Mr. Antolini

Mr. Antolini is a major character in J.D. Salinger's coming of age novel The Catcher in the Rye. He was a former teacher of the novel narrator Holden Caulfield.

History
Mr. Antolini was a former teacher of Holden Caulfield at Elkton Hills, one of the prep schools Holden was kicked out of. Holden describes Mr. Antolini as the only teacher who carried James Castle's body to the infirmary after he committed suicide by jumping off a window.

Mr. Antolini is then revealed to have a strong relationship with Holden and his family. Then, after his marriage to Lillian, an older woman, Holden and the Antolinis used to play tennis together. Mr. Antolini once warned Holden's brother, D.B., to not go to Hollywood. Holden at first admires Mr. Antolini, but loses his admiration one night.

When Mr. Antolini receive a phone call one night, he said Holden could come whenever he wanted to. When Holden arrives at Mr. Antolini's home, Holden sees Mrs. Antolini, an older woman, who is about to give him coffee.

Mr. Antolini gives Holden advice about how to improve his education and serves as a mentor to him at first glance. He even offered up to write a letter to him. When Holden gets tired, Mr. Antolini offers him a couch for him to sleep. Mr. Antolini then "forgets" to give him pajamas, making Holden forced to sleep naked. He quizzes Holden about his girlfriends and says "Good night Handsome." He also comments on Holden's long legs.

Hours later, Holden is waken up by Mr. Antolini touching his head. Holden feels shocked and tries to escape. When he tells Mr. Antolini what he was doing, Mr. Antolini claims Holden is a "strange boy" and urges him to stay. However, Mr. Antolini reluctantly let Holden leave his apartment. Holden starts to think about what happened that night, and that Mr. Antolini might have been a good person. However, considering Mr. Antolini did not apologize, Holden probably did not overreact.

Personality
At first glance, Mr. Antolini is described as a smart, compassionate teacher, as shown in him being the only teacher who made an attempt to save James Castle's body and taking it to the infirmary. He is also a married man married to his wife, but Holden later narrated that Mr. Antolini and Mrs. Antolini's relationship isn't as strong as it seems, despite them kissing in public, as they don't sleep in the same room. This indicate a facade to his true nature, which is that he is interested in young boys and wants to marry as a cover-up. During the night, he mentors Holden, but when Holden gets tired, Mr. Antolini's true colors start to show one by one, first by allowing his teenage student to sleep naked and then commenting on his long legs. When Holden wake up, Mr. Antolini is revealed to be a pervert, as he is shown caressing Holden's head. Although it may have been paternal, Mr. Antolini doesn't show remorse to his actions, as instead of apologizing to Holden he calls him strange, indicating he is a manipulative, sinister man who only wants Holden's body and not his welfare.