Holden Caulfield Minor Character

Holden Caulfield is rude. He’s arrogant. Not arrogant in the way that he thinks he’s better than everyone else, but more so that he thinks everyone else is worse than him. He is not what you’d call a typical protagonist in the fact that he is a complete and utter asshole. Usually, novels written primarily for young adult readers revolve around the idea of the “Hero’s Journey,” where the main character is some sort of broken, yet incredibly likeable character that you can’t help but root for. Holden, on the other hand, is cynical, self-centered, reserved, and obnoxious. Yet, somehow, no matter how terrible of a person he comes off as, you can’t help but feel bad for the guy.

Throughout the course of his journey, Holden committed numerous actions that allows him to be claimed as a sympathetic character. Holden is a sympathetic character because he cares about

There are quite a few characters who influence Holden Caulfield, whether it be positively or negatively. Three minor characters have had a profound influence on Holden- Mr. Spencer, Sunny, and Mr. Antonelli. The actions of each of these individual characters has had an impact on Holden in some way, shape, or form. The following quote, stated by Holden Caulfield himself, show a complete turnaround in his personality and demeanor- ‘"The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything."’ The quote describes Holden’s vain attempt to protect all of the innocence in the world. Mr. Spencer, Sunny, and Mr. Antonelli, although relatively minor characters in the grand scheme of the novel, did have a major impact on Holden’s view of the world and of himself. These three characters can best be described as foil characters, which is a minor character whose actions parallel the main character’s, therefore illuminating the main character.

Holden Caulfield, a boy who doesn’t seem to know what he wants to do with his life, finally figures it out. He decides that he wants to become a catcher in the rye, but without the influence of his little sister Phoebe, none of this would be possible. Holden started off as a lost and depressed character who did everything along and who also didn’t like many people. Holden’s actions may have been because of his past experiences or because of his childhood. To try to overcome his lost and depressing ways, Holden spends most of the book doing adult-like things.

Both Holden and Benjamin shape their identities and futures by showcasing serious maturation throughout their stories. Holden Caulfield’s maturation throughout

In the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye,” there are two characters that have many similarities but also differences. One difference that plays a key role in the novel is that Holden does not live at home, while Phoebe does. This plays a key role in the novel because this is mainly what the novel is about. At the beginning of the novel, Holden is in a mental hospital and basically goes crazy. Also, something Holden took very hard was the death of his brother, Allie. Phoebe did not take the death of Allie as hard as Holden did. Phoebe was young when Allie died so she didn’t really know what was going on, but Holden didn’t believe it when his brother died. He kept thinking over and over in his head that Allie was not actually dead. “I’d make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I’d say to him

Holden Caulfield is a person we can all relate to. For Holden the death of his brother Allie has impacted him through out the book till the end. He has collapsed after his brothers death. It has impacted him a lot he miss his brother Allie so much. Holden loved his brother very much and idealized him so much.

Holden Caulfield’s life is defined by his dislike of pretty much everyone and everything because his parents never taught him to do otherwise. His parents neglected him by sending him to multiple schools and never taught him how to deal with his emotional issues. Holden was never taught by an adult how to deal with his grief after his brother, Allie’s death. Since almost every adult Holden meets end up letting him down, he grows up to be emotionally stunted and thus is rejected by the world around him.

Holden Caulfield, the central character in ​The Catcher in the Rye​ a novel written by J.D Salinger, is a disturbed teenager who recaps his thoughts and recent adventures throughout the book. Throughout the novel Holden comments and refers to a large number of acquaintances whom he either bashes for being a fake, or phony, or he pities. However, he remembers his younger brother, Allie, who passed away because of leukemia when Holden was thirteen, with admiration and high esteem. Holden’s memory of Allie negatively affects his view on the world, knowing that his untainted little brother died, Holden continuously compares everyone he meets to Allie and is disappointed when he realizes that not everyone could be as pure and innocent as Allie was.

Through looking at Holden’s thoughts and actions separately, readers begin to also see that only through his inner monologue can they see the true extent of his emotions over the death of Allie. Except for tiny scenes throughout the book, readers don’t see it play out in his actions, and this is due to just how bad his case of prolonged grief disorder is throughout the book. Up until the very end, this disconnect of contradiction between his actions and thoughts can be seen, with critic Eberhard Alsen stating it as, “The way Holden Caulfield talks reveals just as much about the contradictions in his character as what he does. The silliness of Holden's speech mannerisms contrasts with his astute insights and his strongly held values”(Alsen). These held values of youth and innocence being all-important aren’t fully shown in Holden’s actual actions, with him contradicting his morals multiple times by calling himself a “sex maniac”.

Ward Stradlater, Holdens roommate, is the stereotypical “jock” the type you would imagine stealing dates at prom and spiking the punch the perfect kind of boy for a prep school like Pency. Stradlater introduces the first major issue that Holden

A novel’s minor characters can shape and impact the role of the main character. In most novel's, minor characters play a vital role in dictating and shaping the story line, creating a dependency from the main character. J.D. Salinger validates the importance of minor characters in Catcher in the Rye, and how they have an effect on his main character, Holden Caulfield’s life. Phoebe, the predominant minor character, is Holden’s sister. She is the only person Holden trusts and in some ways is his best friend.

What we discover are Holden’s tumultuous desires to throw himself into adulthood, and his equally unstable reactions to his subsequent denial of entry. Coupled with, his obvious obsession with the innocence of childhood, the severity of his internal conflict becomes increasingly more clear. “The most glaring indicator of Holden’s current transition is his acting against emotion. It is very clear that Holden is lonely. Yet every time he reaches out for companionship he quickly switches to using rude and self-destructive behavior to isolate himself again.”

Holden does not realize his misconstrued state in life. He believes he is an adult; however he is clearly a young man who has lost his way in life. He has every confidence that the world works in the way he imagines and even says: “It’s funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they’ll do practically anything you want (Salinger 84).” Holden displays a sense of arrogance in the way that he envisions that he is better than the rest of the world. Holden believes he is an adult who knows how to handle himself, but he must constantly rely on the guidance of his little sister Phoebe for direction in his life (Svogun n.p.). Holden is just a boy who portrays himself as more than he is, but soon realizes that what he believes himself to be is in fact not genuine.

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, consists of many minor characters. There are more than about sixty characters in the novel in which only three of them are major characters (Holden, Allie, and Phoebe) and the rest minor. Many of these characters are just mentioned with no lasting impact on either the novel itself or Holden. Salinger uses minor characters in the Catcher in the Rye to tell the readers about Holden and his views about the world.