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Holden catcher in the rye character
Development of Holden's character in the Catcher in the Rye
Development of Holden as catcher in the rye
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Graham Blanks
Mrs. Street
9th Grade English - 1
7 November 2016
Phony: A Literary Analysis
In J.D. Salinger’s fiction novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield, has a very unique set of vocabulary that he utilizes to characterize himself and other characters or situations in the book. One of these unique words that Holden often uses is phony. The word phony, as used by Holden in The Catcher in the Rye, is used to characterize dishonest people who would rather look good than to actually be sincere and genuine, is used as a cynical barrier for Holden to be able to rationalize that all adults are phonies, and can be an example of irony.
Holden uses phony to characterize people who act like someone they are not to send
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Throughout the novel, Holden reveals that he believes that children are simple and innocent while adults are superficial and hypocritical. In Spark Notes’ summary and analysis of chapter 13-15 in The Catcher in the Rye, it explains, “Holden’s encounter with Maurice and Sunny helps Holden by reaffirming his understanding of a cruel and senseless adult world. But the nuns are kind, intelligent, and sympathetic. They don’t conform to his stereotyped understanding of organized religion, nor do they seem to have the phoniness that Holden expects of anything institutionalized” (2). Meeting the nuns does not help Holden cope with his real life problems because he loves the idea that all adults are stupid and out to get him, making it okay to fail because it isn't “fair’ with adults governing his …show more content…
On the website, eNotes, user literaturenerd explains, “Holden, from The Catcher in the Rye, constantly calls others phony. He sees people who are insecure, shallow, and too conventional as "phonies". Holden also believes that actors are "phonies" given they "never act like people". Basically, Holden believes most all people are phony- aside from the nuns and Phoebe. Holden, therefore, can be considered a phony. He fails to act like a person at many times throughout the novel” (1). With this statement given, Holden is a phony because he constantly attempts to disregard that he has a mental issue, as well as never facing any problem he has created. He does this by pretending that he is not in a specific situation (failing out of school, suicidal thoughts, etc.) or altogether, pretending to be a different person. Holden enjoys doing this when he is around girls, like when he pretended to have a gun wound at the bar. He does this because he is ashamed of himself, so he thinks of other interesting characters to pretend to
of them, but he doesn’t see he is already a phony. Holden finds hypocrisy in almost everything he sees but does not yet even realize. that he too is part of that corrupt world the minute he stopped being a child and wanted to be an adult. Holden fears becoming an adult in mind and heart, but wants to become one. one in his actions, he said.
Again, this is one of the few people that Holden likes and doesn’t consider a phony like everyone else. He talks highly of her and he sees himself in her in the way that she alternates between behaving like an adult and behaving like a child, the way he says he also does. It bothered him greatly when she asks him if he “got the ax again,” referring to his expulsion. She starts asking him questions about his future and what he likes (if he likes anything at all) and it forces him to wake up. Everyone has been telling Holden to realize his situation and put more effort into schoolwork and relationships and to start caring. Holden’s reality is very simple: he wants to be the catcher in the rye to protect children’s innocence and stop them from growing up because all adults are phonies. Again and again, being told that that isn’t plausible annoys him. He feels betrayed, when his own sister, someone who he thought would understand him, joins everyone else in telling him to put forth more
Part of the irony in Holden’s story is that physically, he looks mature, but mentally, he is still very much a child: “I act quite young for my age, sometimes. I was sixteen then, and I’m seventeen now … I’m six foot two and a half and I have gray hair ” (9). There is no middle ground, adolescence, for Holden. He can only be an adult, physically, or a child, mentally. Holden’s history teacher, Mr. Spencer, tries to appeal to him by using a metaphor: “Life is a game, boy.
...oes want them to turn into “phonies.” Holden seeks for a peaceful and uncorrupt world but he cannot obtain that due to the actions of others. Despite Holden’s attitude and outlook on life, he is quite passionate. Although he is a firm pessimist, calling every person he comes across a “phony,” there is an alternate side to him. In his interaction with Phoebe and the other children in the book, he tries to protect them from the rest of society, since children are still naïve and pure. It is justifiable why Holden craves to preserve the innocence of others. For most of us, growing up, we begin to understand more. We start to look at life in a different perspective, different from the one we did when we were young, but as a person who has seen and experienced more in life.
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...
The Theme of Hypocrisy in The Catcher In The Rye & nbsp; & nbsp; 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. & nbsp; Holden fears adulthood because it brings responsibilities and trouble. He believes all adults possess an aurora of "phoniness."
He also dislikes movies. “If there’s one thing I hate, it’s the movies. Don’t even mention them to me.”(2). Holden think that actors are phonies . He also thinks his brother D.B sold out for the financial success of Hollywood. Holden calls everyone phonies because they have a different perspectives and they don’t think like him. It is a way for Holden to separate himself from other people. Holden thinks the world is about to get him. Holden is a hypocrite because he calls people phonies but he said “I am the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It is awful.”(16). This quote show how of a terrific liar Holden really is and how he is not reliable.
From the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the youthful protagonist Holden Caufield, employs the word “phony” to describe the behavior of a number of characters including Mr. Spencer and Ossenburger, however it is not them who are“phony”, it is the young main character. First, Mr. Spencer, Holden’s ex- history teacher, is not described as phony, but according to the adolescent, his choice of words are. Secondly, according to our main character, Ossenburger is not the generous philanthropist he portrays himself to be, but rather a greedy undertaker. Lastly, the protagonist could quite possibly be the authentic phony. All in all, the main character’s use to describe many other characters in the book is with the single word phony, when in fact the word phony would be the most probable word to describe the lead character.
Phoniness is a word commonly used by Holden to describe the flaws he encounters in others and he uses this as an excuse for all the negative things that has happened in his life. Holden also starts to see a trend as he gets older in his eyes he sees more problems and could only feel certain thoughts in his mind: “certain things should stay the way they are”(p.g 122) At this time Holden was thinking about his future and wishes that it would not be so hectic. But instead he strives for a life that is easy to mange. Holden also says this because he would like to believe the world is a simple place where he can lead a simple life, and does not like the way adults act and procrastinate, and finds this phoney just because he does not want to lead this kind of life but does not realize that when your an adult, you must work for everything you earn and with hard work comes a great reward. A symbolic representation of Holden's feelings for the phoniness of the adult world is a manikin. This is because it shows a simple life which Holden would be able to manage without any change from the little joy he has in his life t...
To Holden, everyone is either corny of phony. He uses these terms to describe what a person is if they do not act naturally and follow other people?s manners and grace. Holden dislikes phonies and thinks of them as people who try to be something they are not. He loathes people who showed off because it seems unnatural every time they do not act like themselves. Holden does not allow himself to have friendship because of his dull attitude. In the beginning of the book, the reader knows that Holden is lonely when he separates himself from the rest of the Pencey students by watching the football game from Thomsen Hill and not the grand stands. Holden is not a very sociable person partly because he finds himself better than many others. He dislikes his roommate because of his generic leather luggage. His next door roommate Ackley does not seem to want a friendship with him either. Holden finds Ackely?s zit crusted face ridiculous and doesn?t want him in his room at first. This shows the reader that Holden is a lonely person because he chooses to be lonely and does not want anything to do with people who do not fit into his perception of normal.
J.D. Salinger's novel Catcher in the Rye revolves around Holden's encounters with other people. He divides all people into two different categories, the "phonies" and the authentics. Holden refers to a "phony" as someone who discriminates against others, is a hypocrite, or has manifestations of conformity. A person's age, gender, and occupation, play a key role in how Holden interacts with them.
Holden's idealism is first brought forth when he describes his life at Pency Prep. It is full of phonies, morons and bastards. His roommate, Stradlater, " was at least a pretty friendly guy, It was partly a phony kind of friendly..." (26) and his other roommate, Ackley is "a very nosy bastard" (33). Holden can't stand to be around either one of them for a very long time. Later, he gets into a fight with Stradlater over his date with Jane. Holden is upset because he thinks that Stradlater "gave her the time" and that he doesn't care about her; 'the reason he didn't care was because he was a goddam stupid moron. All morons hate it when you call them a moron' (44). Holden not only sees his roommates as phonies and bastards, but he also sees his headmaster at Pency Prep as a "phony slob" (3). This type of person is exactly what Holden doesn't want to be. He strives to be a mature adult; caring, compassionate, and sensitive.
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.
A subject that Holden talks exclusively toward phoniness is his school Pencey. “At Pencey, one is expected to play the game, … "game of Life.”(Pinsker). Holden explains that this game that they talk about is rubbish, if one gets on the good side with all the good people this “game” is very exciting, but if one gets on the side with all the losers than there is no fun because the hotshots just beat the losers up.