Holden Caulfield Phonies

Nothing stays the same. Adults appear as children vanish and new friends are made, different from the old. The novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is about a young man named Holden Caulfield who finds problems with his life and in society which I can also relate to. In my life, I have realized that I have made some friends just so I could “fit in” or to manipulate and use, whom I do not sincerely care about and unconsciously backbite. I’ve also realized that childhood friends genuinely care about you more often than not. In a similar way, Holden Caulfield expresses an extreme disgust for “phonies”, while acting like one himself. Furthermore, the only people he feels he can be honestly open with are those he grew up with. One of the differences between

children and adults is that adults become two-faced, losing a sense of sincerity, and make friends with people whom they do not like just to manipulate or to fit in with society, intentionally or not.
As we grow older, we often make friends with others not because we care about them and enjoy their company, but instead to use them or gain something from them. We deceive others and act two-faced to fulfill our own desires for various reasons. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden sees the adults around him acting “phony” with each other. This absolutely disgusts him because these people do not honestly mean what they say to each other, and they do so for another purpose. Holden simply cannot comply with these unwritten laws of society, proven when his date, Sally, has a conversation with another person at the theatre and Holden thinks, “It was the phoniest conversation you ever heard in your life … I was all set to puke when it was time to sit down again.” (Salinger, 128).

This proves that Holden finds “phoniness” repulsive and that it sickens him. Even though Holden has no tolerance for “phoniness”, he often shows it himself. Holden says he “shoots the bull” quite often. Furthermore, he rarely tells people what he really thinks when they ask him about something. Lying comes naturally to Holden, and he enjoys it as shown when he is talking to the woman on the bus and says, “Then I really started chucking the old crap around. ‘Did he tell you about the elections?’ I asked her. ‘The class elections?’ She shook her head. I had her in a trance, like. I really did.” (Salinger, 56). Later on, Holden states that he could lie for hours if he felt like it. Those who lie often, easily and enjoy it cannot be honest people. Therefore, even people who dislike being two-faced and being “phony” can easily show it themselves. This is most apparent in peoples personalities at home with their family, compared to how they act with different groups of friends at school. Since moving last year, I have realized this myself while meeting new people at school. I had made a new friend who seemed like a decent person, although soon enough it became more fun to laugh

at him than with him. I sometimes skip my homework and would just copy it off him. That was all he meant to me, a source of notes and someone to laugh at. To his face, I act friendly enough. Yet behind his back and among others, we always find something about him to poke fun at. Strangely enough, just this week I was sitting down with a different group of students for a club meeting. When we were discussing the shortcomings and mistakes of a fellow member who wasn’t present, I was the one to say “Hey, let’s be more constructive instead and help him improve instead of backbiting”. To me, fake friends and people who backbite often are funny because of how silly and foolish the people who do it are. I look on those who constantly backbite with a sense of contempt, yet I was backbiting myself among my group of friends. Our own ears are closer to us than those of others and therefore we should listen and follow our own advice when giving it to others.
The friendships we develop from childhood are typically the strongest and most sincere.

This is because children only make friends with people they genuinely like. The two-faces of every adult is pretty much non-existent in children. Holden finds it very difficult to make lasting relationships with other people. He is often jumping from school to school and does not share his feelings with most people. The only person he consistently shares his true feelings with is Phoebe. Being siblings, Holden and Phoebe grew up with each other and formed a genuine relationship. As Holden prepares to leave the city to live on his own and find work elsewhere, he has a conversation with Phoebe and he says, “‘What the hellya got in there?’ She put the suitcase down. ‘My clothes,’ she said ‘I’m going with you. Can I? Okay?’”(Salinger, 206). This shows the magnitude of a childhood bond. Even though Holden had barely thought through his plan and was going to leave school to try to find a job in another state, Phoebe, a 4th grader, still wanted to go with him. Since starting at a new school, I have realized that the types of friends you make when you are younger are more genuine. I also have been a victim of backbiting, just like everyone else. Yet it wasn’t at my old school, among my old friends, that this was more obvious. It is where I am now. I’ve heard from a few of my closer friends about what others say about me and although it is not exactly shocking, I’d much rather have them say it to

my face. When the friends I made when I was younger have something to say to me, they tell me directly. Even if we haven’t seen each other for a long time, they try to keep in touch. Instead of waiting for me to ask them for help, they offer it to me first. Childhood friends have mutual understanding of each other and this is what leads to more sincere friendships.
Life was simpler before we all gradually lost our innocence and matured. We start developing two-faces and make friends to manipulate, use and laugh at. Our childhood friendships are most sincere because we made friends based on whether we liked that person as a whole or not. The flow of time may appear cruel, but the transition from childhood to adulthood is one that all of us must go through.