Question

“The cab I had was a real old one that smelled like someone’s just tossed his cookies in it. I always get those vomity kind of cabs if I go anywhere late at night. What made it worse, it was so quiet and lonesome out, even though it was Saturday night. I didn’t see hardly anybody on the street. Now and then you just saw a man and a girl crossing a street, with the arms around each other’s waist and all, or a bunch of hoodlumy-looking guys and their dates, all of them laughing like hyenas at something you could bet wasn’t funny. New York’s terrible when
somebody laughs on the street very late at night. You can hear it for miles. It makes you feel so lonesome and depressed. ---J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

1. What point of view is this paragraph told in? How do you know?

2. What makes the character feel so lonesome and depressed?

3. Imagine the narrator is cheerful and in a good mood. He is taking the cab at night to visit some friends in New York. Rewrite the passage and describe what the character feels and thinks.

Answer 1

1. The POV is first person, because the narrator says ‘I’ when speaking about themself

2. When someone laughs on the street late at night you can hear it for miles, and usually if you’re able to hear it that means you’re not doing something exactly enjoyable?

3. I’m not too sure about this one, but I did some:

The cab I had was a little old but smelled like someone’s just wiped down the leather. I rarely get those fragrant kind of cabs if I go anywhere late at night. It was so quiet out, though hardly lonesome. There weren’t many people out on the street because most everyone was staying in with loved ones and relaxing. Now and then you just saw a boy and a girl crossing a street, with the arms around each other’s waist and all, or a bunch of energetic looking guys and their dates, all of them laughing like birds in the morning at something clever that had been said. New York’s amazing when someone laughs on the street very late at night. You can hear it for miles. It makes you feel like you’re not alone at all.