Minor Characters In Catcher In The Rye

In storytelling, minor characters always serve some sort of purpose. They often give the main character something to think about or they teach him or her a lesson. The impact of minor characters on the protagonist sometimes have a lasting impact. Authors may connect minor characters with a certain theme or message, even if it is not noticeable to the reader or protagonist at first. In his novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses many minor characters to show the effect they have on Holden and how they connect through certain themes. One overarching theme of the novel is the concept of innocence contrasted against experience. The importance of minor characters shows the impact of innocence versus experience, emphasized by the immaturity

Antolini represents a form of authority, yet the way Holden shows his immaturity and innocence just doesn’t lie within their conversation. At first, Mr. Antolini tries to give Holden advice. Unlike with other people who, Holden does not think to himself that Mr. Antolini is a phony like he does with everyone else, except Phoebe and the nuns. During this conversation, Mr. Antolini tells Holden what Holden needs to hear: “I have a feeling that you’re riding for some kind of terrible, terrible fall” (186). From what he says after this point, it is evident that Mr. Antolini doesn’t think Holden is very mature. From all the situations he describes about the possible future actions of Holden, Mr. Antolini tries to make Holden see how the way Holden is at that moment isn’t going to end well for him. Mr. Antolini seems to be genuinely worried for Holden, yet everything he says is overshadowed by what he did while Holden

Antolini tries to molest him. He doesn’t give it much thought and impulsively chooses to leave right away. He doesn’t stop to think about if it all could be a misunderstanding or if Mr. Antolini is just drunk. His rash mind determines the best thing he can do is to leave. His immaturity shines through here because he makes a hasty assumption and uses that assumption to get out of the Antolini apartment. The comment on how something like that has happened to him about twenty other times seems a bit high and unreasonable. All those moments probably were like this one, Holden not thinking for a second and making brash decisions on how to end the awkward situation he’s in. While some of those twenty moments could actually be true, it is hard to believe that he has been in twenty “perverty” moments. Because of how immature Holden is, he probably will only think of this moment when he thinks of Mr. Antolini instead of all the sound advice and the wake-up calls he gives Holden. Mr. Antolini, like Old Spencer, is only trying to help Holden, yet Holden’s immaturity somehow both times prevents them from actually helping