Ackley

Ackley is a student at Pencey Prep whose room is adjacent to Holden Caulfield's. He is socially inept, unhygienic, and unattractive, with visible dental problems, poor complexion, and generally slovenly appearance. Holden Caulfield is simultaneously contemptuous of Ackley and somewhat sympathetic to his social isolation and failure to fit in. Holden Caulfield judges Ackley harshly for his physical appearance and lack of social graces, yet recognizes in Ackley a kindred spirit of sorts—another boy who does not fit into the social hierarchy of Pencey Prep. Their relationship is characterized by mutual discomfort and Holden Caulfield's ambivalent mixture of mockery and pity.