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The Importance Of Human Relationships In The Catcher In The Rye

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Human connection is what we all need and want in our lives; it’s our nature. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the narrator, Holden Caulfield, retells his life as a sixteen year old almost a year later. It’s clear that he has an unusual view on the world where he has a lot of internal conflict. His idealized view on the world actually harms him more than helps him deal with his past tragedies. In attempt to distract himself from reality, he runs from anything real.
Holden has an internal conflict with his feelings that has yet to be resolved. We have seen throughout the novel that he loves to lie. Even though he knows that it is wrong to lie, he cannot help but create a fantasy word through pretending. While he was on the train with Mrs. Morrow, he kept spitting out lies even though he wasn’t in a position where he really needed to. Instead of introducing himself properly, he said, “"Rudolf Schmidt," I told her. I didn 't feel like giving her my whole life history. Rudolf Schmidt was the name of the janitor of our dorm” (Salinger 54). He lies so constantly that it’s become second nature and much easier than the truth. This is completely contradictory to his belief that everyone is a “phony”. When asked by his little sister why he left Pencey, he responded, “A million reasons why. It was one of the worst schools I ever went to. It was full of phonies” (Salinger 185). He said the exact same thing about another school, Elkton Hills. It’s ironic how he finds

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