May 10, 2007

  • Holden Caulfield is the protagonist and
    narrator of the story. Holden is seventeen when he tells the story, but was 16-years-old
    when the events took place. His narration begins with his expulsion (for
    academic failure) from a school called Pencey Prep. He is intelligent and
    sensitive, but Holden narrates in a cynical and jaded voice. He finds the
    hypocrisy, phoniness and ugliness of the world around him almost unbearable, and
    through his cynicism he tries to protect himself from the pain and
    disappointment of the adult world. However, the criticisms that Holden aims at
    people around him are also aimed at himself. He is uncomfortable with his own
    weaknesses, and at times is unsure if he displays the exact phoniness,
    meanness, and superficiality of the people he says he despises. Throughout the
    book, Holden tries to hold on to the qualities of childhood and the innocence
    it provides. We, as the audience, can sense his loneliness and depression
    throughout the book.

    Wikipedia, on the Catcher in the Rye