How Does Holden Present Phonies In Catcher In The Rye

One of the major aspects that shape one’s character, are their past encounters. Within the novel, The Catcher In the Rye, J.D. Salinger tells the story through the first person protagonist Holden Caulfield, allowing the audience a glimpse into this seventeen year old’s chaotic mind. It can be implied that as Holden tells his story, he is in a psychiatric facility due to the toll his past has taken on his mental stability. As the story unfolds, Holden seems to reveal he is just a lost boy struggling to find acceptance in an insensitive world of “phonies.” Throughout Holden Caufield’s teenage years, while the loss of his brother Allie has shone a negative light on his life, Holden’s experience with the carousel helps to impact his life in a positive way. To begin, as Holden copes with the loss of

Holden for a short period of time attends a boarding school called Pencey Prep, but then states, “They kicked me out. I wasn’t supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself at all” (4). Pencey is the third school Holden gets kicked out of, however it is something that could have been avoided had Holden wanted it to. Since Allie’s death however, Holden seems to stop caring about his life progression as he struggles to face the idea of growing up and conforming to adult society. Therefore, his rebellion both academically and socially in the schools he attends display his resistance to grow up. These behaviors he shows, are psychological effects he develops due to Allie’s death, hence creating a negative impact on his life. In addition to Allie’s death causing Holden to act out, it also seems to cause neglection in Holden’s life. Just like Holden, it seems his mother has not gotten over