Catcher in the Rye characters

characters are listed here approximately in the order in which they are mentioned in the novel.

Holden Caulfield: narrator and main character

Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield: Holden's parents

D. B. Caulfield: Holden's older brother
He used to be a "real writer" but now prostitutes himself in Hollywood. He wrote a book of short stories called The Secret Goldfish.

Mr. Haas: headmaster at Elkton Hills
He was really nice to visiting parents who weren't "funny-looking".

Mr. Spencer: Holden's history teacher at Pencey
In Chapter 2, Holden goes to his house for a goodbye visit. Mr. Spencer has the flu. He reads Holden's abominable essay answer about the Egyptians aloud. He questions Holden about his goals in life and his feelings about getting expelled from Pencey.

Mrs. Spencer: Mr. Spencer's wife
Just like Mr. Spencer, she is old. She can't hear very well.

Dr. Thurmer: headmaster at Pencey
He gave Holden the "Life is a game" speech.

Robert Tichener and Paul Campbell: two of Holden's friends at Pencey
These are the guys with whom Holden tossed a football around--until it got dark and Mr. Zambesi told the boys to go inside.

Mr. Zambesi: Biology teacher at Pencey

Ossenburger: alumnus who donated money to Pencey
The Ossenburger Memorial Wing (where Holden lived) was named after him. He made a lot of money with a chain of funeral parlors. On the morning after the year's first football game, he gave a long speech in which he tried to be funny and inspirational.

Edgar Marsalla: Holden's classmate at Pencey
He farted in the middle Ossenburger's chapel speech. He was sitting in the row in front of Holden.

Ward Stradlater: Holden's roommate at Pencey

Robert Ackley: Holden's dirty next door dormmate at Pencey

Herb Gale: Robert Ackley's roommate (Ely?)
Holden sleeps in his bed after the fight with Stradlater.

Mr. Hartzell: English teacher at Pencey
According to Stradlater, Mr. Hartzell regards Holden as a "hot-shot" in English.

Howie Coyle: Holden's classmate at Pencey
He is a terrific basketball player.

Fitzgerald: ex-date of Stradlater
Stradlater refers to her as "that pig".

Phyllis Smith: babe who was almost Stradlater's date

Bud Thaw: boyfriend of Jane Gallagher's roommate

Jane Gallagher: Holden's great love and almost girlfriend
She and Holden used to play checkers together and held hands a lot.

Mr. Cadahy: Jane Gallagher's "booze hound" step father
He was a "skinny guy with hairy legs". A supposed playwright, he only drank, listened to mystery shows, and walked around at home with no clothes on. Holden thinks he abused Jane.

Mal Brossard: "bridge fiend" and friend at Pencey
He is on the wrestling team. He goes to Agerstown with Holden and Ackley for burgers and pinball.

Allie Caulfield: Holden's nice and brilliant red-headed brother

Ed Banky: basketball coach at Pencey
He always lends his car to Stradlater for dates.

Leahy and Hoffman: dormmates at Pencey
They had an empty box of Kolynos toothpaste outside their door. Holden kicks it while contemplating visiting Mal Brossard. He then decides to leave Pencey and stay in a cheap New York hotel until his parents get over the initial shock of his expulsion.

Frederick Woodruff: classmate who buys Holden's typewriter
Holden woke him up right before leaving Pencey. Holden got $20 dollars for the typewriter, which originally cost $90.

Mrs. Schmidt: 65-year old wife of Rudolf
After their fight, Holden tries to insult Stradlater by telling him to go "give her the time".

Rudolf Schmidt: janitor in Holden's dorm at Pencey
Holden uses the name as an alias while conversing with Mrs. Morrow on the train.

Holden's grandmother: generous with money, senile
She sends Holden birthday money "about four times a year". Holden tells Mrs. Morrow that his grandmother is taking him to South America for the summer, and that's why he won't be able to visit Ernie in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Mrs. Morrow: sexy, 40 to 45-year old mother of Pencey classmate Ernest
She gets on the train at Trenton, leaves her bags in the aisle and sits next to Holden. She's wearing orchids. She notices the Pencey sticker on Holden's luggage and starts a conversation with him. After telling her some lies about how great Ernest is, Holden says he's going home early because he has to have a brain tumor removed.

Ernest Morrow: Holden's 'ass-slapping with a towel' dormmate at Pencey
He's is a terrible guy who's "about as sensitive as a goddam toilet seat". Holden gives glowing reviews of him to Mrs. Morrow.

Henry Fencer: elected class president in the story Holden invents for Mrs. Morrow

Phoebe Caulfield: Holden's smart and sweet kid sister

Sally Hayes: Holden's good looking ex
Ackley always picks up her picture and puts it back in the wrong place. Holden thinks about calling her when he arrives at Penn Station.

Mrs. Hayes Sally Hayes' mother
She told Sally that Holden was "wild" and "had no direction". Holden won't call Sally from Penn Station because Mrs. Hayes knows Holden's mother.

Carl Luce: classmate at Whooton School
Holden's intellectual "advisor" who lectured to fellow students in his room about sex and "perversities". He always knew which celebrities were homosexual. Holden thinks of calling him from Penn Station but decides not to because he "didn't like him much." Later, Holden meets him for a drink, and they have a short conversation.

first cabbie: "wise guy"
He thinks Holden is joking about the ducks in Central Park. Holden says that he's "travelling incognito".

bellboy at the Edmont: 65-year old bald guy
He combs his hair over to hide his baldness. He's "even more depressing than the room".

assorted "perverts" at the Edmont:
"Distinguished-looking" older man puts on women's clothing and postures in front of a mirror. Laughing man and woman squirt water from mouth to mouth.

Anne Louise Sherman: a girl Holden "horsed around with" in the past
She was a "terrible phony". She and Holden necked "the whole night".

Faith Cavendish: former burlesque stripper
She resides at the Stanford Arms Hotel on 65th and Broadway. She's supposed to be an easy date. Holden calls her, but she won't meet him because she says it's too late and her roommate's sick. She suggests meeting the next day, but Holden backs out.

Eddie Birdsell: Princeton guy who told Holden about Faith Cavendish

Marty, Laverne, Bernice Krebs: girls in the Lavender Room
These are moronic, giggling, movie-star-obsessed, out of towners. Bernice is dumb, blonde, relatively good looking, and a great dancer. The other two are ugly and Holden finds them uninteresting.

Horowitz: New York taxidriver

Lillian Simmons: D.B.'s ex-girlfriend with very "big knockers"
Holden runs into her and her date at the Wicker Bar.

Commander Blop: Lillian's date in the Wicker Bar

Two nuns: Holden meets them at a diner

Ernie: owner of and piano player at the Wicker Bar

Sunny: spooky prostitute

Jim Steele: alias Holden uses with Sunny & the three Lavender Room girls

Maurice: Sunny's pimp and the elevator guy at the Edmont
He swindles Holden out of $5 and beats him up.

Bobby Fallon: former neighbor in Maine
Holden went with him to the lake to shoot BB guns and didn't let Allie come along.

Arthur Childs: classmate at Whooton
Quaker boy with whom Holden debated Bible issues, especially the Disciples.

Dick Slagle: roommate at Elkton Hills
He had cheap suitcases and called all of Holden's things "bourgeois".

Estelle Fletcher: singer of "Little Shirley Beans"
Holden bought the record for Phoebe but broke it before he could give it to her. Phoebe kept the pieces.

little boy walking in street: sang "If a body catch a body..."
Seeing and hearing him made Holden feel less depressed.

Louis Shaney: classmate at Whooton School
The first boy Holden met at Whooton. He tried to find out if Holden was Catholic while they were chatting about tennis.

little girl in park: same age as Phoebe
Holden asked her if she knew Phoebe and helped her tighten her skates.

Gertrude Levine: classmate in elementary school
She was usually Holden's partner when the class visited the Museum of Natural History.

Harris Macklin: roommate for two months at Elkton Hills
This raspy-voiced guy was a bore, but he was also a great whistler.

The Lunts: Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, famous actors
Holden took Sally Hayes to a play starring the Lunts.

George: Andover "jerk"--acquaintance of Sally's
Ivy League guy with whom Sally schmoozed during the play's intermission.

James Castle: classmate at Elkton Hills
Committed suicide by jumping out a dorm window.

Mr. Antolini: Holden's heavy-drinking ex-English teacher at Elkton Hills
Holden goes to Mr. Antolini's apartment to spend the night. Holden wakes up in the middle of the night to find Mr. Antolini petting him on the head. Holden finds it too "perverty" and quickly leaves.

Lillian Antolini: Mr. Antolini's wife
She's a lot older than Mr. Antolini. They "kiss a lot in public".

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due march 14

1. What reason does the doctor give for Phyllisia’s not eating? What reason does Calvin
give? Why do you think Calvin begins what Ruby calls “operation foodstrap”?
2. What news about Randy does Phyllisia hear at Marian’s party? What reason does
Phyllisia give for not seeing Edith? What do you think is the real reason?
3. What happens when Calvin sees Ruby with Orlando? How does Phyllisia react to
Calvin’s new rules? How has this incident changed her view of Calvin?
4. How does Phyllisia discover Calvin’s true feelings toward her and Ruby? How does she
use this knowledge? At this point, what emotions seem to be controlling Phyllisia?
5. What does Phyllisia see her father doing at his restaurant? What important truth does
she face after this visit? How does it represent the climax, or turning point, of the novel?
6. Do you agree with Phyllisia that Calvin had “implied” that he was rich and that his
restaurant was fancy? Do you think you would have reached the same conclusions if you
were in Phyllisia’s place? Why or why not?


convalescence

deprivation

formulating


gallivanting


indifference


insipid

intervened

vindictive





9-15
convalescence
deprivation
formulating
gallivanting
indifference
insipid
intervened
vindictive

home 9

HW#9

1. Use the following format to complete your assignment of the following words:

Synonyms Words used in a sentence

1.

2

3.

Vocabulary word here





Definition in your own words magazine cut out, drawing

Or symbol that shows what

The word means

Vocabulary words
Snickered Pg 7

Serpentine pg 10

Straggler pg.11

Squirming pg.13

Gesticulating pg. 16

Sprinted pg. 16

2. Read chapters 3 and 4