What Is The Phony In Catcher In The Rye

The Catcher in the Rye was about Holden, who admires in children attributes that he struggles to find in adults to talk to him and he is undergoing treatment in a mental hospital. Holden Caulfield,who is 16 year old teenager went to three schools, but fails four of his five subjects only passed English he also struggles with the fact that everyone has to grow up. In the novel, Holden tells the reader through a few days of his life, in which he flaunts his hostile environments. Throughout the book,

Holden Caulfield loves to call people phonies. In fact, he uses the word phony 35 times throughout the book, The Catcher in the Rye. A phony, by definition, means not genuine, or fraudulent, however, Holden’s version of it is much different. Holden uses the word phony so much in order to help himself understand the world and people around him. He has to put everyone into a category of personalities, and phony is one of those categories.

‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is an emotional journey of 16 year old Holden Caulfield who is struggling to recognise his identity. Holden’s journey begins at Pencey Prep, one of three schools he attended and was expelled from. Holden then narrates as through the events following his expulsion from Pencey Prep and his eagerness to avoid his parent’s

Allie, his younger brother, died of leukemia when he was eleven and when Holden was thirteen. Holden reminisces about many memories spent with him before his passing throughout many chapters in the book. It is evident that there is pain and sorrow in Holden’s flashbacks. He tells the reader about Allie’s baseball mitt, how he missed his funeral, and how he sometimes talks aloud to him. Holden was so distraught that on the night he found out of Allie’s passing, he smashed all the windows in his garage and was hospitalized the day of the funeral. When Holden talks about Allie, he feels guilty and misses his presence. He even says, “What I did, I started talking, sort of out loud, to Allie. I do that sometimes when I get very depressed.” This displays the increase for the longing for his brother. Holden also talks about his younger ten year old sister, Phoebe, numerous times throughout the book. He mentions that she is bright, pretty, mature beyond her years, and his most trusted link to family. Holden even contemplates calling her first when he leaves school. This shows the bond between them is close and strong. Phoebe is Holden's emotional anchor; for, with his sister there is no need for pretense or embarrassment.The more and more he mentions her, the more he wants to see her, which he ends up doing towards the end of the story. It is noticeable that as he recounts his story, Holden gives more

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,

The death of Holden’s brother Allie at a young age adds to Holden’s negativity as well as stopping Holden from accepting inevitable change. Allie dies immaturely of leukemia. “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it” (p. 39). Holden is in the hospital because he broke his fist, and he was unable to attend Allie’s funeral. Holden has trouble accepting Allie’s death because he never said goodbye to Allie. His relationship with Allie is similar to his maturity. Just as Holden is unable to accept his brother’s death, Holden is not able to accept that

Allie’s premature death utterly broke Holden, which makes sense as it would break anyone if a sibling died. As shown throughout the book Holden idolized Allie which made it harder for him to let go. Because he refers to Allie throughout the novel the reader gets a sense that Holden isn’t dealing with this change very well, maybe not at all. Although he did learn from this, after the death he gained a sense of responsibility to protect children, even if

Holden mentions Allie in the book quite often when he is feeling down. Allie was everything that Holden’s not. “He was terrifically intelligent.” His teachers were always writing letters to my mother , telling her what a pleasure it was to have a

In The Catcher in the Rye, the reader is first introduced to Holden Caulfield, as first person narrator. He is a radically independent adolescent who tosses off judgments at ease unselfconsciously. The introduction scene is set where he is, voluntarily isolated from the rest, looking down upon a hill during a Pencey Prep football game. He then goes into introducing primary characters that impacted his life, such as, Mr. Spencer, Ackley and Stradlater. Later on that night, Holden leaves campus enraged with anger and hatred towards everyone and sets on an adventure to find himself in the city of New York. Throughout the novel, Holden goes on a pursuit in search of maturity, intimate love, moral innocence, and acceptance despite his hatred for phoniness.

Holden never going to Allie’s funeral gives us insight into why Holden is still holding onto Allie. After Allie’s death, Holden still went through experiences that caused his BPD, neglect and separation. During the time following Allie’s death, Holden’s family was in great grieving, making Holden feel isolated and not getting the attention he needed to fully grow mentally as a child (“National Allegiance on Mental Health”). Holden also expresses twice, that his mother is still grieving over Allie’s death by stating his mother, “still isn’t over my brother Allie yet” (Salinger 155). Holden is also never close to anyone. He meets with his family a limited amount of time throughout the year, and is kicked out of schools, giving him no permanent guidance in his life. Holden constantly describes his expulsion as, getting “the ax” (107). He shows a continuous changing in guardians, because of his attachment to both Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini, both old school teachers from schools he flunked out of. He also dealt with the separation from D.B. his other brother, who moved to Hollywood, Holden seems to be very inspired by him throughout the novel, but is mad that he left (1).

In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, phonies are one of the main things Holden Caulfield despises. The definition of the word phony is “A person who is not what he pretends to be”. There are many examples of phonies in the novel, however the biggest one being Holden. Holden is a phony. Holden, lies, is a hypocrite and changes his image constantly.

The main protagonist in Catcher in the Rye is 16 years old Holden Caufield. He overall seems sad, confused, angry, anxious, perceptive, bigoted, resentful, thoughtful, kind, and horny. We know that he has failed out of four previous schools, displays complete apathy toward his future, and is prone to violent outbreaks. No matter how many times Caufield says he’s “lonesome,” he never reaches out to anyone for help. He’s typically decides not to interact with people because he’s afraid he’ll have to talk to someone he doesn’t like.

Holden’s connection with his little brother Allie was very special to him. This is evident in the way he talks about Allie. He holds Allie up to these great expectations, saying “You’d have liked him” (Salinger, 1945-6, p.33) and convincing you how great he was and how intelligent and special he was. You are now able to connect and sympathise for Holden, because he has told you all about the things that mean most to him, and you can’t help but feel a little sorry for him.

The usage of characterization allows for the creation of a credible figure. A subject whose individuality reflects their personality and intricacy. The instillment of life and relatedness between readers and characters forge a connection. The Development of diction also augments the authenticity of personification. As in The Catcher and in the Rye, J.D. Salinger indirectly creates Holden through his behaviors, thoughts, and interactions.

“What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start going over the cliff.” The novel, “The Catcher in the rye” by J.D. Salinger is about a boy named Holden Caulfield, that wants nothing to change and fears/hates the adulthood, calling the world “phony”. The novel is relevant to today's teens, since some teenagers fear/unsure about the adulthood and even, sometimes wish to stop time to stay as a teen.