Characters+and+Personality

__Holden Claufield__ (main character)- He is the angry adolescent that is the main character of this story. He thinks everyone is a phony and misbehaves at school. He is actually very smart, but very morbid towards life. He craves a genuine interaction and connection with another human being more than anything in the world. Throughout the book, we see how depressed he really is. He lives his life like an old man that no longer has a purpose in life. Just like other adolescents, his sexuality confuses and excites him. He is often caught thinking about sex for long periods of time, but when he actual is presented with a form of sexual interaction, he is shy, scared, and nervous. Like the time Sunny took off her dress and sat on his lap, he felt very uncomfortable and really only wanted to talk to her. This really showed how lonely he was and how desperate he was to just talk to another human being. The other time was with Mr. Antolini patting his head, he backed away and was completely terrified by the fact that he was a "possible homosexual" or a "flit." He even says that his beloved little sister, Phoebe, can be too affectionate sometimes when she put her arm around his shoulder to comfort him. This all just shows how much his sexuality confuses him and how badly he just wants to understand himself and other people.

__Jane Gallaghe__r- a girl Holden spent a lot of time with over the summer. She never really acts as a big part in the story line, but she is very important to Holden and is one of the few girls that he respects and finds attractive. When he finds out that she went on a date with Stradlater, he gets really jealous and angry and ends up in a fist fight with Stradlater. There's parts in the book when he will just compare other girls to her, which just shows how she's that girl he just can't have.

__Ackley__- A kid from the dorm that has minor interactions with Holden. He is a pimply looking kid with horrible dental hygiene. Holden doesn't actually enjoy his company that much and often hints for him to leave or stop talking. He often exaggerates his sexual experiences and brags about how many times he has had sex.

__Stradlater__- He is another kid that Holden knows from the dorm. He's the basic good-looking, big-shot on campus that Holden really doesn't like. He thinks the kid is completely fake, but for some reason Holden is still pretty nice to Stradlater and even does his homework (writes a composition for him) once. He thinks that Stradlater is a secret snob because he is well-groomed but things like his razors are disgusting. He also calls him a "sexy bastard" because he is quite experienced for a high school prep student. Him and Holden also get into a fist fight once over the composition that Holden wrote about Allies baseball glove. Stradlater is a narcissist.

__Allie Claufield__- Allie is Holden's younger brother who had passed away a while ago from leukemia. He is one of the few people that Holden genuinely liked. He was a smart, friendly, red-headed boy that just really connected with Holden. It really traumatized Holden when Allie passed away and still seems to leave a haunting effect on Holden. Holden still keeps the baseball glove that Allie once wrote poems on to keep himself company on the field.

__Phoebe Claufield__- Phoebe is Holden's younger sister. Even though she is six years younger than Holden, he cares about her a great deal and is willing to go to great lengths to just see her even though he is risking getting caught by parents for getting kicked out of school again. He feels like she understands him more than most people do and that is something he greatly appreciates. She is smart, neat, and a wonderful dancer. Holden finds her childish innocence as a source of happiness for him and is probably the reason he is really friendly to little kids. For example, when he helps the little boy with his shoes. He believes that she shows a lot of maturity and grace for a girl her age.

__D.B Claufield__- D.B is Holden older brother. He is writer who works in Hollywood and refers to his brother as "prostitute" because he thinks that his brother is selling himself and his talents. He did, however, write quite a few stories that Holden admired quite a bit.

__Sally Haye__s- Sally is one of the phoniest people in the book. Holden dated her before, but thought that she was too fake. He asked her to "run away" him, but she refused, saying they were still children. Sally strives for the perfect life. She is a very attractive and Holden has dated her many times before. She is well-read and Holden thinks she is "stupid."

__Mr. Spencer__ - Mr. Spencer is Holden's former history teacher before he got kicked out Pencey Prep. He tries to convince Holden to start trying in school, but is unsuccessful because Holden basically tones him out. __Carl Luce__ - Carl Luce is a guy that is a student at Columbia and was Holden's student advisor at Whooton School. He is three years older than Holden and has a lot of sexual experiences which Holden finds fascinating. He meets up with Carl once in the city and bothers him to tell stories about his "experiences." __Mr.__ __Antolini__ - Mr. Antolini is Holden's former english teacher at Elkton Hills School. He now teaches at New York University. He is a young. clever and sympathetic guy that Holden looks up to. Holden thinks that he can be a little too clever sometimes, but still respects him. Like many of the other characters in the book, he also drinks quite heavily. He was the only person who approached the boy who jumped out of the window. Him and Holden have a moment of discomfort when Holden wakes up on his couch to find Mr. Antolini patting his head. This is argued among students and teachers whether or not this was an act of pure affection and sympathy for Holden, or something sexual between the two. __Maurice__ - Maurice is the elevator operator at the motel Holden stays at for a night in the city. He provides a prostitute for Holden, but ends up beating him up when he claimed that Holden hadn't paid the prostitute enough money. __Sunny__ - Sunny is the prostitute that Holden meets up with at the motel. He doesn't actually end up sleeping with her, but rather sits her down to just talk. This shows how lonely he is that he is willing to pay someone to just sit there and talk to him.