Holden Caufield

Holden is 16 years old, tall at 6 feet 2 1/2 inches, partially gray-haired, and woefully skinny. He has grown 6 1/2 inches in just one year. He is out of shape because he smokes too much. His general health is poor. Intelligent and emotional, Holden feels lonely and alienated from the world around him. He considers most of the people and places he encounters "phony"—hypocritical, inauthentic, and pretentious. He is alternately depressed, confused, angry, anxious, perceptive, bigoted, resentful, thoughtful, kind, and horny. To put it simply, Holden is struggling. Holden resents the adult world and resists entry into it, but he has little choice. Society and his own body are telling him that it is time for him to change. He is attracted to the trappings of adulthood: booze, cigarettes, the idea of sex, and a kind of independence. But he despises the compromises, loss of innocence, absence of integrity, and loss of authenticity in the grown-up world. Despite his limited experience, his attitude toward women is actually admirable and mature. He stops making sexual advances when a girl says "No." He has trouble being very intimate unless he knows the girl well and likes her a lot. In his confusion, he sees this behavior as a weakness that may even call for psychotherapy. The classic angsty teen. Holden arrives drunk at your doorstep after being kicked out of Pencey Prep and wandering the streets of New York for two days.