Mr. Antolini character sketch

Mr. Antolini is Holden’s former English teacher at the Elkton Hills School. However, he is now a teacher at New York University. He is young, clever, sympathetic, and likable, and Holden respects him. Holden sometimes finds him a bit too clever, but he looks to him for guidance. Mr. Antolini first appears in chapter 24. Mr. Antolini agrees with Holden that D.B. made the right choice by going out to California. Like many characters in the novel, Mr. Antolini drinks heavily.

Mr. Antolini plays many different roles in Holden’s life. He is a mentor, friend, and confidant. In general Holde

n Caufield’s has little trust for older people and fake people. Mr. Antolini is the one adult who comes closest to reaching Holden. He manages to avoid alienating Holden, and being one of Holden’s many “phonies,” because he doesn’t behave conventionally, but more in the way that Holden does. He doesn’t speak to Holden in the persona of a teacher or authority figure, as Mr. Spencer does. He speaks to Holden in a friendly matter and is always there for him. He doesn’t object to Holden’s calling him in the middle of the night or to Holden’s being drunk or smoking. Moreover, by opening his door to Holden, he shows no reservations about exposing himself, with his messy apartment, his older wife with her hair in curlers, and his own heavy drinking. He is very open and doesn’t mislead people about the kind of person that he really is. Mr. Antolini gives really good advice to Holden about applying himself to his studies. He recognizes that Holden is a different person then most people, and he confirms Holden’s suffering and confusion by suggesting that one day they may be worth writing about, which is exactly what Holden does as he explains his strange three days. One Strange quote that Mr. A gives Holden is “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.” He shows Holden that education is not as a path of conformity but as a means for Holden to find himself and to find the ideas that are most appropriate to him. This is a very unconventional approach and a reason w

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