Holden Caulfield Phony

The narrator of The Catcher in the Rye is an adolescent child from New York named Holden Caulfield. At the beginning of the story, Holden departs from “what may be the last in a series of schools that have failed to inspire, nurture, or support him” (Aubry). Holden leaves a place which benefits him, he can not see in the moment how much this school benefits him and will lead him into a good future. Following his departure, Holden can be found wandering the streets of New York, sleep deprived and alone. Everyone he encounters in these next few days is described and labeled as “phony” by Caulfield. Holden struggles to find people in his world that are authentic and worthy of relationship. The novel expresses a struggling individual’s alienation in a society where materialism, shallowness and insincerity are prioritized among people. Throughout the novel, many voices emerge: youth's voices, adult’s

To Holden, Allie is the kindest and smartest person. He completely idealizes him, even after he is dead. When Phoebe asked Holden what he liked, he said Allie and then Phoebe said that that did not really count because he was dead. Holden responded with, “I know he’s dead! Don’t you think I know that? I can still like him, though, can’t I? Just because somebody’s dead, you don’t just stop liking them, for God’s sake-especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that’re alive and all.” This shows how much Holden loves him and how upset he is that he is dead. Throughout the book, Holden also sees Allie as a kind of guardian angel. There was a scene in the book where Holden is crossing the street, and while he is, he is ‘talking’ to Allie and saying ‘Allie don’t let me disappear’ over and over again. Then, once he would get to the other side without disappearing, he would thank Allie for keeping him safe. Holden tends to talk to Allie when he gets really depressed about something. It is a way for Holden to feel better. Him talking to Allie is a much better way for Holden to handle his problems than what he has previously done. On the day Allie died, he had slept in the garage and had broken all of the windows in the garage with his fist. He had broken his hand and wasn’t able to go to Allie’s funeral because he had to be hospitalized. Nothing had affected Holden more than the death of his brother,

Throughout the novel, Holden explains his journey to New York and the events that occurred there. In the beginning of the novel, the readers are informed of his dead brother, Allie. Allie is Holden's incentive to try and create a greater impact on others’ lives since he could not do the same for his brother. It was then too late after, Allie died of leukemia. Holden couldn't thoroughly form a childhood bond with his brother during the limited time that he had. Holden strives to protect all innocence because he couldn't do the same for

Imagine going under treatment in a mental hospital or any medical center and telling a story of when you were sixteen years old. Well in the novel, Catcher In The Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield tells a story of when he was sixteen years old from a mental hospital. J.D Salinger gives his outlook of the world through the main character of the book; Holden Caulfield. The book was first released to be a book for adults, but over the years has become common throughout young adults and teens. The main character and narrator is Holden Caulfield. Holden is a sixteen year old who is expelled from his four schools, due to failure in each of his classes. He frequently refers to people he does not like as phonies. Although Holden Caulfield is very negative throughout the book, he is also very hypocritical towards many things. Holden is very hypocritical towards many things because he calls almost everyone in the book a phony, and he whines and complains about people and their flaws. Even though he tries to hide the fact that he can also be a phony or any other person that he complains about.

This further develops Holden’s character to vent over the death of Allie and reinforce his moral code. When Phoebe is with Holden, Holden mentions Allie when he snaps and explains that, “[He] know he's dead!” He then says “I can still like him, though, can't I? Just because somebody's dead, you don't just stop liking them. [...] Especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that're alive." This allows Holden to vent his frustration allowing him to move along the stages of grief. (Salinger Chapter 22) Phoebe's character also heavily complies with Holden's moral values. Holden values a attentive and authentic persona rather than the fake and passive persona that he perceives many people to possess. When he was younger he noticed “When[he talked to] Allie[...]old Phoebe'd be listening. Sometimes you'd forget she was around, because she was such a little kid, but she'd let you know. She'd interrupt you all the time. She'd give [Holden and Allie a] push or something, and say, Who? Who said that? Bobby or the lady? And [they'd] tell her who said it, and she'd say, Oh, and go right on listening and all. She killed Allie, too. He liked her, too. She's ten now, and not such a tiny little kid anymore[...] Anyway, she was somebody you always felt like talking to on the phone. ” (Salinger Chapter 10) This reveals how he value the authenticity and attentiveness of Phoebe and he strongly relates and connects with his siblings. This evidently reveals that Phoebe works as a confidant for

    Without love and guidance, young people often find themselves lost; unsure of what direction their lives are headed. Such is the case with Holden Caulfield, a character from the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Holden is a sixteen-year old boy who has lost his way. Hold has suffered a great loss, the death of his Brother, Allie.

So far while reading the novel I have met the main character Holden Caulfield who narrates this whole story. Holden is very interesting being only 16 and already be kicked out of schools, he claims that he is out of shape because of smoking. You would think that going to a prep school he would be participating in sports teams. The way that Holden views everything and everyone as "phony" makes you wonder what happened in his past to give him this idea about everyone. Another character that we have met is Holden’s older brother D. B. Caulfield. D. B. wrote a volume of short stories that Holden admires very much, and is writing for Hollywood movies. I am intrigued

Being his first time attempting to bond with a girl, he allows his emotions to go out of control and lose his grip telling himself he felt like “marrying her the minute I saw her.” At the play, Holden is unable to focus on the plot since the actors’ performance seemed to be conceited which made him lose interest. As well with the conversation between Sally and George which seemed to be phony. Describing that anyone who is confident, or relaxed, in society is a phony since he only knows how to trust disdain and skepticism, since it’s all he knows, being his personality. As the two continue their night out Holden questions her thoughts on school and expresses his loathing with school, New York, buses, taxis, etc. Ignoring Sally’s request, Holden

Although Allie was Holden’s younger sibling, Holden often idolized Allies throughout the text, stating how Allie was “a nice kid” (50). This remark may seem general, but coming from Holden actually holds deeper denotation, as he finds it very hard to find perfection in anything. This godlike stature of Allie made Holden more susceptible to Allie’s death, which although was both unpredictable and uncaused for, as Allie died of leukemia. This completely altered Holden as he started doing many things seen as others as uncalled for and unpredictable, such as breaking all the windows in his family’s garage. The thought that explains Allie’s relation to Holden best is when Holden states that although he “hardly didn’t know why [he] was doing it, and you didn’t know Allie” (50).

Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye tells the story of teenage boy Holden Caulfield’s struggles navigating the complex world of boarding school as well as his life at home in New York. Although Holden encounters various characters throughout the novel, the ones that appear the most are his siblings, ten-year-old Phoebe, his older brother D.B., and his younger brother Allie, who passed away three or four years prior to the start of the novel. Holden’s siblings allow the reader to see a more personal side to Holden and reveal his own internal conflicts and emotions. In The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger uses Holden’s siblings, although they are not present throughout the novel, to illuminate Holden’s fears regarding loss of innocence and help him come to terms with it and what it means.

This quote shows how Holden feels about Allie. Holden views his brother as an image of perfection, since he is dead and Holden cannot see any of Allie's flaws. Allie died at the age of ten, and Holden thus sees him as dying while he was still an innocent child. Since Holden has no contact with children other than his sister Phoebe, who herself has an urgent desire to become an adult, Holden idolizes Allie. He protects his brother as an image of innocence that he will forever be able to remember.

J.D. Salinger’s 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, revolves around a teenage boy named Holden Caulifield who’s an icon for teenage rebellion. Holden starts his story about the Pencey Preschool in Pennsylvania, where he's notified as an expelled student. The adult world is driving him crazy, the only person he can relate to is his sister Phoebe. From his point of view, everything looks phony.

Allie died of leukemia in the Caulfield summer home in Maine when he was eleven and Holden was thirteen. Allie’s death occurred when Holden was in a very formative year in one’s life, and had a major effect on his mental health. Allie’s demise caused Holden to lose his sense of self and home. Angered by the death of his beloved brother, Holden punches a wall and windows and injures his hand, which causes him to be sent to the hospital and later miss the funeral ceremony. The ache that lingers in his hand reminds Holden of the pain that Allie’s untimely death caused. Allie’s life ended while he was still young and unchanged by the harsh reality of the world, and he is suspended in a sort of childlike purity in Holden’s mind. Holden oftentimes calls upon the memory of Allie when confronted with dark and frustrating thoughts and troubles. Allie is one of the only people Holden does not believe to be a phony, like he does with so many others. Holden’s worldview is skewed because of Allie’s death. Allie is somewhat of a saint in Holden’s mind, unblemished and wholesome. Holden describes Allie as the most intelligent member of the family and the nicest. Holden tells the reader, “He was two years younger than I was, but he was about fifty times as intelligent” (Salinger, 49). Allie is undoubtedly the most influential force in Holden’s

Holden Caulfield is the main character of the novel The Catcher in the Rye, where he is characterized as a rebellious teenager growing up in the 1950’s. He had recently gotten expelled once again and decided to face his problem by escaping to New York before the school year ended, and then return to back home to face his punishment (Banned Book: The Catcher in the Rye.). As the story continues, the reader is shown his experience and thoughts, most of which can seem inappropriate to an immature audience. He faces occasions of nervous breakdowns, depression, and impulsive spending. Holden is such that of any teenager in

Holden Caulfield, the protagonist and main character of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, seems to have many dislikes and much fewer likes about life, as a whole. In many situations throughout the book, Holden seems to have negative thoughts about every little thing. From his school, Pencey Prep, to movies or actors; even to the word “grand,” Holden seemingly holds a distaste in just about anything that crosses paths with him. However, further into the novel, it becomes apparent that one of the causes Holden holds dearest to his heart is to keep the innocence of children for as long as possible. Holden wants to be the “catcher in the rye” because one of the things he loves is young kids and the catcher saves them.