Catcher in the Rye Character List
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Created by:
CassieWhite95 on October 10, 2011
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Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Holden Caulfield | The protagonist and narrator of the novel |
| Allie Caulfield | Holden's younger brother. Allie dies of leukemia three years before the start of the novel. Allie was a brilliant, friendly, red-headed boy—according to Holden, he was the smartest of the Caulfields. Holden is tormented by Allie's death and carries around a baseball glove on which Allie used to write poems in green ink. |
| D.B. Caulfield | Holden's older brother. D. B. wrote a volume of short stories that Holden admires very much, but Holden feels that D. B. prostitutes his talents by writing for Hollywood movies. |
| Sally Hayes | A very attractive girl whom Holden has known and dated for a long time. Though Sally is well read, Holden claims that she is "stupid," although it is difficult to tell whether this judgment is based in reality or merely in Holden's ambivalence about being sexually attracted to her. She is certainly more conventional than Holden in her tastes and manners. |
| Jane Gallagher | A girl with whom Holden spent a lot of time one summer, when their families stayed in neighboring summer houses in Maine. Jane never actually appears in The Catcher in the Rye, but she is extremely important to Holden, because she is one of the few girls whom he both respects and finds attractive. |
| Stradlater | Holden's roommate at Pencey Prep. Stradlater is handsome, self-satisfied, and popular, but Holden calls him a "secret slob," because he appears well groomed, but his toiletries, such as his razor, are disgustingly unclean. Stradlater is sexually active and quite experienced for a prep school student, which is why Holden also calls him a "sexy bastard." |
| Phoebe Caulfield | Phoebe is Holden's ten-year-old sister, whom he loves dearly. Although she is six years younger than Holden, she listens to what he says and understands him more than most other people do. Phoebe is intelligent, neat, and a wonderful dancer, and her childish innocence is one of Holden's only consistent sources of happiness throughout the novel. At times, she exhibits great maturity and even chastises Holden for his immaturity. Like Mr. Antolini, Phoebe seems to recognize that Holden is his own worst enemy. |
| Maurice | The elevator operator at the Edmont Hotel, who procures a prostitute for Holden. |
| Sunny | The prostitute whom Holden hires through Maurice. She is one of a number of women in the book with whom Holden clumsily attempts to connect; lost her childhood |
| Ackley | Holden's next-door neighbor in his dorm at Pencey Prep. Ackley is a pimply, insecure boy with terrible dental hygiene. He often barges into Holden's room and acts completely oblivious to Holden's hints that he should leave. Holden believes that Ackley makes up elaborate lies about his sexual experience. |
| Mr. Spencer | Holden's history teacher at Pencey Prep, who unsuccessfully tries to shake Holden out of his academic apathy; old and sick |
| Mr. Antolini | Holden's former English teacher at the Elkton Hills School. Mr. Antolini now teaches at New York University. He is young, clever, sympathetic, and likable, and Holden respects him. Holden sometimes finds him a bit too clever, but he looks to him for guidance. Like many characters in the novel, he drinks heavily. |
| Carl Luce | A student at Columbia who was Holden's student advisor at the Whooton School. Luce is three years older than Holden and has a great deal of sexual experience. At Whooton, he was a source of knowledge about sex for the younger boys, and Holden tries to get him to talk about sex at their meeting at the wicker bar; talks about chinese philosophy |
| Dr. Thurmer | The headmaster of Pencey, Dr. Thurmer gives Holden advice that "life is a game" when he expels Holden from the school. |
| Selma Thurmer | headmaster's daughter; unattractive but Holden likes her because she knows her dad is a phony |
| Ossenburger | Holden's dorm was named after him; he made a lot of money by making a cheap burial service; when came to speak at Pencey Prep talked about religion but doesn't really believe it, this makes Holden thinks he is a phony. |
| Herb Gale | Ackley's roommate...aka Ely |
| Edgar Marsalla | Holden's friend at Pency. Let one rip during Ossenburger's speech that " damn near blew the roof off" (17). Thurmer wanted to expel him |
| Ed Banky | The basketball coach at Pency. Stradlater was one of his "pets" so he let Stradlater borrow his car to go on his date with Jane Gallagher (43). |
| Mal Brossard | Holden's friend who was on the wrestling team and didn't mind if Ackley went to the movies with them, but wasn't too crazy about the idea. |
| Mrs. Schmidt | the janitor's wife at Pencey Prep-Holden tells Stradlater to go give her the time since Stradlater takes advantage of every girl he can get-this is after Holden is beat up by Stradlater |
| Ernest Morrow | A classmate of Holden at Pency. Although Holden tells his mother that he is popular but sensitive, in actuality he is "doubtless the biggest bastard that ever went to Pency" and "about as sensitive as a goddam toilet seat"(54). |
| Mrs. Morrow | Ernest Morrow's mother. Attractive woman. Holden meets her on the train from Agerstown to New York City. He lies to her to spare her feelings concerning her son. Holden also tells her that he has a brain tumor (54). |
| Rudolf Schmidt | janitor at Pencey. Holden uses his name as a as his own when he talks to Mrs. Morrow on the train to New York |
| Mrs. Hayes | Sally Hayes' crazy mother. Holden talks to her on the phone when he's drunk. She likes her ass kissed (114). |
| Faith Cavendish | a girl Holden when he went to New York that Eddie Birsell told him about at a party. She's a prostitute but she won't hang out with him because she wants to sleep but she offers for the next day and Holden turns her down. |
| Eddie Birdsell | a student from Princeton that Holden met at a party -- he gave Holden Faith Cavendish's number |
| Bernice | Pretty blonde, older woman whom Holden dances with in the Lavender Room; Holden tries to make conversation, but she doesn't reciprocate; best dancer of the three; she brings up an actor, showing how the movies always ruin Holden's fun and reality |
| Mrs. Spencer | The history professor's wife is known for her kindness and hot chocolate; partially deaf, but hey, she's old |
| Marty | One of the women in the Lavender Room; Holden says dancing with her is like dragging the statue of liberty around the room; tells her he saw Gary Cooper, and thus makes the movies ruin his own fun (b/c all 3 women start obsessing over him) |
| Laverne | One of the women in the Lavender Room; Holden considers her ugly; she keeps on asking to call up his father & if his father has a date (suggests that she would be interested if he were older) |
| Mr. Cudahy | drunkard married to Jane's mom; might have made a pass at Jane; "boozehound" |
| Horwitz | Cab driver #2 for Holden, who takes him to Ernie's. 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. |
| Ernie | Piano player and owner of Ernie's nightclub. Good player but a big phoney (80). |
| Joe Yale-Lookin Guy | 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. |
| The Navy Guy | Lillian's boring date. This guy doesn't really like Lillian, but is probably with her for her "big knockers." |
| Raymond Goldfarb | Holden's friend at the Whooton School. They got drunk together once in chapel. Raymond got very drunk but Holden only got very cool and nonchalant. He did puke, but he forced himself to (90). |
| Bobby Fallon | 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. |
| Arthur Childs | A Quaker whom Holden knew at the Whooton School, who, unlike Holden, was a fan of the disciples. |
| Dick Slagle | Holden's roommate at Elkton Hills; had crappy suitcases; burgeois |
| Miss Aigletinger | Holden's grammar school teacher in New York. She often took the class to the Museum of Natural History. "She never got sore" (120). |
| Gertrude Levine | Holden's partner during excursions to the Museum of Natural History. She liked to hold hands and had sweaty hands (120). |
| Harris Macklin | Holden roomed with him for two months at Elkton Hills. He was a bore with a very raspy voice. But he could whistle great. Holden never told him he thought he was a great whistler (123). |
| George Something | The phony guy that Sally talks to at the matinee. George is a big social climber who went to Andover. |
| Al Pike | is a former boyfriend of Jane Gallagher. Holden decries him as an arrogant student at Choate who presumably suffers from an "inferiority complex."; on the diving team and always showed off |
| Bob Robinson | Bob Robinson ACTUALLY has an inferiority complex, according to Holden, but girls think he is conceited because he mentions that he is captain of the debate team. |
| Roberta Walsh's Roommate | The girl who thinks Bob Robinson is arrogant. |
| Tina and Janine | two french entertainers at the Wicker Bar. Holden dislikes them and thinks they are phony. |
| Valencia | Performer at the Wicker Bar. Opening act for Tina and Janine. Holden gives her the eye and instructs the headwaiter to ask Velencia to join him for a drink. He doesn't (149). |
| Pete | the regular elevator boy at Holden's home |
| The Dicksteins | The Caulfield's neighbors. Holden pretends to be their nephew to the new elevator boy in order to sneak into his parent's apartment (157). |
| James Castle | Nerdy kid who was teased and locked in his dorm room for not taking back what he said about one of his bullies being conceited and jumped out the window and killed himself while wearing Holden's sweater |
| Alice Holmborg | best friend of Phoebe; went to the movie and her mom kept bugging her if she was sick (Movie was called The Doctor). |
| Mrs. Antolini | cougar with a lot of money; doesn't truly care for her husband, but makes a public show; doesn't like to be seen without makeup; comes in with coffee and curlers in her hair and then goes to sleep |
| Richard Kinsella | One of Holden's classmates in Oral Expression class. He digressed a lot, and always had "Digression!" shouted at him and therefore Holden like him because Holden's favorite part is when people digress. Talked about his uncle and his sickness. |
| Mr. Vinson | Holden's Oral Expression teacher. Holden did not like him very much because Holden failed |
| Lillian | she was dating a Naval Officer and she blocked the aisle at Ernies |
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