Many authors draw inspiration from their own lives for their works and characters. J.D. Salinger's development of Holden Caulfield's character was influenced by Salinger's complications in his school life, devastating past relationships, and overwhelming traumatic events during his pre-The Catcher in the Rye adulthood. JD Salinger's school life had many significant events which are shown through Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye. In the novel, seventeen-year-old Holden Caulfield drops out of Pencey Prep. In the first chapter, Holden states “…I had just returned from New York with the fencing team. I was the damn manager of the fencing team. Big deal. That morning we had gone to New York for this fencing match with the McBurney School. From this statement you can clearly see parts of Salinger's school life because at the age of 13 Salinger attended McBurney School and managed the fencing team there. After McBurney School, at age 15, Salinger “was sent to Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania, which later served as the inspiration for Pencey Prep” (as told by www.nndb.com). This reveals how Salinger incorporated his childhood/school life into The Catcher in the Rye. Later, Holden begins describing Ackley in chapter three and says, "With a guy like Ackley, if you looked up from your book you were done for." At Valley Forge Military Academy, "there was actually a boy named Ackley... although his fellow alumni said he was a very pleasant person" (as stated by www.shmoop.com). Perhaps Salinger let Holden describe him in a hostile way because this was what the young Salinger thought but couldn't say. In chapter 10, Holden describes Phoebe by saying, "You've never seen such a cute little boy... middle of the paper...&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch %2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction% 3Dclick%26contentCollection%3Dunfine%26region%3DTopBar%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26pgtype%3DTopic%23%2Fthe+catcher+in+the+ryehttp://www.nndb.com/people/743/000022677 /http://www. shmoop.com/jd-salinger/childhood.htmlhttp://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/features/2162/index2.htmlhttp://www.litkicks.com/JDSalinger#.U3qp3cbpXUQhttp://www.dailymail.co .uk/news/article-1246881/Why-did-JD-Salinger-spend-60-years-hiding-shed-writing-love-notes-teenage-girls.htmlhttp://partners nytimes.com/books/98 /09/13/specials/salinger-blocked.htmlhttp://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_didn't_Holden_commit_suicide_in_Catcher_in_the_Rye#page1http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_spectator/ 2013/09/interpreting_catcher_in_the_rye_the_one_big_mistake_people_make.htmlhttp ://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-catcher-in-the-rye