Minor Characters

“Most men have no purpose but to exist, Abraham; to pass quietly through history as minor characters upon a stage they cannot even see”

― Seth Grahame-Smith, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

What is a MINOR Character?

"...the way that Holden sees these characters says a lot more about Holden Caulfield than it says about any individual character..." (McNally, 117)

there is a difference between MINOR characters who INFLUENCE / CHARACTERIZE the protagonist and those who are simply fillers

minor characters can help the protagonist
to think more deeply
about an issue or idea

minor characters help us discover more about WHO/WHAT a protagonist is

minor characters
can be used to propel the plot forward

minor characters can serve as a symbol

"Salinger uses characters the way a pointillist uses paint: stand back and you'll see a portrait of Holden." (McNally, 117)

Minor Characters we met in Ch. 1

• D.B. Caulfield
• Selma Thurmer
• Mr. Spencer
• Robert Tichener
• Paul Cambell
• Mr. Zambesi
• Mrs. Spencer

What does each of these characters tell us about Holden?

"I mean that's all I told D.B. about, and he's my brother and all. He's in Hollywood. That isn't too far from this crumby place, and he comes over and visits me practically every week." (p. 3)

"Old Selma Thurmer--she was the headmaster's daughter --showed up at the games quite often, but she wasn't exactly the type that drove you made with desire. She was a pretty nice girl, though." (p. 5)

"The other reason I wasn't down at the game was because I was on my way to say good-by to old Spencer, my history teacher. He had the grippe, and I figured I probably wouldn't see him again till Christmas vacation started. He wrote me a note saying he wanted to see me before I went home." (p. 6)

"I suddenly remembered this time, in around October, that I and Robert Tichener and Paul Cambell were chucking a football around, in front of the academic building." (p. 7)

"This teacher that taught biology, Mr. Zambesi, stuck his head out of this window in the academic building and told us to go back to the dorm and get ready for dinner." (p. 7)

"Finally old Mrs. Spencer opened it. They didn't have a maid or anything, and they always opened the door themselves. They didn't have too much dough." (p. 8)