D.B.

Another important character in J. D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye is D. B., Holden’s older brother. He is also the first of the Caulfields that Holden describes extensively in the novel:

I mean that’s all I told D. B. about, and he’s my brother and all. He’s in Hollywood (…) He just got a jaguar (…) He’s got a lot of dough, now. He didn’t use to. He used to be just a regular writer, when he was home. He wrote this terrific book of short stories, The Secret Goldfish, in case you never heard of him (…) Now he’s out in Hollywood, D. B., being a prostitute. (pp. 1-2).

D. B. is a screenplay writer in Hollywood, which Holden hates because he feels that his older brother sacrificed his talent for the sake of money. Although he dislikes D. B. for his decision to...