Ward Stradlater first appears in the book in the third chapter, and disappears after the sixth, yet, during that time, he played a significant role in Holden's life. While they were roommates, it seems as though Holden actually liked Stradlater (unlike most other people at the school). This can be seen in a few ways; first, when Holden and Ackley, another student at Pency, are talking, Ackley makes mention of the fact that he thinks Stradlater is a sonuvabitch. Holden actually defends Stradlater saying that he is not a bad guy and that Ackley just does not know him well enough. Then Holden goes on to say that if Stradlater had a tie that Ackley like, he would probably just give it to him, implying that he was perhaps a generous guy.

Also, the fact that Holden, "Horsed-around," while around Stradlater, tap-dancing for him and the like, leads the reader to feel as though Holden felt close to him. How Stradlater felt about Holden is another question. It seemed that at one point he felt pretty close to Holden, but that was most likely only because he needed him to write him a paper for him. After his paper was written, he criticized Holden for what he wrote about which leads the read to think that he, in reality, did not care too much for him. Even though the two shared a room at Pency, they had very little in common.

Stradlater was a stereotypical jock. Holden himself went into detail about how Stradlater was, "Yearbook handsome," which meant that he was very photogenic but possibly not quite as handsome in person. He was also the center on the basketball team which implies he was probably tall. Also, Holden makes mention of Stradlater's physique; apparently he was very strong, and he also had a way with the girls. All of these are in sharp contrast to Holden, who, although 6'2", was considerably weaker (which becomes apparent later), not good at sports, possibly not as handsome, and he had very little success with girls. Holden calls Stradlater a, "Secret slob," because he shaves with a dirty, rusty razor, and even though he looks good when he is done shaving, he is a

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Approximate Word count = 915
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)