James Castle Character Analysis in The Catcher in the Rye

James Castle is a student Holden knew when he was still attending Elkton Hills. Holden has an odd respect for Castle because Castle committed suicide by jumping out of his window after refusing to submit to a group of bullies who locked Castle and themselves with in Castle’s room. For some reason, Holden thinks of Castle when Phoebe asks him to name just one thing he genuinely likes—a sign that he admires both Castle’s unwillingness to give in to bullies and the fact that he committed suicide, which is something Holden himself often thinks about.

James Castle Character Timeline in The Catcher in the Rye

The timeline below shows where the character James Castle appears in The Catcher in the Rye. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...thinking, his mind wanders to the nuns he met that morning. It also wanders to James Castle , an Elkton Hills student who committed suicide while Holden was also a student there.... (full context)

...but also maintain a sense of authority. In fact, it was Mr. Antolini who picked James Castle off the ground when the boy jumped out of the window. For this reason, Holden... (full context)