. What does Holden
mean by It killed me.?
It annoyed him
It made him sad
It was boring
He loved it

3. The best thing, though, in that

museum was that everything
always stayed right where it was.
Nobodyd move. . . . Nobodyd be
different. The only thing that
would be different would be you.
What does the museum symbolize
to Holden?
a. A constant in his life
b. Change
c. A childhood memory
d. History
4. As he is leaving Pencey, Holden,
says this: "I was trying to feel
some kind of a good-by . . . I don't
care if it's a sad good-by or a bad
good-by, but when I leave a place
I like to know I'm leaving it. If you
don't, you feel even worse" Why

Skill
addressed

1. Word choice

2. Word choice

3. Meaning

4. Meaning

do you think Holden wants to say

goodbye even though he claims
to have hated Pencey?
a. He never said bye to Allie and
wants closure
b. Hes lying and wanted to stay
there
c. He doesnt want to leave his
friends
d. He always says goodbye, even to
things and places he hates
5. "'You know those ducks in that lagoon
right near Central Park South? That little
lake? By any chance, do you happen to
know where they go, the ducks, when it
gets all frozen over? Do you happen to
know, by any chance?'" Holden is always
asking about the ducks. What do they
mean to him?
a. He likes the fact that year after year
they leave and always come back. They
are consistent.
b. His favorite animal is the duck
c. Hes just curious
d. He just uses them as a conversation
starter

Applicatio
n
Questions

6. Why is the catchers mitt important to

Holden?
a. Phoebe gave it to him
b. It was Allies
c. His dad gave it to him
d. its his from when he was younger
7. What does the museum symbolize to
Holden?
a. A constant in his life
b. Change
c. A childhood memory
d. History
8. he kept on walking next to the curb
and singing If a body catch a body
coming through the rye. It made me
feel better. It made me feel not so

6. Rhetorical
Elements

depressed any more. Why does this

make Holden feel better?
a. The poem was about hope and
happiness which Holden needed more of
b. Its his favorite poem
c. It reminded him of Phoebe
d. The childs innocence gave him hope
that not everything/everyone has been
corrupted by society
9. On page 124 Holden says I didnt
even like her much, and yet all of a
sudden I felt like I was in love with her
and wanted to marry her and on page
133 he says I was beginning to hate
her, in a way. What is significant about
the way Holdens mood changes so
suddenly?
a. Its just something that comes along
with being a teenager
b. Its a sign of depression and he needs
help
c. He has a wide range of emotions
d. Hes just an unstable person
10. Holden says hes "the most terrific
liar you ever saw in your life." Lying is
something a phony is supposed to do.
What is this an example of?
a. Metaphor
b. Irony
c. Alliteration
d. Foreshadowing

Analysis
Questions

11. I have a feeling that youre riding

for some kind of terrible, terrible fall. . . .
The whole arrangements designed for
men who, at some time or other in their
lives, were looking for something their
own environment couldnt supply them
with. . . . So they gave up looking. Why
is Mr. Antolini so worried about Holden
and what does this foreshadow?
a. Holden never applies himself and
wont be ready to take on the

9. Tone

11. Rhetorical
Elements

responsibilities of the real world and

b. Holden got into some bad trouble and
cant find a way out and will go to jail
c. Hes scared Holden will run away and
never come back
d. Hes worried Holden will fail out of the
new school he just enrolled in and never
get an education
12. One example of the way Holden
feels about Jane is when he says You
never even worried, with Jane, whether
your hand was sweaty or not. All you
knew was, you were happy. You really
were. Compare and contrast the way
Holden sees Jane and the way he sees
everyone else.
a. He hates Jane but loves everyone else
b. He feels the same about everyone
c. He has strong feelings for Jane but
sees everyone else as corrupt phonies
d. None of the above
13. Boy, did I feel rotten. I felt so damn
lonesome. Holden states his loneliness
many times throughout the book. What
do you think is wrong with Holden?
a. Hes just lonely
b. Hes sad
c. Hes moody
d. Hes really depressed
14. She didnt look like any dope to me.
She looked like she might have a pretty
damn good idea what a bastard she was
the mother of The thing is, though, I
liked old Morrows mother. What can
you infer about the kind of people
Holden likes?
a. Ones who lie a lot
b. Ones who are nave
c. Ones who are honest
d. Ones who are wise
15. What specific event triggered
Holdens depression?
a. Getting kicked out of school
b. Having no friends

12.
Compare/contrast

c. Getting yelled at by Phoebe

d. Allies death

Synthesis
Questions

Evaluatio
n
Questions

16. If Holdens brother Allie had not

died. How would Holden be different?
17. How would the tone be different if
Allie hadnt died?
18. What can you infer from this quote:
"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little
kids playing some game in this big field
of rye and all. Thousands of little kids,
and nobody's around-nobody big, I
mean-except me. And I'm standing on
the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have
to do, I have to catch everybody if they
start to go over the cliff-I mean if they're
running and they don't look where
they're going I have to come out from
somewhere and catch them. That's all
I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in
the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but
that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I
know it's crazy"
19. Compare the way Holden talks
about/describes his family members to
the way he talks about/describes his
friends, peers, etc and explain why he
sees them this way.
20. Is Holden a phony?

Answer Key

17. Tone

19.
Compare/contrast
representations

1. C
2. D
3. A
4. A
5. A
6. B
7. A
8. D
9. B
10. B
11. A
12. C
13. D
14. C
15. D
16. Answers will vary

Happier
More likable
Friendlier
Cheerier
Etc

17. Answers will vary

Less depressing
More playful
Not as serious
Etc

18. Answers will vary

He likes kids because they are still innocent
He wants to protect them/stop them from becoming
phonies
Etc
19. Answers will vary
Family: loves them, greatest people in the world,
cant say enough nice things about them, etc
Everyone else: hates them, phonies, beneath him,
annoying, etc
20. Answers will vary
Yes: he lies all the time, pretends to be other people,
etc
No: hes being himself, its just him being a teenager,
etc