Travel & History

      Welcome to the travel and history branch of The Catcher Club! I am Romi Patel and I am the travel agent for The Carrousel Travel Agency, dedicated to bringing The Catcher in the Rye to life. The Carrousel Travel agency is rated on of the best touring agencies in New York. Our tour will take you round and round New York. Experience the historic sites as you travel around New York. We guarantee you a fun filled packed day that will be worth remembering. Both adults and children will enjoy themselves on our tour. Learning about Holden’s life as we travel, you will truly feel as if you are in the novel. There are many sites that tourists will get to visit including Holden's school, his parents' apartment, and aspects from his childhood. As we travel from place to place, you will learn more about Holden's life, conflicts, and fears, recounting his story. People interested in traveling and history will simply love this tour as we will travel from place to place talking about Holden's life!

Pencey Prep

        Our tour officially starts off on Friday, March 25, 2011 at 9:30 A.M. We will start the tour with Pencey Prep, the Boy's Boarding School that Holden Caulfield attended in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. Pencey Prep is dedicated to turn boys into men. Holden Caulfield attended this school until he was expelled for failing three classes. Tourists will be allowed to enter school grounds and enter Pencey Prep. They will be showed around the school and will be allowed to enter Holden's room which he shared with Stradlater. In addition, you can go right next door to Ackley's room. An extra is Pencey Prep's orientation for its newest literary scholars program. Tourists will thoroughly enjoy themselves at Pencey Prep as they learn about Holden's life at school.               

Holden's Hotel Room

      The second stop on our tour is the magnificient Edmont Hotel. This is the hotel Holden checked into after running away from Pencey Prep. We will show you inside Holden’s hotel room. Instead of going home, he checks a room into this hotel where he encounters Sunny, a young prostitute and Maurice, her pimp. However, Holden refuses Sunny, but reluctantly pays her an extra $5 when Maurice beats him up.

His Parents' Apartment

        We will then proceed to his parents’ apartment, where Holden sneaks into to meet his younger sister Phoebe, whom he adores. Visitors will be allowed inside Phoebe’s room where she finds out that Holden was kicked out of school. In addition, you can go into her closet where Holden hid when his mother came in to check on Phoebe. His parents’ apartment gives a sense of Holden’s family life.

Mr. Antolini's Apartment

   Afterwards, we will stop by Mr. Antolini’s apartment, where Holden decides to spend the night. Since Holden does not want to go to his hotel room to face Maurice or his parents’ apartment to disappoint his parents, he decides to stay overnight at the Antolinis. However, he feels uncomfortable with Mr. Antolini’s parental affection and soon leaves with an excuse to get his bags from Grand Central Station. Visitors will be allowed inside of the apartment. Moreover, they can see the small couch that Holden slept on. 

The Museum of Natural History

   On our way to the famous Museum of Natural History, we will pass the Grand Central Station where Holden spends the night on the bench instead of going back to Mr. Antolini’s apartment. Although we will not directly go to the Grand Central Station because it takes a lot of time, tourists can view on it on our way. Our next stop will be New York's famous Museum of Natural History. The Museum of Natural History has unchanging exhibits including the very famous mummy exhibit, which Holden visits. Holden himself knows his own way to the mummy exhibit even though he hadn't been there in years. To get to the mummies, we will go down a narrow sort of hall with stones on the side that they took right out of the Pharaoh’s tomb. Don't worry, the mummy exhibit is not scary for children. It is very entertaning as they will learn more about the tombs and mummies. The museum is a significant aspect of Holden;s life. The Museum of Natural History represents Holden’s fears because while it is unchanging, he is undergoing many changes. The museum is a very peaceful place that everyone will enjoy!

The Ducks in Central Park Lagoon

        Our sixth stop is the Lagoon in Central Park. The Lagoon in Central Park is a beautiful, serene, relaxing place and sight. Here, tourists will be able to sit and relax while watching the ducks in the lagoon. Holden kept wondering where the ducks in Central Park lagoon went during the winter. This portrays Holden's fears of change. He struggles with change and desires for everything to be the same. In addition, theis portrays his conflict as he is changing while transitioning into adulthood. Come see the famous ducks in the pond. Everyone will enjoy this calm sight as tourists will be allowed to set up a picnic and watch the ducks.

The Zoo

       After watching the ducks in the lagoon, we will proceed towards the zoo. Children especially will enjoy the zoo as they will see various animals. Likewise, Holden also took Phoebe to the zoo when she demanded to go with him.

The Carrousel

      Our tour will end with the carrousel. Located in Central Parl, the carrousel is an important aspect of Holden's life that eventually helps him move on. He realizes that he must let go and take risks. He can always learn on his way. While watching Phoebe ride the carrousel, Holden says, “I was sort of afraid she’d fall off the goddamn horse, but I didn’t say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (Salinger 210). The carrousel is a significant symbol in Holden’s life that represents his childhood that never changes. However, it also brings realization that he must at least try. The carrousel is a magnificent sight that all kids will enjoy as they ride it just like Phoebe did and hear the same songs.  It is a relaxing end to a wonderful day full of historic sites!