CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Bethany:

Holden

The novel the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is written in the perspective of Holden Caulfield. Holden is portrayed as the ultimate protagonist in the novel. He is initially portrayed as an irresponsible slacker that struggles with taking ownership. “I left all the foils and equipment…on the goddam subway. It wasn’t all my fault.” (Salinger 6) demonstrates his irresponsibility because he ‘left all the foils and equipment’ when it was his most important job to perform. His struggle to accept ownership is also displayed as he states that it “wasn’t all [his] fault” because he was also doing something else.

He does not seem to be centered on his thoughts. For example, he writes about Ackley as if he is annoying one minute, then tolerable the next. “”No, you don’t. I’ve seen you, and you don’t,” I said…I felt sort of sorry for him, in a way.” (Salinger 32) demonstrates his contradictory feelings towards Ackley. He doesn’t seem to be able to stay consistent in his words.

At the same time, Holden is also very decisive. Many decisions were made in a fairly short amount of time. For example, “All of a sudden, I decided what I’d really do, I’d get the hell out of Pencey—right that same night and all.” (Salinger 66) demonstrates Holden’s hasty decisions. “What did I do, I gave old Sally Hayes a buzz.” (Salinger 137) is another example of this. This quote sparked the beginning of a very hasty and spontaneous adventure with Sally Hayes.

He also shows a bit of cowardice within his actions. Two demonstrations of this trait include when Holden left Pencey Prep and when he left Sally all alone at the skating rink restaurant.

Holden Caulfield is quite an intricate character that has been provided with a detailed personality by J.D. Salinger.

Sally

Sally is one of Holden's many old friends. Holden used to fool around with a lot of girls when he was younger and Sally is one of them. She seems to have a very close relationship with him. She is artistic, yet spontaneous and absent-minded. Her artistic features show when she exclaims "The Lunts! Oh, marvelous!" (Salinger 162) in reply to finding out who they were going to see. Holden also that she "would start drooling all over the place when I told her I had tickets for that." (Salinger 152). An example of her spontaneity is when she said "Let's go ice-skating at Radio City!" (Salinger 167) suddenly before the show ended. This displays her willingness to do anything at any given time. Holden then follows her lead by suggesting that they suddenly get up and leave everyone they know.

Her absent-mindedness is ultimately what drove Holden to snapping at her. Throughout the entire date, it was obvious that her mind was constantly in the stars. For instance, when there was a brief silence in the conversation, Sally randomly asked "Are you or aren't you come over to help me trim the tree Christmas Eve?" (Salinger 168) which was peculiar because the last thing they talked about was getting a drink. Shortly after this, she began to look around the room at various people. She simply did not seem interested in whatever Holden had to say.

Sally, similar to Holden, is short-tempered. When Holden brings up the topic of school and calls it useless, Sally retaliates by arguing "Now listen...Lots of boys get more out of schhol than that" (Salinger 170) She seemed to have gotten very sensitive about the topic very quickly after Holden stated his opinion.

Melissa:

Holden

Holden is the protagonist. He reveals himself as a troublemaker and a liar. “I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life,” (Salinger 22). Throughout chapters 3-8, readers would be able to conclude that Holden is also confident, carefree, but childish and stubborn at the same time. “I didn’t even bother to listen to him. I shut the damn door and went out in the corridor,” (Salinger 66). He often talks smack about his roommate, Stradlater, and the student who lives next door, Ackley. However, Holden ends up complimenting them many times as well. His childish side receives plenty of attention as he teases Ackley or messes around with Stradlater. “All of a sudden - . . . I was sort of in the mood for horsing around – I felt like jumping off the washbowl and getting old Stradlater in a half nelson,” (Salinger 39). This silly behavior and overly-confident thinking causes Holden to be impulsive. Being impulsive has just as many positive effects and it has negative effects. “All of a sudden, I decided what I’d really do, I’d get the hell out of Pencey – right that same night and all,” (Salinger 66). Holden ends up leaving Pencey without clearly thinking about the possible consequences.

Ackley

Ackley is a student that lives in the room next to Holden. The way Holden describes Ackley gives the readers a negative impression on his character. “And not only that, he [Ackley] had a terrible personality. He was sort of the nasty guy. I wasn’t too crazy about him to tell you the truth,” (Salinger 26). From what the readers know about Ackley, he is a religious slob who has bad teeth and lots of acne. Whenever Ackley makes an appearance in the novel, all he really does is pop his pimples. “The reason I asked was because Ackley never did anything on Saturday night, except stay in his room and squeeze his pimples or something,” (Salinger 47). Although Ackley is a slob, he liked to make sure that his faith in kept intact. “I don’t care what you say about me or anything, but if you start making cracks about my goddamn religion, for Chrissake –“ (Salinger 65). This quotation also reveals that Ackley can get a little aggressively defensive sometimes.

Stradlater

Stradlater is Holden’s roommate. He is similar to Ackley in the sense that they are both slobs. However, Holden describes Stradlater as a “secret slob” (Salinger 35) and Stradlater does not like Ackley at all. Many boys at Pencey like to boast about their sexual experiences whenever they can. Holden says that Stradlater is different than the other boys because he knows that Stradlater actually had a sexual life. “Only very sexy stuff interested him [Stradlater],” (Salinger 42). Holden often writes negative things about Stradlater one minute but then gives him a heartfelt compliment the next. He describes Stradlater as a very handsome moron who “spent half his goddam life in front of the mirror,” (Salinger 43). Although Stradlater looked like he was neat and tidy, Holden would say otherwise. Stradlater did not keep his hygienic supplies sanitary. “It [Stradlater’s razor] was always nasty as hell and full of lather and hairs and crap,” (Salinger 35). This is why Holden stresses how Stradlater is such a secret slob.

Amarjot:

Holden Caulfield

Holden Caulfield is the protagonist in the novel The Catcher in the Rye who we meet very early on in the novel. At first Caulfield is depicted as a troubled and disengaged teen, who’s been out of many schools and just flunked his way out of another. He attempts to look very tough and is very indecisive. Also early on in the novel we discover that he is very irresponsible, “I left all the foils and the equipment and stuff on the subway.” (Salinger 6) This shows how Caulfield is very irresponsible and gets distracted very frequently, which is a reason the foils were left on the subway. However as we move throughout the novel we begin to notice there is more of a vulnerable side to Caulfield or “yellow” as he calls it. “Only, I wouldn’t have the guys to do it. I’d just stand there, trying to look tough.” (Salinger 116) Not only this quotation but at one point in the novel Caulfield talks to his departed brother also revealing his vulnerable side because mostly we this “tough guy” that Caulfield try’s to portray himself as. Holden has not really set himself any goals or motives, “…I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all.” (Salinger 6) This shows how Caulfield really did not set any goals for himself he did not apply himself leaving him disengaged. Holden is reserved and does not deal with his problems, instead he runs way avoiding his problems by underage drinking at bars, or hanging at clubs with women. When he knew he was going to be kicked out of Pencey High he decided to leave rather than waiting till Wednesday to see his mother’s reaction. “I’d get the hell out of Pencey- right the same night and all.” (Salinger 66) This is an example of Caulfield running away from his problems rather than dealing with them. Overall based on Caulfield’s character I believe he will not get too far with his behaviour and attitude towards things. It seems that Caulfield will manage to get himself in bigger conflicts since due to his attitude and actions towards situations.

Allie Caulfield

Allie Caulfield is another influential character within my section of the novel. However this character is not brought up a lot in my section but enough to be an influential character. Allie is Holden’s younger brother who passed away at a young age from leukemia, however Holden does acknowledge Allie’s presence and shows a bond between both of them. Even though Allie has passed we can see that he plays a role of consoling Holden in a way because when Holden is upset he always “talks” to Allie or Allie’s spirit. Since Allie has passed, he does not really have goals or motives but for Holden, Allie plays a big role since he’s so reserved Holden only talks to Allie when he is upset. ”What I did, I started talking out loud, to Allie.” (Salinger 129) This shows how Allie was a big part of Holden’s life. We also learn that Allie before he passed had a baseball glove with all sorts of poems written on it to keep himself busy at games. “…he had poems written all over the fingers and the pocket...” (Salinger 49) We also learn that Allie was a poetic and creative individual because he used to write poems which require a lot of creativity. Throughout the novel I am predicting that Allie will play a bigger role in Holden’s life because so far it seems that Holden’s character will get himself in more trouble and conflicts. Also hopefully throughout the novel we will get more of an insight towards Allie and his life.

Anita:

The three most influential characters in my section of the novel were Holden Caulfield, Phoebe Caulfield and Allie Caulfield.

Holden Caulfield

Holden Caulfield is the protagonist of the Catcher in the Rye, the novel is based on flashbacks of Holden’s life. At this point in the novel, Holden has been through a lot on his own in the past 48 hours, yet the story continues on. Holden is one of the most influential characters in my section because he is able to identify with the readers through his thoughts about the world. It is clear that Holden is depressed because not only does he mention that he is depressed several times, but it is noticeable when he speaks about the loss of his younger brother, Allie. Specifically, Holden says “And I think I was more depressed than I ever was in my whole life.” (Salinger, 252) His state of mind and overall look on life has been greatly shaped by his brother’s death. Seventeen year old, Holden Caulfield loves to shun the world of adults and all of its phoniness. Hid mind is increasingly preoccupied by his childhood.

One of the most important quotes throughout the whole novel is said by Holden; “And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.” (Salinger, 224-225) This is where the name of the book comes from, it’s metaphorical to Holden. Caulfield relates to this poem, “If a body meet a body in the rye” written by Robert Burns in which he mishears the lyrics as “If a body catch a body in the rye.” Holden speaks to Phoebe, his sister about what he would like to become if he had a choice. He says “I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going. I have to come out from somewhere and catch them.” The rye field symbolizes childhood because since the rye is so high, the children would not be able to see therefore falling over just like how children are not able to see past their childhood. Holden sits in the middle of the rye field, and the cliff of adulthood, he wants to protect the children from going into the dreadful world of adulthood. He wants to be the “catcher in the rye.” By “catching” the falling children he is able to protect them from the fall of innocence and into the world which he had to endure alone.

Phoebe Caulfield

Phoebe Caulfield is the ten year old sister of Holden, she plays a significant role in my section because she is really the only person alive who Holden trusts and values more than anyone he’s ever met. She is energetic, mature, and is not afraid to speak her mind. It is clear that Phoebe is much more mature than Holden is because she challenges his views in life such as when she and Holden go into depths about how Holden never likes anything, and is always flunking out of school. She understands something that Holden never quite did, growing up; it’s a process in which you have to deal with. Being six years younger than him, she does not fit in Holden’s romanticized world of childhood. Holden talks about Phoebe’s excitement and how it “kills him”, he seems to be a lot more happier around her. It’s shown in the end of chapter 25 when they are at the zoo. Holden is watching Phoebe have the time of her life on the carousel and it begins to rain, he says “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around, I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth.” (Salinger, 275)

Towards the end of the book, Phoebe realizes that Holden’s hatred toward the world is reflected upon his hatred for himself. She sees that he is in desperate need of help, he’s not happy. Phoebe’s determined to go with Holden to the West, where he had planned to go after his final meeting with her. Both Holden and Phoebe come to the realization that he needs her more than she needs him.

Allie Caulfield

Allie Caulfield was Holden’s eleven year older brother, but unfortunately passed away in 1946. Allie’s death has definitely impacted and tormented Holden’s childhood. Holden speaks highly of him such as when Phoebe and Holden were fighting about Holden’s future, and he says “Just because somebody’s dead, you don’t just stop liking them, for God’s sake – especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that’re alive and all.” (Salinger, 222-223) Allie is really mentioned about twice in my section of the novel, yet he plays such a significant part of Holden’s mentality. Holden prays out to Allie to protect him when he felt unsafe in chapter 25, he says "Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Please, Allie." (Salinger, 257) Holden felt as if every time he tried to walk across the street, he would disappear into the face of the earth, but by repeating “Allie, don’t let me disappear” it helped him through his time of need. Holden has only reached out for help one time, and that was to Allie. The way Holden talks about Allie shows that their relationship was close, and special to Holden.