Catcher In The Rye

"Catcher In The Rye"

Character Analysis

Holden Caulfield

(Physical Description)

Holden Caulfield is six foot two inches tall. Holden is tall, thin, and awkwardly built. He has dark brown/black hair. He has a streak of grey that also contributes to the fact that he looks older then he really is. He is 16 years old but looks a lot older than his age. For instance, Holden went down to the lavender room flirts with three women in their thirties, who seem to be from out of town. Holden danced with them and felt that he was "half in love" with the blonde after watching her dance.

(Personality)

Holden makes it clear that he is undergoing treatment in a mental hospital. So clearly his personality at times is erratic. He also shows compassion and at the end of the story possible change. After buying his sister a ticket to ride the carousel that he is close to tears. That shows that at time he does have a good heart. He thinks that sex should happen between people who care deeply about and respect one another but he also realizes that sex can be casual. That is why he was infuriated when he found out about Stradlater's date with Jane. Holden also shows that he has a good heart. On the train to New York, Holden saw the mother one of the Pencey students. He has no respect for the kid and thinks he is a "bastard", but tells her how well respected her son is at school.

(Reacts To Conflict)

Holden reacts to conflict in a normal way for any teenager. He simply tries to avoid it or run away from it. An example would be when Holden awoke to find Mr. Antolini stroking his forehead. He thought that Mr. Antolini was making homosexual gestures so, Holden excused himself and left to go sleep on a bench at Grand Central Station. He just simply ran away from that situation he was in. He also reacts to some weird situations indifferently like when the elevator operator (Maurice) at the Edmont, offers to send a prostitute to Holden's room for five dollars. He told Maurice yes, I mean that is something rather peculiar. Some random person saying something like that then you going along with it.

(Strong or Weak)

Based on how Holden reacted to some of his conflicts I see him to be a weak character. For example, the elevator operator (Maurice) at the Edmont, offered to send a prostitute to Holden's room for five dollars. Although he agrees to it when she shows up at the door and starts to undress he starts to feel weird. So he tries to make conversation with her but that fails. So he tells her that he recently had a spinal operation and hasn't recovered enough to engage in sex with her. Holden offers to pay her anyway. While she sits on his lap and begins to talk dirty to him. Holden still insists on paying her five dollars and showing her out. The prostitute returns with Maurice, who demands another five dollars from Holden. Holden refuses to pay so Maurice punches him in the stomach and leaves him on the floor, while the prostitute takes five dollars from his wallet. Holden did not even fight back at all, that shows me that he is a weak character and lets someone rob him, which is something someone weak would do.

(Protagonist and Antagonist)

The protagonist of the story is Holden Caulfield. The antagonist is also Holden Caulfield which is weird because usually they are two different people.

(Plot Analysis)

The beginning of the story takes place on the last day of classes. Holden has come to learn that he has failed four out of five of his classes. He has also received notice that he is being expelled. Holden has already been to three other schools and has been expelled from all of them. He is also not scheduled to return home until Wednesday.

(Rising Action)

Holden is back at his dorm and is irritated by his dirty neighbor Ackley, and his own roommate Stradlater. Holden comes to find that Stradlater is spending the evening on a date with Jane Gallagher. A girl that Holden used to date and a girl he still likes a lot. Holden seems to become extremely nervous about Stradlater taking Jane out. When Stradlater returns to the dorm Holden questions him insistently about if he tried to have sex with her. Knowing now that Holden is so sensitive about the issue, Stradlater starts to tease Holden. Holden then gets extremely angry and fly's into a panic and attacks Stradlater. Stradlater then holds Holden down and give Holden a bloody nose. Holden then decides that he's had enough of Pencey