The image is desolate: a lone sixteen years old finds himself alone to fend for himself in the unforgiving adult world. The isolation that fills his everyday life leaves him with nothing to do but formulate thoughts permeated with distrust and apathy. Losing himself in a world with a myriad of strangers, phonies appear to surround him everywhere he goes. Rather than finding friendly comfort, the teen withdraws from society, confining himself behind a wall in a futile effort to protect himself but at the same time blinds himself of his own faults. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, author J.D. Salinger describes Holden’s hatred for phoniness as self-destructive, since he tells pointless lies, goes out with people he dislikes, tries to feel …show more content…
less lonely and avoid direct confrontations. Throughout the novel, Salinger highlights Holden’s suspicion and hatred of “phonies” while concurrently portraying the protagonist as an impulsive liar. In doing so, he suggests that when people are consumed with their insecurities, they may project their flaws on others while failing to recognize their own phoniness. Salinger frequently conveys Holden’s enmity toward liars and insincere people.
From the very beginning, Holden holds harsh criticism of most people or places he sees, even if his judgment doesn't have much of a basis. Holden indiscriminately believes: “the more expensive a school is, the more crooks it has,” (Salinger 4) and given that he doesn’t stay in any school for too long, this suggests that Holden develops stern biases based on short experiences. Although Holden’s perception of people are often incorrect sometimes his rejecting nature is correct. As Holden encounters Maurice, Holden accepts the idea of “send[ing] a girl up” to his hotel room for “five dollars,” (91). Because “[he’s] a virgin, he feels sorry which stops him from going all the way (92). Feeling solitary and longing to be more like an adult, Holden is willing to accept the offer of a prostitute in his room, however, he instantly regrets his decision. Since Holden’s not an adult just yet, due to being frightened of both sex and human contact, depicting Holden’s still a child, just wanting some company to fill his seclude world. After Sunny leaves, Maurice returns to demand five more dollars from Holden even though they agreed on ten dollars. This antagonizes Holden as he responds with, “You said five bucks a throw. You said fifteen bucks till noon, all right, but I distinctly heard you…” (Salinger 101). Holden takes offense to Maurice’s dishonest agreement to have Sunny in the room, but gets thrashed …show more content…
anyways even when Maurice is the one lying. However, Holden, feeling lonely once again after Sally leaves, surrounds himself with ingenuine people when he meets Carl Luce for drinks. Judging everyone there, Holden contends that the bartender there only talks to “big shot” celebrities pretends to act as if he’s a “helluva swell guy,” (142). In addition, he notices a man tell his date “she [has] aristocratic hands,” and says “that [kills] him,” because he notices the man’s attempt to flatter her (142). When alone with his problems, Holden tends to criticize “phony” people and deprecate them. Salinger portrays that with life comes a time when teens may believe that they’re surrounded by phoniness, which happening often, consumes them with the effort to try and find a sense of direction in life. However, Salinger also portrays Holden’s perception of the truth and reality in society.
At the beginning of the story, Holden warns readers that he’s “the most terrific liar...ever,” which demonstrate that he’s being straightforward and telling the truth that he’ll lie most of the time, digresses, and talk little about the harsh reality (Salinger 16). Holden like to isolate himself from the the adult world to protect himself from the cruel society, which depicts why he’s being deceitful. Furthermore, Holden feels that he need everything to stay the same, after his little brother, Allie, die. Holden confronts that the “museum was that everything always stayed right where it was” (Salinger 120) This delineates that he feels more secluded as he continues to grow older and try to live on his life, but can’t since he want to stay in the past, just like the museum, it never changes. Holden doesn’t like the brutal society or what it had offered to him because he suffers enough just from the death of someone, which ultimately destroy him and how he views the brutal reality of the adult world. Throughout his lifetime, Holden had already witnessed two deaths, his little brother, Allie, and a guy named James Castle. Ever since then, Holden has been restraining himself and protecting himself in this wanton society. Even though they’re dead, those two boys will remain in Holden's heart not “just because somebody’s dead, you don’t just stop liking them,” but “they were about a
thousand times nicer than the people... that's alive” (Salinger 171). Holden’s judgment on life is that people who are kind and thoughtful are dead, yet the deceitful human beings are alive. Leading up to Holden wants to be the “catcher in the rye” since he wants to “catch everybody if they start[ing] to go over the cliff,” yet no one is there to catch him when he falls since he’s already “standing on the edge of some crazy cliff,” (Salinger 173). At this point, Holden sense of reality shows that he’s very fatigue and distress about reality begins to fall down on him. Throughout the novel, Salinger illustrates that it might be easy to run away from the problem in the real world, however, in the end, you will suffer more in life because you will lose the ability to reap the joyous moment in life. In conclusion, Salinger suggests the reality in which these people live are difficult that they isolate themselves from the rest of the world. Isolation results in terminating a person from all social affairs and interactions, which depriving them to become part of society. Furthermore, the identity of a person is created through certain social and cultural interactions with people, but solitariness prevents them from acquiring the completeness of identity. As David Corbett states “Character is not created in isolation or repose; its forged through interaction with others and the world,” which demonstrates it’s better to get help rather than suffer it by yourself.
Since Holden was isolated from his family, in order to not get hurt again he tries to find hypocrisy in people to stop himself from trusting others. Holden feels isolated after being sent to a boarding school that “was full of phonies” by his parents (Salinger 90). Salinger’s message to the audience with this quote is that when
Holden feels as if he is stuck in his 13 year old self. Although he is aging he isn’t necessarily maturing the way his classmates and other people are around him. This is due to the fact that he never received closure when Allie died. When he starts picturing his own funeral because he might get pneumonia and die, he remembers D.B. telling him about his brother's funeral. He stated, “I wasn’t there. I was still in the hospital. I had to go to the hospital and all after I hurt my hand” (Salinger 171). Since he never attended the funeral he never got to say his final goodbyes to the one person he truly loved. Holden feels as if he can’t connect with anyone else in the world like he did with Allie. If he did then he would most likely push them away, so he wouldn’t have to experience the trauma of loss again, because it greatly impacted his life the first time. The trauma Holden experienced when he was younger resulted in him not being able to form stronger relationships with people which made him more depressed and
Salinger characterizes Holden as constantly making impulsive decisions when presented with challenges. One example of a situation where Holden makes the wrong decision in an attempt to take the easy way out is when he encounters Sunny, the prostitute. When Holden enters his hotel, and is approached by a pimp named Maurice who asks him if he would like to buy a prostitute for the night, he responds with the brief statement, “Okay” (119). Holden’s one word response explicitly demonstrates his attempt to escape the challenging situation quickly. His lack of words also demonstrates hesitation, because if he were to be fully committed into to purchasing the prostitute, he would ask for more information. After Holden tells Maurice he will buy
This demonstrates that Holden has this mindset and believes that he isn't ageing because he occasionally believes that he is thirteen most of the time. He's trying to resist adulthood because that’s when all his issues began. In addition, when Holden took Phoebe to a museum he really enjoyed his time there because of how everything was put. Holden sated “the best thing though in the museum was that everything always stayed right where it is. Nobody´d move. You could go hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would be on their way south, the deers would still be drinking out of that water hole … Nobody's be different” (Salinger 121). This conveys that Holden is fond of the museum because it doesn't change unlike other places he is surrounded which relates to the death of his brother Allie, who died of leukemia. He believes that when his brother died, his whole world shifted as a result, his parent isolated themselves from him and connects to the reason Holden is unable to acknowledge that his urge is to never change like a
Throughout the book Holden admits he doesn't like change. Holden fear of growing up , becoming an adult and thinking of of it disgust him. For example the museum, Holden like it because the exterior of it did not change and says the only thing that would change would be you.In the text Luce says “Same old Caulfield.When are you going to grow up already?”(144). Holden wants things to stay how they are and how his life is. Holden considers adults phonies and he doesn’t want to be consider phony as well. When he describes the museum he says the best part about it is that it never changes, only you do.Holden bonds with his sister taking her to the zoo, museum and the carousel.He wants to Phoebe to experience what he did and to get the memories alive. “What I have to do, I would have to catch everyone if they start to go over the cliff- what I have to do, I mean if they are running and they don't look where they are going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That is all I have to do. I would just be the catcher in the rye”(173). This quote show how by holden is catching them from falling down the cliff which symbolizes stopping them from adulthood. “Thousand of little kids and nobody’s around- nobody big , I mean except me”(173). This quotes implies how young innocent kids won't be exerted by adults
Holden Caulfield can be analyzed through his thoughts, actions and circumstances which surround his everyday life. Holden acts like a careless teenager. Holden has been to several prep-schools, all of which he got kicked out of for failing classes. After being kicked out of the latest, Pency Prep, he went off to New York on his own. Holden seems to have a motivation problem which apparently affects his reasoning. The basis of his reasoning comes from his thoughts. Holden thinks the world is full of a bunch of phonies. All his toughs about people he meets are negative. The only good thoughts he has are about his sister Phoebe and his dead brother Alley. Holden, perhaps, wishes that everyone, including himself, should be like his brother and sister. That is to be intelligent, real and loving. Holden’s problem is with his heart. It was broken when his brother died. Now Holden goes around the world as his fake self, wearing his mask. Holden is looking for love, peace and understanding. He is scared to love because he is afraid he might lose it like he did with his brother. That is the reason for Holden's love of the museum, he feels safe because it never changes it always stays the same. Holden is troubled with the pain of death, it effects every aspect of his life causing him to not care about the future, himself or anyone, except Phoebe and Alley.
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."
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 he rejects.
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 tries to preserve his own innocence, and the innocence of others by not letting go of childhood memories and through his desire to suspend time. Holden views the adult world as corrupt and full of phonies. He admires childhood because of how it is free of corruption, and untouched by the adult world. IN order to preserve his own innocence Holden often attaches himself to childhood memories. The Museum of NAtural History is one of Holden’s favourite places . He mentions that his grade one teacher Miss. Aigletinger used to take his class there every saturday. While writing about the museum he says, “The best thing, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was” (121). This shows how Holden wants to preserve his innocence because he expresses how he likes how everything stayed the
Throughout the book, certain values of Holden start to show through. He speaks a lot about how he dislikes "phonies" and tries to separate himself from them. Every time Holden tries to run away from these "phonies," it starts to give you an idea about how he values honesty and his reaction towards people who don't have this particular value. In chapter seventeen, Holden tries to rationalize himself being kicked out of school by saying he wants to accomplish something different and not just be a phony. "It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques (Salinger 131)." In life, and as his days go by, he will realize that many people in society and people who run it, are indeed not genuine. The reality angers Holden and he fantasizes about running away, escaping from society, and living in a cabin away from everybody. This is a far-fetched idea that is hardly even an option for him. He decides that if he can't fit in a society where he isn't wanted, then he won't be a part of it. This thought would have never come across Holden's mind if he was like everybody else, but he isn't. Holden obviously can't deal with the environment around him and one day may lash out to the elements of life that aren't in agreement with him.
The world today is very deceptive and phony. J.D. Salinger’s well known novels, The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey attack this fake and superficial society which is evident through the lives, ideas, actions, and words expressed by the characters in these literary pieces. The transition from childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood is inevitable. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield goes through this stage and finds himself in a crisis. He alienates himself from everyone who is around him and tries his best not to grow up. Holden often dwells upon his childhood and the life he had with his family. Franny in Franny and Zooey has already passed this stage but finds it difficult to live in a world where everyone she is surrounded by is only concerned with outward appearances. In these worlds, both characters, Holden and Franny, reveal their struggle of growing up and trying to live as an adult in a world full of deception and shallow-minded people who only care about appearances.
He often finds that common social activities are phony and full of phony people. Holden often replaces the word adults with phonies, because he believes that the adult world is filled with lies and deceit.“If you sat around there long enough and heard all the phonies applauding and all, you got to hate everybody in the world, I swear you did.” (158) Holden claims that he does not want to be an adult because his whole life would be boring dedicated to making money at a desk job. Holden is kind of a hypocrite because he often says that phoniness starts with money even though he often takes advantage of his wealth. Holden encounters two nuns on a bus and one of the first things he notices is that they both have cheap suitcases. “It isn't important, I know, but I hate it when somebody has cheap suitcases. It sounds terrible to say it, but I can even get to hate somebody, just looking at them, if they have cheap suitcases with them,” (120) Its repulsive for Holden to look down on these two nuns just because of their suitcases. He seems to think that he is not phony and he is honorable for wanting to protect the innocence but Holden can be just as cruel and judgemental as any ‘phony’ adult. When he isn’t spending his money Holden blames part of the deceit and unhappiness of the adult world on money.“I was sorry anyway, though. Goddam money. It always ends up making you blue as hell.”
Although Holden thinks that he is the “the catcher in the rye” and will be the truth within the world to save people from all the wickedness, throughout the novel he judges those who appear to be phony or wicked, without looking inward to see the evil within himself. For example, Holden calls his headmaster, “The phoniest bastard I ever met in my life”, who “went
Holden’s understanding of sexual interactions corrupts his mind and innocence, depicting society’s corruptness and effect on people. By Holden hiring and then rejecting Sunny because of his fear of potentially corrupting his innocence, Salinger shows the pressure society unintentionally places on people through sexual experiences. Holden says, “It was a funny thing to say. It sounded like a real kid. You'd think a prostitute and all would say "Like hell you are" or "Cut the crap" instead of "Like fun you are"(Insert Page). Holden’s realization of this illustrates his ability to find the innocence in anyone, even a corrupting prostitute like Sunny. Holden assumes that Sunny also uses vigorous language as he does. Therefore, Holden’s inability to comprehend Sunny and by making assumptions about what her vocabulary would be based on her profession, shows how sexual involvement can corrupt people, leading them to make false accusations. Overall, corruption is powerful and can be manipulative and harmful, as it was in Holden’s interaction with