Why does Holden leave Ernie's?

• A. He leaves to avoid a confrontation.
• B. He leaves because the music was too loud.
• C. He leaves to go to a bar down the street.
• D. Holden leaves Ernie's because he saw D.B's ex girlfriend, Lillian Simmons. He thought that she was a phony because he assumed she was just talking to him so Holden would tell D.B. that he saw her. He thinks that Lillian is pretentious by standing in the middle of the walkway.

Answer: (D)

This question tests Holden’s sensitivity to phoniness and his habit of leaving social situations that feel fake. When he sees Lillian Simmons, D.B.’s ex-girlfriend, at Ernie’s, he immediately reads her as trying to put on a show and to get a message to D.B. She seems pretentious, even standing in the walkway to be noticed. Holden’s reaction isn’t about noise or a plan to move somewhere else; it’s about recognizing a fake, performative moment and choosing to walk away rather than participate in it. The other reasons don’t fit the scene because the departure isn’t sparked by loud music, a desire to go to another bar, or a confrontation; it’s driven by his judgment of Lillian as phony and his wish to avoid that awkward social dynamic.