Holden Morrisey Caulfield is a fictional character in author J. D. Salinger's 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye. Since the book's publication, Holden has become an icon for teenage rebellion and angst, and is considered among the most important characters of 20th-century American literature. The name Holden Caulfield was used in an unpublished short story written in 1941 and first appeared in print in 1945.