Catcher in the Rye...
J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, is one of the most well-known novels of the past fifty years. It’s a story about a kid named Hold Caulfield who experiences some interesting things and people. From having breakfast with a couple of nuns, to hooking up with a prostitute, to getting kicked out of school, Holden handles each situation the best way he can.
Some of the people Holden meets, he likes, but the type of people Holden can’s stand are the ‘phonies.’ Holden met a lot of phonies in his lifetime. Holden lived in a dorm that was named after a phony, he heard a phony playing a piano, and he met his date’s phony friend. Holden went to a boarding school named Pencey Prep. There, Holden lived in the
Ossenburger Memorial
…show more content…
The hall was only for juniors and seniors. The dorms were named after this guy named Ossenburger who also went to Pencey a long time ago. After Ossenburger got out of Pencey, he made a lot of money in the undertaking business. After making a bundle of dough, Ossenburger gave some of it to Pencey and that’s why the new wing of the dorms are named after him. Then the next morning,
Ossenburger gave a speech to the students of Pencey Prep about how he was never ashamed when he was in some kind of trouble or something that Ossenburger would get right down on his knees and pray to God. Ossenburger kept on rambling bout how you should always pray to God and to talk to God wherever you were. Ossenburger said think of him as your buddy. Holden got a kick out of his speech.
Holden could “just see the big phony bastard... asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs.” Holden next went to this night club called Ernie’s. Holden was going there for a few drinks.
Even though it was so late, the club was jam-packed.
…show more content…
“Old Ernie turned around on his stool and gave this very phony, humble bow.” Holden thought Ernie’s snobbish attitude was so phony but Holden felt kind of sorry for Ernie. Holden doesn’t even think that Ernie knows when he’s playing the tunes right or not. The last phony Holden met was while
Holden was out on a date with his girl Sally. Holden and
Sally had known each other for a while. For their date, they both went to go check out a play named The Lunts. When the first act was over, Holden and Sally went outside for a smoke. Holden was listening to all the people outside who were smoking too talking about the play. The way they were talking, Holden thought that they were all phonies. Sally was talking about the play to Holden until she saw some dude she knew on the other side of the lobby. The guy noticed
Sally too and had came over to say hello. The guy and Sally were talking about stuff until she finally introduced him to
Holden. His name was George and he and Sally were talking about the play. Holden thought “he was the kind of phony that have to give themselves room when they answer somebody’s questions.” Holden really hates those kind of phonies. In Conclusion, those were just some of the
“He said he talked to Jesus all the time. Even when he was driving his car. The car is a. That killed me, I can just see the big phony bastard shifting. into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs” (Pg. 17). The syll This is just one of many examples Holden sees as fake.... ...
So he stays the night at his former teacher, Mr. Antolini’s place. While Holden for the most part thinks of everyone as a phony, Mr. Antolini is one of very few exceptions. He makes it clear that this teacher was one that he trusted and was close to. Since Holden’s views holds him back from having close relationships with his peers, his relationship with his former teacher becomes more important. While he was sleeping on Mr. Antolini’s couch, Holden says that something happens. “Boy, it really scared the hell out of me.” He says. He wakes up to find Mr. Antolini patting his head. “Boy, was I nervous!” He admits he felt very uncomfortable in the situation and quickly ran out. An adult he had managed to form a trusting relationship with, something that was very rare for Holden, had done something to make him very uncomfortable. While it is unclear, it is very possible that Holden is misinterpreting Mr. Antolini’s actions. In his eyes, it is a “flitty pass.” It is made clear, however, that Mr. Antolini had been drinking and most likely he was not in his right mind. Once again, Holden’s views and the reality of the situation aren’t the same and he sees it as a
Thesis statement: The relationship Holden and Blanche have between family and people in society leads them to an inner turmoil, which eventually results in their psychological breakdowns.
Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is an enthralling and captivating novel about a boy and his struggle with life. The teenage boy ,Holden, is in turmoil with school, loneliness, and finding his place in the world. The author J.D. Salinger examines the many sides of behavior and moral dilemma of many characters throughout the novel. The author develops three distinct character types for Holden the confused and struggling teenage boy, Ackley, a peculiar boy without many friends, and Phoebe, a funny and kindhearted young girl.
Holden often talked about how phony people in his life were, however, he was also a phony, which made him a hypocrite. Holden would often mention things he hated that someone did, but sooner or later Holden was guilty of doing the exact same thing. In chapter one Holden is hypocritical towards his older brother, D.B. He says “Now he’s out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute.”(Salinger
Holden uses the word phony to identify everything in the world that he rejects. He always sees something wrong with everybody. People are too talkative, too quiet, or just weird. He thinks that he is the perfect person but no one believes that he is. With this, Holden believes that he is surrounded by "phoniness." Holden lives in Ossenburger Hall, which is named after a wealthy Pencey graduate who made a fortune in the discount funeral home business. Ossenburger went to the chapel and made a speech that lasted about "ten hours." Holden goes on to say that he cracked about fifty corny jokes and then Ossenburger emphasizes that "he talked to Jesus all the time, even when he was driving his car." Holden thinks this is a load of crap and asserts, "'that killed me. I just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs" (17). Holden can't believe what he just heard. He sees this big "phony" praying to Jesus to send him some...
that he is trying to hide his true identity. He does not want people to know who he really is or that he was kicked out of his fourth school. Holden is always using fake names and tries speaking in a tone to persuade someone to think a cretin way. He does this when he talks to women. While he is talking to the psychiatrist he explains peoples reactions to his lies like they really believe him, when it is very possible that he is a horrible liar and they are looking at him with a “what are you talking a bout?” expression. Holden often lies to the point where he is lying to him self.
In a novel, the theme is the insight of real life. J.D. Salinger’s initiation novel, The Catcher In The Rye, describes the adventures of 16-year old Holden Caulfield, the protagonist and first person narrator, who refuses to grow up and enter manhood. The most important theme developed by Salinger is Holden’s problem of dealing with change; he has trouble dealing with death, he refuses to accept children’s loss of innocence as a necessary step in the growing-up process, and has difficulties with growing up.
Holden's problems in the real world were too much for him, he had to make up things to make himself seem better than what he was.
He even condemns people he doesn’t know as phonies, such as the man that his
Holden returns to school and goes to his bedroom in the dorm. In his room quietly reading, his neighbor Robert Ackley came in. Holden describes him as a pimply, insecure, annoying boy with a bad dental hygiene. When Holden’s roommate Stradlater who was “madly in love with himself” (27) arrived home after the football game, Ackley abruptly left. Stradlater tells him that he has a date with a friend of his, Jane Gallagher. Jane is someone that Holden really cares for and because he knows the way Stradlater is, Holden became worried for her. “It just drove me stark raving mad when I thought about her and Stradlater parked somewhere in that fat-assed Ed Banky’s car”. (48) Holden became depressed and lonely, so out of the blue Holden decides to pack his things and leave for New York a few days earlier. On the train to New York, Holden meets the mother of one of his schoolmates. Not wanting to tell his whole life story, he told her his name was “Rudolf Schmidt”, the name of th...
Even when Holden goes out or reads a story, it is just full of phoniness, ".
Holden makes reference to the word "phony" forty-four separate times throughout the novel (Corbett 68-73). Each time he seems to be referring to the subject of this metaphor as -- someone who discriminates against others, is a hypocrite about something, or has manifestations of conformity (Corbett 71). Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden describes and interacts with various members of his family. The way he talks about or to each gives you some idea of whether he thinks they are "phony" or normal. A few of his accounts make it more obvious than others to discover how he classifies each family member.
Many of the times that Holden criticizes people, it is something he does himself. (Pg 13) “. one of the reasons I left Elkton was that I was surrounded by phonies.” Holden himself is many times what he refers to as a “phony”. He knows that he lies and pretends to like people that he would rather not be with.