Holden Caulfield - Definition and Overview

Holden Caulfield is the fictional teenaged protagonist in J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, first published in 1951.

In the book, Caulfield is 17 years old and residing in a psychiatric hospital in the state of California. He narrates the story of the novel, which had occurred over several days during the previous year, as a first-person narrative flashback. During the course of the novel, Caulfield fights with his roommate, flunks out of Pencey Preparatory School in Pennsylvania, and travels by himself to New York City, where he undergoes several experiences that cause him to get disillusioned with life and which lead him to the hospital.

Holden Caulfield is one of the most enduring characters in 20th century American fiction, and one with which many teenagers and adults have identified - most tragically (albeit irrationally), perhaps, in the case of Mark David Chapman, the murderer of John Lennon.

The book is a classic, and a requirement, in many high school English courses today.