Allie's Baseball Mitt

Whenwrites an
essay about 's glove for his roommate,  Stradlater is furious with him.  Why does he write about
the glove?  The assignment was to describe an object or a room, and  Holden writes about an
object that is important to HIM with little regard as to whether or not Stradlater will
appreciate it.  In fact, he probably knows that Stradlater will NOT.  This choice prepares the
reader for several things:  1) Holden is "different" or at the very least, he feels
"different" than others his age.  2)  Allie is a very important person to Holden and
he probably has not grieved sufficiently for hi.  He "needs" to write about the
glove.