Jan 2, 2010

The Catcher in the Rye | Character Analysis

Holden Caulfield
The first-person narrator of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is the sixteen-year-old son of wealthy New York parents. His defining characteristic is his hatred of "phoniness" in every sphere of life. In fact, the prevalence of phonies in academia is one reason why Holden has just flunked out of his third prep school, Pencey, when the novel opens. Despite emerging as a great iconoclastic rebel, Holden also lacks direction, and that is reflected in his three days of wandering around New York.

Holden yearns for...