The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J. D. Salinger.

Character List

• Holden Caulfield. The protagonist and narrator of the story, Holden is a troubled, antisocial 16-year-old boy.
• Phoebe Caulfield. Phoebe is Holden's younger sister whom, in Holden's eyes, has retained her innocence. However, she can be even more mature than he, at times criticizing him for his childishness.
• Allie Caulfield. Allie is Holden's deceased younger brother and possibly the root of Holden's turbulent maturation process.
• D. B. Caulfield. D.B. is Holden's older brother who has become a successful screenwriter in Hollywood. Although Holden enjoys his stories, he regards him as a phony for "selling out".
• Robert Ackley. Ackley occupies the room adjacent to Holden's at Pencey Prep, and Holden portrays him as "pimply" social outcast and a generally obnoxious person.
• Jane Gallagher. Jane does not appear in the novel, but Holden thinks of her frequently as one of the few girls he had felt truly intimate with.
• Ward Stradlater. Stradlater is Holden's popular roommate, and one of the few sexually active boys at Pencey Prep. Holden is infuriated by his date with Jane and provokes a violent encounter with him.
• Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer was Holden's History teacher at Pencey. He feels guilty for failing Holden, and he unsuccessfully attempts to make Holden understand the "game of life".
• Mr. Antolini. Antolini was Holden's English teacher at Elkton Hills, another school he attended before, who Holden seeks for guidance. Like Mr. Spencer, he too tries to make Holden understand maturity and he almost reaches him, but Holden fears that Mr. Antolini may be making homosexual advances and flees from his apartment.
• Carl Luce. Carl is a student at Columbia University that Holden knows from Whooton, a school he once attended. Holden meets up with him at a bar and is anxious to discuss sex, but his childish and irritating behavior causes Carl to leave.
• Sally Hayes. Sally is a girl that Holden asks out on a date, but ultimately he ruins the affair by calling her a "pain in the ass" in frustration and then later phoning her house while intoxicated.
• George Andover. George Andover is a close friend of Sally Hayes. Sally and George accidentally meet at a theater, while Holden is on a date with Sally. Holden becomes increasingly bitter towards George while George and Sally have conversations during the intermissions.
• Maurice. Maurice is the elevator operator at the Edmont Hotel who procures a prostitute for Holden, and then later barges into Holden's hotel room and forces him to pay more than agreed upon.
• Sunny. Sunny is the young prostitute Holden hires through Maurice; he is uncomfortable with the prospect of sex with her, and she leaves.
• Ossenberger. Ossenberger is a graduate of Pencey Prep who has become very rich since he left. He started an undertaking business where he would take a dead body away for just five dollars. Holden sarcastically claims that Ossenberger probably just wraps the bodies up in bags and throws them in a river.
• Ernest Morrow. Holden meets Mrs. Morrow, Ernest's mother, on a train to New York, and has a conversation with her. Holden describes Ernest to the reader as one of the biggest jerks he's ever met, but tells his mother that Ernest is kind, sensitive, shy, and smart.
• Anne Louise Sherman. Anne Louise Sherman is one of Holden's ex-girlfriends.
• Valencia. Valencia is a dancer at a The Wicker Bar. Holden tries to make an advance on her, but he is ignored.
• Faith Cavendish. Holden is told that Faith Cavendish gives up sex to anyone very easily, and therefore decides to call her in New York while he is bored and aroused. They have a phone conversation, but she tells Holden that she cannot go out on a date that night, so Holden gives up on her.
• Eddie Birdsell. Birdsell, who attends Princeton, is the person that tells Holden that Faith Cavendish is "easy." Holden met him once at a party, but otherwise knows nothing about him.
• Ernie. Ernie is a very skilled piano player at a bar in New York. Holden believes that Ernie is a "phony" because he is very good at his job and gladly accepts all the positive praise that he receives.
• Horwitz. Horwitz is a cab driver that picks up Holden. They have a conversation about where ducks go in winter (a predominant symbol in the novel).
• Lillian Simmons. Lillian Simmons is an old friend of D.B. Caulfield, whom Holden runs into at a bar that the three of them used to visit often. Holden regards her as a phony.
• Hazle Weatherfield. Hazle Weatherfield is a recurring character in stories made up by Phoebe Caulfield.
• Rudolf Schmidt. Rudolf Schmidt is the janitor on Holden's floor in Pencey Prep. Holden uses Rudolf's name as his own, as a false identity when he meets Mrs. Morrow.
• Jim Steele. This is another false identity used by Holden. This alias is made up.
• Arthur Childs. While at Whooton, Holden meets Arthur Childs. The two share an interest in tennis, and converse about the sport. Eventually Arthur alters the conversation to where the nearest Catholic Church is located, thus souring their relationship for Holden.
• James Castle. James Castle commits suicide while Holden is attending Whooton. Holden is taking a shower when he hears Castle fall. Holden assumes that it was a TV or a radio, but heads downstairs and finds Castle's bloody corpse on the pavement as well as observers gathered around it. Mr. Antolini is the only person at the whole scene who comes near Castle's body. Antolini checks Castle's pulse, then puts his coat over Castle, and carries the dead body to the infirmary.
• Phil Stabile. Phil Stabile is responsible for James Castle's suicide. James Castle had said something about Stabile, and Stabile responded by gathering some friends to go lynch Castle. When they break into his room, Castle refuses to take back his comment, and ends up jumping out of the dorm room window. Stabile is expelled for the death, but receives no further punishment.
• Ed Banky. Ed Banky is the baseball coach at Pencey who frequently lends his car to students so they can have sex.
• Fredrick Woodruff. Fredrick buys Holden's 90-dollar typewriter for $20 as Holden leaves Pencey.
• Mal Brossard. Mal is an acquaintance of Holden's. Holden and Ackley go to see a movie with Mal on Holden's last night at Pencey.
• Mr. Haas. Mr. Haas is headmaster at Elkton Hills. Holden remembers him as a big phony, because he would not talk to parents who were "funny-looking" at open houses.
• Dr. Thurmer. Dr. Thurmer is the headmaster at Pencey Prep. Tells Holden that life's a game.
• Selma Thurmer. Selma Thurmer is the daughter of the headmaster of Pencey Prep. She goes to Pencey's football games often and had a conversation with Holden on a bus from Agerstown.