Building More on Biltmore

Chapter: 15

"And I certainly didn't feel like going to another hotel and getting my brains beat out. So what I did, I told the driver to take me to Grand Central Station. It was right near the Biltmore, where I was meeting Sally later, and I figured out what I'd do, I'd check my bags in one of those strong boxes that they give you a key to, then get some breakfast. I was sort of hungry." --Holden Caulfield, from The Catcher in the Rye (Page 107).

In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield agrees to meet Sally Hayes at Biltmore Hotel for a matinee. Biltmore Hotel is across from The Grand Central Station; it's one of the four hotels built around Grand Central Station. Gustav Braumann opened the hotel on January 31, 1913. However, this building is no longer in existence, it has been replaced by the Bank of America Plaza. The kissing room was a famous place for couples to meet. Biltmore was also well-known because of it's restaurants. Biltmore also held the first indoor sauna and swimming pool. Biltmore was a luxury hotel during its fame. Biltmore is an allusion referenced in The Catcher in the Rye. Holden had many choices of where he could go and what he could do at Biltmore. I think that's one of the hotel's specialties. J.D Salinger uses Biltmore as an allusion because in the beginning of book Holden says flatly, "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all...but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." (Page 1) So allusions are one of J.D. Salinger's ways of giving us a relative time period. As far as allusions, J.D. Salinger uses a lot of them, and Biltmore is one that some of you may have skipped over. Why do you think J.D. Salinger uses so many allusions verses just a few of them? Why or why not would you think Biltmore is an important allusion? Explain.