Holden Caulfield Character Description

The main character of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield. As both the protagonist and narrator of the story, he is vital to all aspects of the novel. In the novel, Holden is on the verge of becoming an adult, but he clings to his childhood, and does not want to grow up and become a phony. By trying to remain a kid, Holden often acts out and is very immature. The reader can see Holden's immaturity in his lack of interest in anything, and how he does not apply himself at all. For example, at the beginning of the novel Holden is packing up his things because he has been kicked out of his boarding school (Salinger 6). The reader soon finds that this is not the first boarding school that Holden has been kicked out of, and that he failed all of his classes besides English (Salinger 6). Another sign of immaturity in Holden is his plan at the end of the novel to leave and go live where no one knows him (Salinger 258). He is trying to run away from all of his problems, but running will not fix anything for Holden. Despite Holden's immature ways, the reader cannot but help to sympathize with him. Many people feel what Holden feels about growing up. He just wants some things to stay the same and thinks, "Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and leave them alone." (Salinger158). It sometimes seems that life moves too fast, and it would be nice to just stop and let nothing change. Yet, the reader can see the consequences Holden faces in trying to stop changing and evolving, while everyone else around him keeps shifting with life. Holden begins to feel all alone in the world, but at the same time thinks everyone is a phony and does not want to interact with anyone. This contradiction may contribute to Holden's mental breakdown at the end of the novel (Salinger 276). He wants to be with other people, yet he also despises them.

Bibliography:Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.