Holden's Use Of Phony In Catcher In The Rye

Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D Salinger is a classic novel that is not only controversial but contains relatable characters such as Holden Caulfield. Holden is a 16 year old boy who has gone through so much pain and hurt throughout his life that he has given up in school and during the novel you start to see that he has given up at life itself as well. Holden struggles with depression, unhealthy drinking habits and with failing out of school. These three struggles are very relatable to teenagers these days. In the following paragraphs I will show you the connection between teenagers these days and Holden and the the similarities that make him such a relatable character. Holden is an ideal and universal representation of teenagers.

In The Catcher in The Rye, by J.D, the main character, Holden, can be seen as a troubled teenager growing up in a less than perfect society. Throughout the novel Holden struggles with the fact that many young and innocent kids will grow up and see the world from a different perspective. He naturally becomes worried for all future generations who will one day grow, as he did, and loose their innocence. The fixation of youth and innocence can be seen in the title of the book, as well as throughout the novel.

Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child. “All of a sudden I

Teenagers lives their life differently. However, when the time of being a adolescent arrives, they all have the same confusion and mindsets. J. D. Salinger’s novel, “The Catcher in the Rye”, is about a seventeen year old boy named Holden Caulfield, who lives his life with complexes and problems of his owns. Holden lives his life according to his favor and commit unreasonable actions. Holden has a difficult time trying to understand what being a teenager is. Holden Caulfield is a typical teenager because he expresses the problems of being a teenager.

Teenage years are difficult. Time tells this story of struggle again and again. The Catcher in the Rye is a classic novel showing the struggles a teenager goes through while transitioning into adulthood. The main character, Holden Caulfield, is a judgmental and temperamental boy who struggles to see the positivity in life. Throughout the story, Holden searches to find himself, as he feels forced to grow up. He holds onto aspects of his childhood and isolates himself so much that it is even harder for him to transition. J.D. Salinger uses the red hunting hat, the museum and cigarettes as important symbols in the story to convey the themes of transitioning from childhood to adulthood, loneliness, and isolation.

Many Americans think that people who are different than them in some way or another are inferior. Holden embodies this need for judgement with his feeling that all adults or other adult-like students are “phonies.” He thinks that because they are different than him, they are less than him. Holden rarely sees an adult that he does not think of as a phony, “It was very phony- I mean him being such a big snob and all” (Ch.12 pg. 110). Even though Holden admits that this piano player is very talented and humble he thinks that he is still a phony. This gives good insight into how Holden sees people around him. Like many people in America, Holden jumps to conclusions and judges people who are different than

In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger captures a teenage boy’s struggle with adolescence. The story is told from the perspective of Holden Caulfield, who embarks on a journey to New York City after being expelled from his boarding school. He meets new people and has experiences that reveal his personality and interactions. In the story, Holden is “fed up” with the world, he feels that everything and almost every person he encounters is “phony,” (a word often used by Holden). Anyone who Holden perceives to have affectations, he deems to be different from him. These people appear to be socially intelligent and are generally accepted into society, unlike Holden. Although Holden is very judgemental, he fails to recognize his own phoniness as well. So,

Death is a concept to which Holden is no stranger. He speaks lovingly of his brother, Allie, who died of leukemia. "He was terrifically intelligent....But it wasn't just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest, in lots of ways. He never got mad at anybody....He used to laugh so hard at something he thought of at the dinner table that he just about fell off his chair" (38).

In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the theme is based on the teenage confusion of the main character Holden Caulfield. Salinger introduces Holden Caulfield, second out of four children coming from an upper middle class New York family, who tells the story of his youth. The Catcher in the Rye is the most famous J.D. Salinger’s novel and has made a great impact when it came out due to its controversial nature. Holden is portrayed as a 17-year old who feels lost in the modern society and finds flaws in almost all of its segments, resulting in repulsion towards nearly everything he encounters.

With how many times Holden has used the word phony, most people believe that he is. If you take a look at some of his actions compared to what he has said you will see the same thing. For example Holden said “Mr. Haas would just shake hands with them and give them a phony smile.” (Salinger 17) This shows that Holden thinks that Mr. Haas just wanted everyone to think that he was really charming, so that the parents would be more comfortable sending their sons there. Later on in the book Holden starts taking to Ernest Morrow’s mother. Throughout the conversation Holden repeatedly lies about how Ernest acts at their school, Pencey. You can see this when Holen says “Then I just started shooting the old crap around a bit. He really adapts himself very well to things…” (Salinger 62) Holden gets mad at different people for being phony towards others, when in reality is just as guilty of being as phony as

He recognizes that children are not phonies, they say what they want, do what they want, and do not care what others think. However, he sees that adults are the exact opposite. Their world, the phony world, is something he has no interest in being part of. As a result, Holden distances himself from maturing, consequently preventing any meaningful interaction from occurring for the duration of the novel. Holden uses phoniness to define himself subconsciously. When he labels everyone around him as phony he gives himself an excuse to alienate himself from others.

Teen Rebellion Ever walked in a room, and felt like you don’t belong? Well welcome to Holden Caulfield’s life. Holden in The Catcher in the Rye spends the whole novel trying to find his identity. He is in a sense “searching for justice”, like in the novel by William Styron. Throughout the novel, the reader begins to understand Holden and his thoughts.

In the beginning, Holden is seen as a troubled 16 year old who has just failed out of Pencey Prep boarding school. Holden has the tendency to negatively criticize things, which he most famously does by labeling them as “phony”. He associates the term “phony” with things that seem artificial or shallow to him, mostly within adult society. “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That's

Holden’s relationship with his own dorm room members while at Pencey Prep shows how Holden recognizes people who are genuine, while ignores or de -legitimizes people he feels

He doesn’t understand the fact that people’s personalities and behaviors can change when surrounded by others. He finds any presence of adult life to be phony. When he calls people phonies, it makes him feel better when they reject him. Because Holden is critical of everyday life and people, he becomes mentally unstable, which causes him to separate himself from life. Holden has a long way to go before being called a fully matured adult. His obsession with calling people phony cause him to be lonely and to get himself in trouble. Holden is not going to fully mature at the same time as his classmates. Just by simply not listening and blocking out “phony” advice Holden will cause himself a lifetime of trouble and difficulty. Phoebe is the only person that he does not consider a phony. He does not easily belong in his society because of how different he is. He appears odd to those of his age. Phonies are affecting his mind to ponder like a child and making him unbearable to work with. People don’t like to be near Holden because he doesn’t listen to