Holden's Phonies In 'Catcher In The Rye'

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. Lying provides Holden with a sense of control, something he desperately needs because he feels that this world is so out of control with all of these phonies he mentions. In Chapter 8, Holden

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield often refers to the people around him as ¨phonies.¨ Although he uses this word to describe almost everyone he meets, Holden never refers to himself as a phony. In reality, Holden Caulfield himself is the epitome of phony. He is a pathological liar, and he often pretends to be something that he is not.

Furthermore, alienation is showed by Holden. He tends to alienate himself from the world because he fears change, he wants love and a sense of comfort. He isolates himself when he didn't go down to the bleachers for the game at and he also isolates himself by constantly getting kicked out of schools. All those changes make Holden feel alienated because he just doesn't fit in. He tends to alienate himself because he doesn't trust anyone, he thinks everyone is fake . When Holden was at a Earls piano bar and he lied to D.B.’s ex- girlfriend that he had to leave because, he thought she was annoying and left the even though he didn't want to. He seems not to care too much about his ex-girlfriend Sally either, he told her she was a pain in the butt;

In the novel Catcher in the Rye, Holden refers to everyone except his little sister Phoebe, Jane and himself as phonies. It seems as if the word

school.Since Holden finds it infuriating living amongst people with no sense of morality. Consequently,his discontent with school hinders the enrichment he wishes his life to encompass. Therefore, Holden’s objectives of school are not being accomplished. Holden foresees countless misery and restlessness in his future. Therefore, his depression and thoughts of suicide are enkindled by the emotional dissatisfaction he experiences at Pencey. Second, Holden’s reckless behaviour of excessive drinking to escape his problems also displays his depression. For example, after Holden’s heated argument with Sally, he fails to maturely resolve his problem with Sally.Instead, he decides to bury himself in alcohol. This is revealed when he states,“she kept telling me to go away and leave her alone, so finally I did… and left without her.

Why would Holden call others phony when he is a phony himself? Holden’s repetitive use of the word phony throughout the novel begins to show his true colors. Some examples of him calling others phony is the headmaster, the actual school Pencey Prep, Ossenburger, Sally Hayes, Stradlater, also people he did not know. J.D. Salinger reveals Holden’s “phoniness” to the audience through his hypocritical use of the words fake and phony.

What did you want to be when you grow up? Holden Caulfield, from Catcher in the Rye did know what he was going to do. The Catcher in the Rye is about the 16 year old boy I mentioned earlier, recalling the events that took place after he was expelled from Pencey Prep. He then decides to roam New York, after he gets into a fight with his roommate, Stradlater. Then, the rising action builds from there. But, what changed Holden throughout the book? What was his “illuminating moment”? Well, I couldn’t decide on one specific moment. It's kind of debated in my head which one of the last couple chapters really changed Holden. There was the chapter when he sneaks into his own house and talks to Phoebe for the first time in forever. Or, the last chapter,

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.

Holden first had a conversation with Mr. Spencer in chapter 2. Mr. Spencer is Holden’s history teacher at Pencey Prep. Holden says that Mr. Spencer is not very wealthy because they do not have a maid and that they have to open the door themselves. This is different than Mr. Antolini because Mr. Antolini is wealthy and Holden describes this in chapter 24. Mr. Spencer is the only teacher and Pencey Prep that cares that Holden was expelled. Mr. Spencer cares about Holden and his future while Holden likes Mr. Spencer he still calls him a “phony”. Mr. Spencer is a “phony” because he is a suck up around his boss and it makes Holden lose respect for him. Mr. Antolini on the other hand is described as the best teacher he has ever had and the kids in

What is phoniness? According to the Merriam Webster dictionary a phony is a person who is not honest or sincere who says things that are meant to deceive. Therefore, phoniness is someone who doesn 't act as themselves, they deceive people by acting like someone they aren’t, even themselves. Holden describes phonies all throughout the book, he keeps calling out people for being fake. "The waiter was waiting for her to move out of the way, but she didn 't even notice him. It was funny. You could tell the waiter didn 't like her much you could tell even the Navy guy didn 't like her much even though he was dating her. And I didn 't like her much. Nobody did" (41). In the quote above Holden calls out the Navy guy for being phony because he is dating Lillian Simmons even though he didn 't like her much. Therefore, he is being someone he isn 't and lying to himself.

While many argue that Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye does not deviate from the traditional anti-hero attributes and, therefore, does not display any prominent change, an argument can be made to the contrary. Holden Caulfield goes through some noticeable character development and is in a better place emotionally at the end of the book because he speaks with Phoebe. His meeting with Phoebe and Phoebe’s message to him shows him a youth’s perspective on his world, rather than the superficial sincerity of his elderly professor and his favorite teacher that makes advances on him. Additionally, him being able to successfully communicate with a member of his own family puts him in a better place. His time with her lets him see his own self-image of a “catcher in the rye.” By, Holden has been able to change and will be able to change even more in the future.

There is one experience in life that everyone can relate to. Whether it was pleasurable or not, no one can deny the fact that they have not been through it. This experience is that of growing up and change, a time in all of our lives where it is such a complicated yet natural process that kids just ‘go with it’. In the novel, Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield suffers from the same complexity in his life. Holden is struck with events throughout the book questioning his maturity and emotions. He is unable to analyze what maturity really is because he does not want to grow up. The first stage of the motif Growing Up/Change is seen when Holden constantly thinks about his peers and siblings and how he would like to protect them. The final stage of this motif shows Holden wanting to protect kids from the vulgar world. However, he is struggling because he would prefer to stay innocent,

Attending school in the 1950s, Holden is a victim of a conformist American society. In a historical context, postwar America is characterized by a booming economy, industrialization and the creation of uniform suburban communities throughout the country. There was also a call for a united America, with the tensions of the Cold War taking hold and a need to fight communism. This attitude of uniformity could be seen in the American education system at the same time, where students were expected to fit the mould of the ideal American child. This child was idealized as being obedient, respectful and subordinate to their superiors. This is exactly what Holden grows to detest whilst attending Pencey, the conformist culture he was forced into, which Holden describes as “corny” (Salinger, 19) or “phony”

It is the “phoniness” he wants to blame. Salinger used “phony” this word many times in the book and is one of the most famous word from “The Catcher in the Rye” and it accurately describes the human nature of most adults’. During Holden’s three-day-trip in New York, he has met and encountered with many characters who are pretentious and fake, from Mr. Spencer to Luce and Sally. In society people have to lie or be “phony” just to socialize, or impress someone. Holden is a judgemental person who keeps observing other people’s phoniness but never notices them in himself. He lies intensely throughout the course of the novel, starting from lying to Ackley at the very beginning of the book. From his sarcastic tone in his conversation with other people, readers can denote his own cynical view on the world. Holden views adulthood as phony, hypocritical and fake while childhood in his mind is a world of innocence, honesty, and joy. That is the main reason why he wants to be a “catcher in the rye” to protect and save all the children from falling into the phony adult world. Holden Caulfield’s despise of fakeness causes his resistance of growing into a more mature person, with the lack of ability to interact with other people, make him a

The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is mainly about the awful phony world. Holden typically calls adults phonies, but a phony is also a person who is fake, shows off, and lies. Since adults are phonies, Holden does not want to grow up. He fears that his innocence and children’s innocence can be taken away by phonies. As a result, Holden metaphorically and literally is the catcher in the rye who protects children’s innocence in order to guide them into not becoming adults. Holden as the catcher in the rye, allows himself to stay genuine. However, Holden later realizes that good things can survive in a world of phonies because eventually everyone grows up, but that does not necessarily mean they turn into phonies. For example, Holden