The names, “Sunny” and “Jim Steele,” are ironic; neither name fits the person. Freudian critics delight in analyzing their significance. Remember that Salinger’s boyhood nickname was “Sonny.” What kind of Freudian slip has Salinger made by naming the prostitute “Sunny”? What has he revealed about himself? “Steele,” some critics suggest, is a strained attempt at phallic superiority.
Holden needs a way out of this “big mess.” He promptly decides that an elaborate lie is best. He claims that he recently had surgery on his “clavichord,” which Holden may or may not know is an old musical keyboard instrument. He tells Sunny that the clavichord is located “quite a ways down in the spinal canal.” Sunny’s response is to come on stronger. She sits on his lap and says he is cute. She says he reminds her of some guy in the movies. Then she starts talking crudely, and Holden ends the session. Sunny says her fee is ten dollars, but Holden insists on paying her only the five that Maurice mentioned. He fetches her dress from the closet, and she leaves. Sunny again reminds us of a child as her parting curse is to call Holden a “crumb-bum.”
