Holden Caulfield Hypocrite

What is the true meaning of a hypocrite? A hypocrite is someone who opposes their own view by not acting upon what they are saying. For example, in J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, is a hypocrite because of how he contradicts his words with his actions. Holden's hypocrisy towards everyone around him is a result of being isolated from his family, continuing to cope with the death of his brother Allie, and not being able to accept hypocrisy in general.
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

you feel isolated, in order to protect yourself, you try to find flaws in everyone but yourself. This proves how being sent away causes Holden to think that everyone around him is a phony or a hypocrite while being a hypocrite himself. This also caused Holden to fear his parents more, which is why he did not want to tell them about him getting kicked out of Pencey. As he was explaining to Phoebe as to why he got kicked out of Pencey, he told her that "Even the couple of nice teachers on the faculty, they were phonies, too"(Salinger 90) This is compatible with the previous quote, because it shows how Holden assumes things about people instead of getting to know them. He tries to avoid getting to know people in order to not get hurt by them, just like he got hurt with his family.
The high standard that Holden had given Allie allowed for the beginning of Holden’s hypocrisy. When Phoebe asked Holden what he actually likes in this world, his response was “I like Allie” (Salinger 92) This quote shows the readers how highly Holden thinks of Allie. Holden believes that Allie was the highest and the best a person could be, which is why his death was the start of Holden’s hypocrisy. Holden believes that anyone that reaches Allies standard is not a phony, but he will not allow anyone to reach Allie’s standard, so this is why Holden believes that everyone is a phony. The standard that Holden gave Allie did not have to do with just his thoughts, “his teachers were always writing letters to my mother, telling her what a pleasure it was having a boy like Allie in their class.”(Salinger 21) This proves how not just Holden, but everyone thought highly of Allie. “He was terrifically intelligent.” (Salinger 21) This pedestal that Holden has Allie at is the main reason for the cause of Holden’s hypocrisy.
Even though Holden was a hypocrite, he did not really understand or know the meaning of hypocrisy in general.

For example, when Holden was talking to the mother of a former Pencey Prep student on the train, Ernest, she asked for his name. He responded by saying that his name was Rudolf Schmidt, because “[he] didn’t feel like giving her [his] whole life story.”(Salinger 30) What this quote is trying to prove, is that Holden does not understand what a hypocrite is, because right before Holden told the woman her name, he was saying how he hated people that lied. Then right after he said that, he went on to lie about what his name was. Ernest’s mother went on to tell Holden how he was a very sensitive boy. On the outside, Holden agreed with her, but on the inside, he was thinking about how “that guy Morrow was about as sensitive as a goddam toilet seat.”(Salinger 30) Holden knows on the inside that Ernest is not sensitive at all, but his mother thinks he is, so Holden’s response is to lie right in her face and tell her that she is right. This quote is showing the readers how Holden is being complete phony by being a hypocrite and contradicting

himself.
The character of Holden Caulfield shows teaches readers many valuable lessons, one of the most important ones being hypocrisy. Holden’s hypocrisy was triggered by a few things, which allowed him to believe things such as how everyone around him were phonies. The message that J.D Salinger was trying to get across with this theme in The Catcher in the Rye is that everyone is a hypocrite, but that does not mean it is always a bad thing.