Why does Holden want to run away with Sally now instead of after college?

• A. He believes his feelings are fleeting and wants to act on them now.
• B. He wants to escape phoniness by marrying now.
• C. He believes his emotions will last and postpone.
• D. He plans to study after college.

Answer: (A)

Holden is testing a moment-to-moment way of thinking: he acts on a strong, immediate emotion rather than planning for the long term. In this scene, he clings to the idea that his intense feelings for Sally won’t last, so the only sensible thing, in his view, is to act now and run away with her instead of waiting until after college. That urgency—feeling that the moment will fade if he doesn’t seize it right away—drives the impulse to marry or disappear now.

Seeing it this way helps explain why the option about his feelings being fleeting is the best fit. The other ideas miss that core impulse: waiting until after college would contradict his belief that the emotion is temporary, and studying later isn’t what motivates the impulse. While escaping phoniness is part of Holden’s motivation in general, the decisive factor for acting immediately is the belief that his emotions won’t last.