It is telling that, other than Jesus, Holden’s favorite character in the Bible is “that lunatic and all, that lived in the tombs and kept cutting himself with stones.” He refers to Mark 5: 1–20, in which Jesus meets the troubled soul whose “name is Legion: for we are many.” Holden himself is a troubled soul and, like the man from the tombs, resists being tamed. Recall that he tells us his story from a mental health clinic or sanitarium in California. It is little wonder that Holden identifies with the madman. Holden, too, is one of the legion, one of the many.
Sunny and Maurice interrupt Holden’s spiritual musings. They want the other five dollars they say Holden owes them. Holden struggles but is no match for the bigger, stronger, meaner Maurice. As if he has learned nothing from his fight with Stradlater, Holden also calls Maurice a “moron” and is doubled over by a blow to the belly. Sunny takes the five dollars from Holden’s wallet, and she and Maurice leave with the money. Holden vamps into a tough guy fantasy in which he has been shot and seeks revenge. He doesn’t really feel very tough though. Instead, he feels like committing suicide.
