Holden Caulfield Phony

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The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, focuses on Holden Caulfield’s life and convoluted mind. Holden’s obsession with the preservation of youth and innocence in a flawed, “phony” world was mentioned by literary critic James Lundquist, who claims that “How to maintain a sense of the holy in the midst of obscenity is what Holden’s character development is all about” (J.D. Salinger 49). All through the novel, Holden values childhood innocence, and does his best to prevent it from being tarnished. Yet, this outlook on life changes as he meets new people and discovers qualities he did not know about himself. In Holden’s world, adults and their lives are phony, and the lives of children, like Allie and Phoebe, are pure and innocent. …show more content…

When Sally brings up a college plan, he gets upset and says, “...there wouldn’t be marvelous places to go after I went to college and all. We’d have to go downstairs in elevators with suitcases and stuff...and I’d be working in some office...You don’t see what I mean at all” (Salinger 133). He finds the life of an adult to be repulsive, and tries to escape the dull life of working an office job. Instead of going to college and getting a job, Holden wants to borrow a car and run away to a cabin in the woods until he runs out of money. This is an example of the theme of alienation shown by Holden. He alienates himself to escape the profanities that he hates and fears, such as change and phony people. While trying to escape these profanities, he also tries to protect the innocence that he finds sacred. After returning home, …show more content…

While Phoebe rides on a carousel, Holden comments that “I was sort of afraid she’d fall off...but I didn’t say or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it...if they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (210). This thought is in juxtaposition to his previous goal of saving children from falling off a cliff. Furthermore, it is at this point that he accepts that he cannot protect a child from growing up and reaching for their own “gold rings” in life. This acceptance not only helps him realize that he cannot prevent children from growing up, but it is also what helps him to sustain himself in a flawed world. When Phoebe asks if Holden wants to go on the carousel with her, he declines because he knows the carousel is for youth and that he has grown too old to ride and enjoy being on it. After accepting that he cannot stop the process of growing up, he declares, “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden...I was damn near bawling” (213). This is the first time in the novel that Holden feels genuinely happy about something, and shows that he changed as a person. He even goes on to seek medical help and return to school, despite never wanting to throughout the

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