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Catcher in the Rye - Coggle Diagram
Catcher in the Rye
Characters & Plot
Holden Caufield
Holden is the protagonist and the narrator of the novel. He lies repetitively and is lonely. Throughout the novel, Holden is in a mental institution. He is sixteen years old and has been expelled from the school, Pencey Prep. Through the novel, Holden is on a cliff from childhood through adulthood which he shows as he wants the be the "catcher in the rye".
Robert Ackley
Ackley is Holden's dirty next-door neighbour in Pencey Prep. He is pimply and insecure. He usually stumbles into Holden's room which always annoys Holden.
Ward Stradlater
Stradlater is Holden's handsome, popular and sexually active roommate at Pencey Prep. He goes out with Jane, which makes Holden angry and jealous.
Jane Gallagher
Jane is Holden's childhood friend; they spent time during summer, played checkers together. Even though Jane never actually appears in the novel, she is one of the few people Holden respects and is important.
Phoebe Caufield
Phoebe is Holden's little, mature, ten-year-old sister. She is neat, a good listener and an astonishing dancer. She symbolizes the innocence of childhood and is one of the people whom Holden likes.
Allie Caufield
Allie is Holden's deceased younger brother. He passed away because of leukaemia which still haunts and affects Holden deeply. According to Holden, he was the smartest of Caufield's; he was intelligent and friendly.
D.B. Caufield
D.B. is Holden's older brother who works in Hollywood, writes short stories. However, Holden thinks he prostitutes for writing which he underestimates. He also went to World War II.
Sally Hayes
Sally is a beautiful and attractive girl whom Holden dated a while ago. Unlike Jane, Holden doesn't respect Sally much and calls her stupid. He asks her to run away with him but she declines.
Mr. Spencer
Mr. Spencer is Holden's history teacher at Pencey Prep. When he learns Holden has flunked out of school he tries to motivate him and gives advice, which unfortunately does not work.
Carl Luce
Carl Luce is Holden's former advisor from Whooton School; he is now a student at Columbia. He and Holden meet in the Wicker Bar, and Holden constantly tries to talk about Carl's previous sexual encounters, but he was uninterested.
Mr. Antolini
Mr. Antolini is Holden's former English teacher from Elkton Hills. Even though he now works at New York University, they kept in touch. Antolini is clever, sympathetic but he drinks heavily. Holden stays with him and his wife for a while but when he strokes Holden's hair while he sleeps, Holden thinks he made a move on him and leaves their house.
Maurice
Maurice is the elevator operator at Edmont Hotel. Holden meets with him in the elevator, and he arranges a prostitute, Sunny, to Holden. He beats up Holden when he thinks Holden didn't give enough money.
Sunny
Sunny is a prostitute hired by Holden through Maurice. Even though Holden invites him, he turns her away by lying that he is recovering from an operation on his "clavichord".
Symbols
Catcher in the Rye
The phrase comes when Holden misunderstands a kid singing Robert Burns' poem “Comin’ Thro’ the Rye”. In the following chapters, as Phoebe asks what Holden's dream job is, he replies as being the catcher in the rye. He says he wants to protect kids from falling down from a cliff as it symbolizes childhood vs adulthood, which Holden terribly fears.
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Holden's Red Hunting Hat
Holden buys a red hunting hat from New York when he is with the fencing team. The hat symbolizes his isolation and uniqueness from the outer world since it is different from what people wear every day. Furthermore, through the hat, Holden's tries to protect himself from society and its consequences. And although it's a hunting hat, he wears it in the city and even indoors, which reveals that it makes Holden feel protected from the outer world.
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