Holden Caulfield: Holden Caulfield is the main character in this novel. Holden gets kicked out of another school, Pencey, and decides not to tell his parents just yet. Holden tells his story straight to the reader about how he came to live in "this crumby place" as Holden calls it. Holden is greatly opinionated and hates the superficial phonies. Holden really dislikes superficial people and he makes that clear when telling his story. He is very intelligent although he flunked out of a few schools. He just does not like to try in school because he thinks it is pointless to. Once Holden gets away from his school, he begins his short journey of emotionally and mentally breaking down. Holden tries to connect with many people but usually does not end up liking them or thinks that they are just plain old phonies. Holden does not seem to like very many people, but always thinks about certain people. He is very fond of a girl he used to spend time with named Jane Gallagher. He does not end up seeing her in the novel, but he seems to truly like her. Holden's other favorite person to be with is his intelligent younger sister Phoebe. Phoebe and Holden connect very well and Holden values her opinion very much. However, she does not fill the void that Holden needs. Holden eventually ends up going slightly insane because he has nobody to connect with. Holden also does not to well with sexuality because he seems like he does not want to grow up. Holden is very immature and runs from his problems. Holden often gets angry when somebody does not do what he wants. He also seems to want to have the innocence of childhood back into his life, but he is stuck in the superficial adult world. In the final pages, the reader learns that Holden will probably be okay and will try to make due with his strange life.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 2001. Print.
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