What Is The Catcher In The Rye Phony

Holden has matured in many ways throughout the novel. He had grown from an immature child who only cared about himself to a mature adult who wanted to make something of his life. In the beginning of the story we are introduced to

Throughout the story Holden emphasizes his love for childhood innocence. In a passage he says “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the golden ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything.” (Salinger 211) This immediately points to his affinity for innocence and not having the limits of being and adult. The

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

The theme of phoniness, illustrated by J.D. Salinger is the key of a better understanding the story line as a whole. Phony or fake more often than not means not real and is mostly referred to some religions by non believers or sometimes even to people. J.D. Salinger has used the term "phony" in a very common manor. By the interpretation of common manor, many of the people at that time period suited to the style of Holden Caulfield's dialogues through J.D. Salinger. Salinger's view of phoniness may or may not even share a bond with most of the readers' experiences, because this theme is confronted in at least some kind of form or action in the life of all people on a daily bases. The way Salinger has set

He may still be a young boy but he is very independent and basically lives on his own for the entirety of the book, but his negative outlook transforms independence into isolation. He is incredibly lonely but also pushes people away when he has a chance to get close to them. Such as his date with Sally Hayes which was going very well until he pushed her away with his harsh words, “You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth” (Ch. 17 pg. 173). Just because Sally wouldn’t run away with him and be independent with him he pushed her away. Holden may think he wants to be free and independent but his negative outlook just feeds his loneliness and

As previously mentioned, it is obvious of Holden’s intentions from the first chapter. The reader learns that they are not going to be following the life story of some random kid; they are going to read about the introversive thoughts and assumptions everyone makes at some point of their lives. Throughout the tale, it is obvious that Caulfield is depressed and as the story progresses, he seems to lose himself in the real world. As he moves

Holden’s desires and actions ultimately show how innocence is almost impossible to protect and is temporary. Holden wants to save everybody from maturing because he is afraid of change. All he sees are the bad things adulthood has to offer and is struggling with the hardships he is facing. He misses the innocence of his childhood and doesn’t want anyone else to lose it. Therefore, he tries several times to protect them from the downfall he is facing. Ultimately, his attempts are useless because innocence turns into an illusion as you mature. You can never change back once you become an

Holden is constantly using crude phrases that would have shocked the original readers of the book. This is to represent the fact that Holden is trying to merge with the adult world and he assumes that by using more ‘adult’ language he can achieve this. The present day Holden refers to most of the people he met during the time he was in New York as ‘’Old.’’ This helps him to disassociate himself with the past and shows that he feels it is a different part of his life. So although during his ‘journey of discovery’ Holden appears not to have emotionally progressed towards adulthood, clearly he has now evolved and grown up, be it just a

The goal that that Holden has to try so hard to fulfil is symbolic of his need to differentiate himself from the "phonies" around him. Holden’s image of people is pretty bad because he believes no one acts how they truly feel. Growing up scares Holden because it leads to adulthood. In his eyes once he hits adulthood, it'll eventually lead into the same phoniness as the rest of the adults. His constant avoidance and dodging of people and situations causes him to become more and more distant from normal society and social stability.

people are superficial. In almost every case, he rejects more complex judgments in favor of

     In life there comes a time when everyone thinks that they are surrounded by phoniness. This often happens during the teen years when the person is trying to find a sense of direction. Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old teen-ager is trying to find his sense of direction in J.D. Salinger's, "The Catcher In The Rye." Holden has recently been expelled from Pency Prep for failing four out of his five classes. He decides to start his Christmas recess early and head out to New York. While in New York Holden faces new experiences, tough times and a world of "phony." Holden is surrounded by phoniness because that is the word he uses to identify everything in the world that

It is very clear that Holden is immature. One of the most obvious times that this is shown is when Holden is talking with Luce. Luce says, “ Same old Caulfield. When are you gonna grow up?” (Salinger 144).

The Catcher in the Rye is not just about a boy going through life calling everything “phony”. It’s more so about Holden Caulfield dealing with the death of his brother. Rebelling his way through life is something that helps him deal with the death of his brother. Holden is truly struggling to “bury Allie before he can make the transition into adulthood”(74). Holden’s life changed forever when he was only at the tender age of 13; that's when his brother Allie died of leukemia. Since he hasn't accepted the death of his brother, emotionally he's still that same person that he was 4 years ago. His mom is too occupied in grieving over his brother Allie that she can't comfort Holden; that creates more of a downfall for Holden. He stated after the

As strongly as society wants to deny it, Holden was right; everyone is a phony in one way or another. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye Holden uses the word phony to describe the society around him and as a mechanism for his own isolation, but he fails to realize that he is the biggest phony of them all. Holden clearly perceives the insincerity of everyone around him and is nauseated by it; but despite his revulsion he still ends up being a phony himself. He reveals to the reader that even if someone does not want to be a fraud, and has attempted not to be, they cannot help it; everyone is a phony in the end.

J.D. Salinger published Catcher in The Rye in 1951. The main protagonist in the novel, Holden Caulfield experiences many conflicts and predicaments. It is common for Holden to hold opinions on characters throughout the book. His opinionated nature shows that human interactions mean a lot to him. Holden generally likes genuine people opposed to phony people. The comparison of genuine and phony is shown throughout the novel, especially when Holden meets new people. His true personality is shown to the reader when we see whom he respects and despises.