The Catcher in the Rye Characters

Holden and the Rest of the WorldHolden is everybody's favorite judgmental cynic. He also has a bit of a problem: he's completely alone and he knows it – we stopped count at about 22 when we t...

Holden talks his sister up to no end. She's the smartest kid ever, he assures us, as well as a great dancer, emotional, and funny. She always knows what you're talking about. She can tell the diffe...

Holden's digression into Allie's baseball mitt is a fantastic example of how narration works in The Catcher in the Rye. It all starts when Holden agrees to write an English composition for his room...

D.B. is Holden's older brother is a screenwriter in Hollywood. He used to write great stories – so great, in fact, that Holden credits him (twice) with being his favorite writer. D.B. is the...

Sex is complicated. But for Holden, and specifically for Holden's relationship with Jane, it's really complicated. We talk in Holden's "Character Analysis" about how he can't imagine getting too se...

Sally is like a lot of girls for Holden. Sure, she's attractive, but ultimately she's kind of shallow. Holden is lonely and want physical affection, and this means he puts up with matinees and ice...

Let's just cut right to the chase. Does Mr. Antolini come on to Holden? The answer is…it's not clear. But you can argue either way.There are definitely some hints that something is up here. W...

Mr. Spencer is old. And aesthetically displeasing. Holden doesn't really get past that, which means that we don't really get to, either. We're bombarded with images of white, hairless legs, a ratty...

Believe it or not, Holden devotes significant text time to telling us about Stradlater. He's an athlete, he's handsome, girls really go for him, he's got a nice body, he's always walking around in...

Ackley is dirty, pimply, and all-around unhygienic. Holden really doesn't like this guy. He's annoying. He'll come into your room and pick up your personal stuff and put it back in the wrong place....

The nuns are yet another example of a minor character (or in this case, a set of minor characters) that exist only to tell us about Holden. We don't know enough about the nuns to analyze them as ch...

In Chapter Nineteen, Holden admits that the main reason he called his childhood friend Carl Luce, besides wanting some company, is that old Luce was always good for a sex talk. Apparently, that's a...

Holden misses Maurice. Let's just start with that. Maurice is an angry pimp who prostitutes out a young girl, steals five dollars, and punches Holden in the stomach. And then Holden misses him. Wha...

Sunny is supposed to be the first girl Holden ever has sex with. At least, he thinks so at first. It's not that he needs sex, he says, but he should really get some practice in case he's ever marri...

The headmaster of Pencey Prep. Clearly a phony.

The headmaster's daughter. Clearly knows her father is a phony jerk. Wears "falsies."

The rich alumnus that made all his money from inexpensive funeral parlors. Gives boring speeches about applying oneself and praying. (Check out "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory" for more on Ossenburger.)

Robert Ackley's roommate, who never makes an appearance.

The Pencey boy that "laid [a] terrific fart" during Ossenburger's big speech, making the event worth attending.

The basketball coach. He lends Stradlater his car for dates.

A "friend" of Holden's at Pencey. On the wrestling team. He goes to the movies with Holden and (begrudgingly) Ackley.

The janitor's wife.

A guy at Pencey. Holden meets his mother on the train.

An attractive woman and a classmate's mother that Holden meets on the train. He spins some entertaining lies for her benefit, including a fake name of "Rudolf" and having a brain tumor. Holden also...

The janitor at Ossenburger Hall that lends his name to Holden's fictional persona on the train away from Pencey.

Sally Hayes's mother. She thinks Holden is "wild" and not a big fan of him going out with her daughter. In Holden's opinion, she would use collection money to go out for a swanky lunch.

A "friend" of Eddie Birdsell. Not exactly loose, but she doesn't mind doing it once in a while.

A Princeton guy Holden met at party.

The attractive blonde that Holden dances with in the Lavender Room. She's a lousy conversationalist, but a terrific dancer.

Mr. Spencer's wife.

One of Bernice's unattractive friends.

Bernice's unattractive friend.

Jane's alcoholic stepfather. He may or may not have "tried something" with Jane, but regardless, he's not a nice guy. He also walks around the house naked.

Cab driver #2 for Holden. He's not as concerned with the ducks as he is with the fishes, which he knows open their pores while frozen in place in the lake to get nutrients. Quite a character.

The amazing piano player at Ernie's. He takes himself really seriously and bows after he plays, which Holden finds disgusting.

Guy that Holden sees at Ernie's. This guy gives his date a feel under the table while telling her about a guy that committed suicide.

Lillian's date. This guy doesn't really like Lillian, but is probably with her for her "big knockers."

A guy at the Whooton School that Holden got drunk with in the chapel.

A childhood friend of Holden and participant in the famous "Allie, go get your bike and meet me in front of Bobby's house" scenario.

A Quaker whom Holden knew at the Whooton School, who, unlike Holden, was a fan of the disciples.

Holden's very short-term roommate at Elkton Hills. Dick was the owner of some very inexpensive suitcases.

One of Holden's elementary school teachers. She "never got sore," which is a nice quality for teachers to have.

Holden's side-by-side partner for the walk through the museum. Gertrude always wanted to hold (sticky) hands.

A big bore from Elkton Hills, but the greatest whistler ever.

The phony guy that Sally talks to at the matinee. George is a big social climber who went to Andover.

A guy that Jane Gallagher dated once. She said he had an inferiority complex.

Bob Robinson has an inferiority complex, according to Holden, but girls think he's simply arrogant.

The girl who thinks Bob Robinson is arrogant.

Two French entertainers at the Wicker Bar at the swanky Seton Hotel.

The sexy woman who performs after Tina and Janine at the Wicker Bar.

The regular elevator boy. Thankfully AWOL when Holden goes home.

Holden's neighbors.

A boy at Elkton Hills that killed himself while wearing Holden's turtleneck sweater. See "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory" for more.

A friend of Phoebe's at school who showed her how to belch.

Mr. Antolini's wife. Mrs. Antolini is old, not too attractive, wealthy. (For more, check out Mr. Antolini's "Character Analysis").

One of Holden's classmates in Oral Expression class. He's a spinner of fantastic digressions that entertained Holden but didn't go over so well with the instructor.

Mr. Vinson is Holden's Oral Expression teacher. According to Holden, he's "very intelligent and all, but you could tell he didn't have too much brains."