ABSTRACT
The Catcher in the Rye is a masterpiece of J.D. Salinger who is a famous American writer in the middle 20th century. By describing the protagonist Holden’s three-day experiences in New York after being expelled from school, the author reveals his unique view on the growing up of the youth. The novel highlights the character of Holden to express the confusion that teenagers encounter during the process of growing up. This paper first explores the typical points of Holden’s personality; especially on Holden’s judgmental, dishonest while kind and curious character. Then this paper sums up the deep causes of Holden’s character which are affected by internal factors and external factors. From the above analysis, readers might get a deeper understanding of the essence and the profound influence of the novel.
Key words：Holden; character; internal and external causes; influence
Contents
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Introduction of the plot 1
1.2 Introduction of the author 2
2. The manifestation of Holden’s character 4
2.1 Judgmental character 4
2.2 Dishonest character 5
2.3 Kind character 6
2.4 Curious character 7
3. The causes of Holden’s character 9
3.1 External factors 9
3.2 Internal factors 11
4．Conclusion 13
Acknowledgements 15
References 16
