Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual”. In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield’s lies become habitual throughout the book. Holden is a sixteen-year-old boy, who has been kicked out of several schools including, most recently, Pencey Prep. Holden’s younger brother, Allie, died when Holden was only thirteen and his older brother is too busy working for Hollywood to care about Holden. Although his mother cares immensely for him, Holden saddens her by failing academically. The only motivator that Holden has to continue living is his younger sister, Phoebe, who is extraordinarily intelligent for her age. After he gets kicked out of Pencey, Holden is lost in life. He speaks to many people, seeking advice and comfort, but they are not able to help him find a human connection. Holden’s depression increases throughout the novel, almost to the point of suicide. He criticizes many people and ideas, labeling them as ‘phony’. Holden lies as a result of his depression, in order to hide the fact that he’s lonely and bored with his life, to divert any questions which he believes are too personal, and to create his own reality. In this way, Salinger illustrates how, during difficult times, people resort to lying as a coping mechanism. In the beginning of the story, Holden lied to divert questions in order to protect his personal information.
Throughout the novel, Holden progresses to become more aware of his actions. Holden’s process is slowed an adolescent state of mind where his self-absorption doesn’t allows for him to fully see how his actions affect the outcomes he receives. Holden’s pathology consistently brings negative outcomes. Holden occasionally learns to take responsibility of his actions and realizes he must live in the present instead of the past. Holden is able to form meaningful connections with a limited few and use these as a hopeful path for his future.
Catcher in the Rye is the recounting of the weekend after the main character gets expelled for the umpteenth time from another uppity private school. The name of the main character, "Holden Caulfield," can be broken down in such a way that it reveals the character in question's tendency to hold onto and protect happier memories and childhood innocence from this big, unfair, scary game we call life, without realizing that he would be stunting the growth of those whom he is protecting. The character's first name, "Holden", can be interpreted as a pun for how he wants to "hold on" to better times. Throughout the story, Holden speaks fondly about his childhood summer memories, talking about when he used to play checkers with Jane Gallagher (p.17), or when he, his younger siblings, Phoebe and Allie, went to the park every Sunday (p. 37) to play, and often brushes the more serious moments he has experienced off, instead of going on a tangent like he usually does (p.21).
Holden Caulfield has had a pretty rough childhood and his time at Pency was no different. Holden was failing all of his classes but one by the time Christmas vacation came around. Along with his failing grades, Holden had a very negative outlook on the world and the people around him. He hated most everyone and complained about everything. Holden being the negative young man he was, he decided to stay in his dorm one Saturday night while the rest of the school was at a football game.
Preposterous lying is a trait that Holden shows forth throughout the novel. In chapter 3 he warned the readers that he loves to lie and he does a good job at doing it (22). Holden would tell lies over and over again just to protect himself from any hurt or rejection. Another flip side to why Holden lies is because he tends to get bored with certain conversations he has with his peers so lying helps him to check out of reality for a while and in doing this, he tries to impress people and let them feel sorry for him. This makes him feel extremely superior.
In Catcher in the Rye very early on in the book Holden admits to being a liar. Yet, Holden embodies most of the archetypal truth-tellers in some form. Holden isn't necessarily deceiving the reader for any personal gain, nor is he flat out insane he's just a kid telling a story. Humans, in general, are unreliable narrators, teenagers especially so. The point of having the narrator(Holden Caulfield) is that it firmly places you into the story and with a perspective.
Evans is incorrect for assuming that the emotions Holden expresses are fabricated. In fact, Holden is a young man who feels incredibly deeply, but he often subconsciously chooses to conceal those feelings, like adolescents are known for doing. For example, when Old Maurice and Sunny come to his hotel room and abuse him to get the money he ‘owes’ them, he reveals, “I was still sort of crying. I was so damn mad and nervous and all“ (Salinger 103). He feels truly upset as a result of this personal injustice.
Holden Caulfield in the novel “The Catcher In The Rye” is a scrawny teen who loves his red hunting hat and can’t relate with anyone. His personality is reason he can’t relate, his personality sucks, it’s depressing, judgy, and sensitive. My first impression of him was that he sure complained a lot, and he says goddamn way to much, and he doesn’t care about himself. Holden is always talking about depression, every chapter he talks about being depressed, mostly when he remembers something that someone said. He gets depressed over the simplest things, he thinks to much about things, and he exaggerates situations.
In order to avoid becoming a phony he displays acts that he himself would call phony. Holden breaks every mental rule that he sets for other people. He lies and doesn’t apply himself to school even though he has to mental capacity to do so. “I thought I do was, I’d pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. That way I would have to have any stupid useless conversations with anybody” (Salinger 257).
Moreover, there is conflict in Holden’s transition from his teenage years to adulthood. Exhausted of this life, Holden wants to skip town and “get a job at a filling station somewhere”(Salinger 198). Just like a child, Holden literally wanted to run away from his problems, his only notion was to say goodbye to his younger sister, Phoebe. As he is with her, she tells Holden that she wants to accompany him, she even packed her bags. Admittedly, Holden then has an epiphany and realizes that he cannot leave.
Holden finds solace in lying to almost everyone that he meets just for something to do. For example, when on a train ride to New York City, he encounters a classmates mother and fathomed an entire fake story about her son. After numerous lies, Holden tries to quickly end the discussion with an unfortunate excuse once it started to get personal and says, “It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain” (Salinger ) This quote exemplifies how Holdens chronic lying shows the reader how he is not content with himself.
“I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life.” This is a contradiction in Holden’s behavior throughout the story. Holden dislikes when people lie to him. But Holden himself lies to people all the time.
Holden Caulfield is a teenage rebel who is struggling to grow up. He can’t keep up with it, so he starts to search for a way to break free. His cynicism ends him up alone for twenty-four hours in the city where he experiences the adult world. Holden’s isolation, however, is disappointment interlaced with a bit of hope. Phoebe Caulfield is Holden’s innocent, ten year old younger sister.
Holden’s desire for individualism coupled with the loss of the only true individual he knew created a breach of loneliness in Holden's life that was unable to be filled. Overall, chapter 20 best displays Holden’s struggle with depression as his thoughts of his own death, funeral, and afterlife become more frequent. Throughout the chapter Holden constantly voices his ideas of what his funeral would be like. Holden is even happy that “[his mother] wouldn't let old Phoebe come to [his] funeral because she was only a little kid” (171) implying Holden feels it would be ok to die since, Phoebe would be shielded some of the pain she may face with his death.
In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the reader follows the narrator Holden Caulfield in the 1950’s. Holden is noticeably different from everyone else. It’s easy to see that he is in a constant struggle, trying his best to be true to himself, and not be what he calls a “phony”. A “phony” is described by Holden to be someone who acts the way they are not. “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies.
For example, he tells the reader this when he hired the prostitute saying that he “felt much more depressed than sexy” (Salinger 95). Again, it is seen that he values innocence and childlike qualities when he is attempting to make an emotional connection. The prostitute is described as young and Holden seems to have trouble comprehending that something that should be innocent is in fact not innocent which end up depressing him because more young-like people are supposed have more innocent qualities rather than doing something that is not innocent as in Sunny's case: prostitution. In like manner, Holden admits he is depressed at random times, whether it would on the street, or whether he sees someone going to a movie: “but when somebody really wants to go and even walks fast as so to get there quicker, then it depresses the hell out of me” (Salinger 116). In this case, Holden is referring to his other brother D.B (who is alive).