Edge Of Phoniness In The Catcher In The Rye By J. D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye is one of J. D. Salinger's world-famous books about the disgruntled youth. Holden Caulfield is the main character and he is a seventeen- year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Navigating his way through the challenges of growing up, Holden separates the “phony” aspects of society, and the “phonies” themselves. Some of these “phony” people in his life are the headmaster whose friendliness depends on the wealth of the parents, and his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection. This book deals with the complex issues of identity, belonging, connection, and alienation. Holden senses these feelings most of the time and is guilty about many things in

Holden is a phony because he lies all the time, to everyone. If he was not a phony he would be more honest and always tell the truth. Holden even admits to lying “I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It’s awful” (Pg 16) Holden is self-aware of him lying, he should know he is a phony.

In the beginning of the novel the reader learns that Holden has been kicked out of his school Pency-Prep.

First, I will show Holden’s phoniness by looking at his hypocritical tendencies. Holden has accused others of being a phony on several occasions. “ I can just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send a few more stiffs.” ( Salinger 20) and “ One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded

So basically, Holden admits that he himself is also phony from time to time. But Holden thinks that even if he is lying, sometimes he has to say things that he doesn’t mean in order for him to be deemed a polite person by society. If you ask me, I think that everyone can relate to Holden in a way. Everyone at some point had to say something to someone that they didn’t mean because they wanted to be polite. In a previous quote, he talked about how adults are phony and mentioned how they were all smoking cigarettes.

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

A disparate situation is presented to readers in The Catcher in the Rye. Early in the novel, Holden expresses the reason for his difficulties in school as his being: “always surrounded by phonies.”(Salinger 13) Holden is correct; he is completely incapable of relating to his peers. However he takes no time to consider potential solutions to his problem. During his conversation with Mr. Spencer, Holden communicates that he deals with his troubles by simply quitting; putting minimal effort into academics and socialization. Since Holden never addresses his emotions directly, he fails to realize

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield, a seventeen-year-old boy, transitions from childhood to adulthood. The death of Holden’s little brother signifies the beginning his loss of innocence and growth of maturity. As he enters adulthood, Holden views society differently from his peers by characterizing most of his peers and adults he meets as “phonies.” Thus, Holden takes the impossible challenge of preserving the innocence in children because he wants to prevent children from experiencing the corruption in society. The Catcher In The Rye embodies Holden’s struggle to preserve the innocence of children and reveals the inevitability of and the necessity of encountering the harsh realities of life.

     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

Holden's phony addiction gets him into trouble at school. Holden looks for the flaws in everyone and tries to eliminate that person he sees as a threat, such as when Holden decides to face off against the phony Stradlater after Stradlater's date with Jane. Holden also thinks every teacher is a phony who pretends to be helpful to students. If Holden has trouble in school he does not seek help from his peers because he believes that they are phonies. Hence this point is tied into one of the reasons he is kicked out of Pencey, failing four out of five courses. Holden's avoidance of things phony is very strong and he has a one-track mind. It is either his way or the highway, this is another example of how Holden's phony problem hinders his chance at full maturity. Holden is so scared

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

Teenagers often struggles with school due to the difficulty to get good grades and interact with teachers and other students. Holden is at Mr. Spencer’s house because Mr. Spencer wants to

In the novel The Catcher In The Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield views his surroundings with hypocrisy and contempt in an attempt to avoid the corruption of adulthood. Holden places himself above the crowd because he believes everyone acts phony. In the process, Caulfield reveals his true problem: his refusal to change.

In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden Caulfield is a nervous and unhappy dropout. After being kicked out of his prestigious high school, he goes to New York City and roams the streets for three days searching for both innocence and adulthood. While he holds a hatred for “phonies”, people he sees as fakes or cheats, he himself can be portrayed as a phony.

The ducks are first brought to the reader’s attention while Holden is visiting his teacher, Mr. Spencer, regarding his removal from Pencey. While conversing with Mr. Spencer, however, Holden’s mind drifts elsewhere. His mind drifts back to New York as he wonders to himself if the lagoon in Central Park is frozen over, and if so, where do the ducks go? A direct parallel can be drawn from the ducks in the lagoon to Holden’s present situation. He is mandated to leave Pencey, but has no idea where he belongs after leaving. Just like the ducks in the lagoon, “Holden is essentially homeless, frozen out” (Trowbridge par. 1). Holden’s life has not been filled with an abundance of stability and now what little he had is gone, albeit due to faults of his own, and he sees an unsure and hazy future. Holden inquires about the state of the ducks to the driver of the first cab he catches in New York, and the driver believes that he is kidding. Later on, he asks another cab driver if somebody came around “in a truck or something to take them away” or if they flew away “by themselves” (Salinger 81-82). Knowing what happens to these ducks, knowing that they are safe and secure even though the lagoon is frozen would provide Holden with a sense of comfort about his current state of affairs. What seems to be a ridiculous and meaningless question to the