He sees people who are insecure, shallow, and too conventional as “phonies”. Holden also believes that actors are “phonies” because to him they “never act like people”. Holden, therefore contradicts himself and can be considered a phony. Throughout the book he has many interactions with other people in New York and during these interactions he usually has to introduce himself in some way. You would probably think that he would just say who he is, right?
Holden cannot handle accepting blame for his shortfalls. This is evident in the way he retells his story. Holden repeatedly tells the reader outrageous claims about his character. However when he ends up coming short on these expectations, he backtracks his previous statements in order to shift the blame away from himself. When he first discusses his fight with Stradlater he says, “All I know was I
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.
Furthermore, Holden starts to hate all the adults or loses faith in them, calls them phony. Holden has a second thought of becoming an adult he loses hope in his future and it seems to him nothing in the world matters to him anymore. We can see that throughout the book. He smokes, gets drunk, and does daring acts like getting a prostitute in his room. He also tries to escape all this guilt and grief by wasting time with unnecessary people he calls phony.
Holden tells her what he thinks she would want to hear, instead of the truth to try and make him and her son look good as if Holden is fitting into Society by faking and showing kindness towards the lady. Another example of Holden showing these emotions and wanting to fit in, is in Salinger’s Novel, “The Catcher in The Rye”, Holden states to Sally, “why don't you go on over and give him a big soul kiss, if you know him? He’ll enjoy it.” (141). During this part of the book Holden is hanging out with his old friend Sally, who he likes and thinks is cute, and he gets mad and says a dumb thing which is what is quoted above.
He takes the reader on a journey over a few days from him leaving the school to roaming the streets of New York. The question is Holden a Phony often pops into the minds of the reader. Holden is a phony because he is a hypocrite who does things that he criticize others for. He is a phony because he pretends to be someone that he is not,
Hypocrites conceal their true identity to judge others based on their own ideals, yet neglect to follow the same values themselves. The book The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, is a coming of age story featuring a character named Holden Caulfield. Holden has recently been expelled from his school, Pencey Prep, when the story begins and follows him on his procrastinated journey home. Holden believes that everyone should abide by his standard of be who they really are, and anyone who is slightly dishonest or genuine is a “phony”. Throughout the novel he constantly judges other people and the world from his perspective of how everything should be, yet he fails to realise his own flaws.
Once I get started, I can go on for hours if I feel like it. No kidding. Hours.” (Salinger, 58). Throughout the whole novel, Holden stresses how he absolutely hates when people lie, however here he admits how good of a liar he is, and how hard he finds it to stop.
Holden struggles with growing up and facing reality. There are many examples of Holden’s immaturity that are displayed in many forms such as facing responsibilities, his speech, his actions, and etc. Holden’s outlook on adult life is that it is superficial and brimming with phonies, but childhood was all about looking pleasing and innocent. He wants everything to stay the same and for time to stop. As Holden progresses in age, he will discover more about becoming mature in the
So Holden had warnings to start trying, but he didn’t take them. He was going to get kicked out of Pency, and didnt care enough to apply himself to stay in school. The author of the story used characterization to reveal Holden’s personality. He used what Holden said to reveal this. By Holden swearing all the time shows he has a negative social behavior, and doesn’t
Sobrado, 1 Alexandra Sobrado 1B August 30, 2016 Who Runs the World...? Phoniness Holden Caulfield has a unique way of thinking, when he sees people he instantly begins to think they are phony. Throughout the whole book Holden calls everybody a phony, he thinks that everybody is fake. One example is Ackley. He begins to tell everybody about his summer and how he almost hooked up with a girl.
If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff,...” (Salinger 51). Holden’s observation is discussing that people often lie when leaving a conversation or when saying hello to people, Holden claims that he hates when people say they are glad to see you because they do not mean it.
Shouldn’t someone who acts tough and often brags know that they will never become a phony? The answer would be yes if Holden wasn’t so insecure. Holden’s childish ways cause him to never mature and figure out who he is as a person. We see many signs of Holden insecurities throughout the book, like the fact that he contradicts himself. An example of this would be when Sally and Holden are in the taxi and he tells her he loves her, he then counties to say, “It was a lie, of course, but the thing is, I meant it when I said it” (Salinger 139).
It 's awful” (19). Again, Holden says that he’s a “terrific” liar although he’s an “awful” liar. Holden doesn’t make the observation here because he’s denying the truth. Holden isn’t reliable because his observations is inaccurate and the readers has to interpret what he
Holden Caulfield is a perpetual liar and this resonates throughout the entire novel. It is evident that Holden lies as a strange way to entertain himself, avoid uncomfortable situations or to get himself out of trouble. He even admits to being a liar himself by stating: “I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera.
