Line #43 Characters/TheCatcherInTheRye


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	!!Caulfield Family
4	[[folder:Holden Caulfield]]
5	!! Holden Caulfield
6	* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler: Was Mr. Antolini making a pass at him? Has he been sexually abused in the past? Unclear given Holden's UnreliableNarrator status.]]
7	* AntiHero: He's cynical, hypocritical, and perfectly willing to flunk out of school, but he's also insecure of himself and ultimately isn't so bad.
8	* BigBrotherInstinct: To his younger siblings, Allie and Phoebe. The two of them are some of the only characters Holden never speaks ill of.
9	** This really extends to ''all'' children. That's why he's furious about dirty words written where schoolkids might see them. And his "catcher" fantasy is him keeping children safe from harm.
10	* BrilliantButLazy: Implied to be academically talented, but too cynical and depressed to apply himself.
11	* CompulsiveLiar: Holden has a tendency to lie about ''everything''. His family, his backstory, his classmates, even his own name. He lies so much, many readers have started to wonder just how much of the story ''he'' claims to be telling them is really true.
12	* TheCynic: In the literary world, Holden Caulfield is probably the crowned king of this trope. His attitude towards practically everything is either cynical or bitter.
13	* CynicismCatalyst: It's strongly implied that his brother Allie's death is what made Holden the bitter individual he is today.
14	* EveryoneHasStandards: While he's no stranger to profanity, he's disturbed when he notices that somebody wrote the words "fuck you" on a wall where kids could see them.
15	* HeManWomanHater: Downplayed. He’s not afraid to call Sally a BrainlessBeauty.
16	* HeartbrokenBadass: The death of Allie sends him into severe depression.
17	* HolierThanThou: Holden's pretty judgmental and has a strict moral compass, despite his own inconsistency. He has a hard time dealing with the "phoniness" of the adult world.
18	* {{Hypocrite}}: Quite a big one.
19	** Holden’s accusations of people being "phony" rings somewhat hollow since he lies about himself numerous times.
20	** He refers to himself as a pacifist, but he ends up starting a fight with Stradlater.
21	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Holden is cynical, pessimistic, a habitual liar, and overall bitter person. But deep down, he has an unspoken appreciation for the people he meets throughout the book and genuinely loves his siblings. Especially Phoebe.
22	* LonelyRichKid: Prototype rich NYC kid who is shipped from boarding school to boarding school, and has trouble connecting with people.
23	* PrematurelyGrayHaired: Downplayed, but at 17, he already has some gray hairs.
24	* RebelPrince / RebelliousSpirit: He’s a wealthy rebel with a cynical opinion of life.
25	* TheRunaway: A classic literary example. Holden runs away after being kicked out of school in order to prove a point to society. He also wants to run away with Sally, but she calls him out for said Pan being ridiculous.
26	* SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny: Probably one of the biggest examples of this trope. Holden feels uncomfortable when it comes to sex, but admits to feeling the urge to try it. [[spoiler: This ends up biting him when he agrees to have a prostitute brought up to his hotel room, and starts backing out.]]
27	* SharedFamilyQuirks: The only subject he's not failing is English, which seems to be an intellectual passion of the Caulfield family.
28	* SourOutsideSadInside: He's a rude, sarcastic snarker that he lets everyone get to know, but he's shown multiple times he's far from heartless. Not once had he said anything bad about his brother Allie, who died of leukemia.
29	* TheSnarkKnight: Has a snarky quip about everyone and everything.
30	* StartMyOwn: One of his reasons for running away.
31	* {{Troll}}: Calls himself a "terrific liar" and enjoys making up silly stories/questions to strangers, or saying things just to get a reaction.
32	* UnreliableNarrator: By his own admission, he'll lie even when he has absolutely no reason to do so, which puts many of his claims into question. Even ignoring that, his relentless cynicism and bitterness raise the possibility that he's just choosing to see the real or perceived bad in everything and interpret things in the worst possible way.
33	* YoungerThanTheyLook: He claims that he can pass for an adult since he's 6'2" and his hair is already starting to turn gray; however, [[InformedAttribute we never actually see him pull this off]].
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Phoebe Caulfield]]
37	!! Phoebe Caulfield
38	* EmbarrassingMiddleName: Phoebe hates her middle name "Josephine" and is always trying to come up with a new middle name.
39	* LittleSisterInstinct: Ironically, she seems to be more mature and down to earth than Holden. She can always tell when he's lying and is usually the only person who can really knock some much-needed sense into him.
40	* MoralityPet: For Holden.
41	* SharedFamilyQuirks: Loves creative writing, just like her brothers.
42	* TeenGenius: Or pre-teen genius rather, she's very eloquent and creative.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:D.B. Caulfield]]
46	!! D.B. Caulfield
47	* AmbitionIsEvil: Holden feels D.B. is squandering his talents for the sake of money and prestige. YMMV if this is the case.
48	* DoingItForTheArt: Averted, much to Holden's chagrin. Holden says that D.B.'s short stories were amazing, but now he's a Hollywood sellout.
49	* NiceGuy: Holden describes him as being this, despite being a Hollywood schmuck.
50	* {{Sellout}}: Holden regards D.B.'s Hollywood career as this, stating that D.B. "prostituted himself."
51	* SharedFamilyQuirks: He's a professional writer, a talent common in the Caulfield family.
52	* ShellShockedVeteran: He served in World War II and participated in D-Day, and his experiences are heavily implied to haunt him.
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Allie Caulfield]]
56	!! Allie Caulfield
57	* DeathByOriginStory: His death is what spurs Holden into his rebellious phase.
58	* LivingEmotionalCrutch: To Holden, Allie wasn’t just his big brother. He was also his best friend and the most important figure in his life. His death sent Holden into a serious depression.
59	* NiceGuy: Or so Holden sees him as.
60	* SharedFamilyQuirks: Loves poetry, and writes his favorite lines on his baseball glove to read while he's playing outfield.
61	* SmallRoleBigImpact / PosthumousCharacter: He's dead before the book's events take place, but he serves as Holden's central motivation of his cynic and overreliance on the past.
62	* StereotypeFlip: Holden mentions that even though people with red hair are thought of as [[FieryRedhead bad-tempered]], Allie was one of the most patient and mild-mannered people he knew.
63	* TheTopicOfCancer: [[spoiler: Died of leukemia.]]
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Mr. & Mrs. Caulfield]]
67	!! Mr. & Mrs. Caulfield
68	* TheGhost: They're mentioned every now and then, but don't really appear in the book. If anything, Mrs. Caulfield is heard off page talking to Phoebe.
69	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Implied to be this. Holden doesn't blame them for feeling frustrated with him for getting kicked out of school, and they clearly make an effort with him and his siblings.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	!!Holden's Friends and Acquaintances
73	[[folder:Stradlater]]
74	!!Stradlater
75	* BigManOnCampus: Stradlater is good looking, talented, and charming to girls.
76	* LovableJock: Stradlater is very affable and athletic.
77	* OddFriendship: He and Holden are a peculiar pair of roommates to say the least. Stradlater is pretty tolerant of Holden's quirks, and Holden respects Stradlater despite seeing him as a "phony" in a sense.
78	* ReallyGetsAround: To the point where he has trouble remembering his dates' names.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Ackley]]
82	!! Ackley
83	* {{Jerkass}}: He's surly and condescending.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Sally Hayes]]
87	!! Sally Hayes
88	* BrainlessBeauty: Holden describes her as this, but that might just be his inner-cynic talking.
89	* {{Foil}}: To Jane, who Holden considers to be more genuine and complex.
90	* GenkiGirl: Very excitable and cutesy.
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Jane Gallagher]]
94	!! Jane Gallagher
95	* AbusiveParents: Her stepfather is implied to be physically and/or sexually abusive, and there also appears to be substance abuse issues in her home.
96	* BirdsOfAFeather: Like Holden, she's got a troubled past and enjoys playing checkers.
97	* ChastityCouple: She and Holden were never sexually intimate, and mostly played checkers and talked.
98	* LovingAShadow: Holden seems more infatuated by the memory of her than the reality of her.

Context Characters / TheCatcherInTheRye