Catcher In The Rye Lying Quotes

Thomas Jefferson once said, "Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you." Often times, a person is judged as good or bad based on their actions. Another person can decide whether or not they want to be around a person when taking into consideration what they have said or done in the past. In the novel, The Catcher in The Rye, the main theme is every action you make contributes to developing who you are as a person.
Lying is an action that helps shape Holden into a deceitful and comedic person. There are many situations in the novel where he lies to entertain himself, such as meeting the mother of one of his classmates from Pencey, Ernie Morrow. When Holden is talking to Ernie's mother, he says that

He shows no sign of interest in things he should at least be motivated about, like his education. When he is speaking with his world studies teacher about flunking out of Pencey, he states, "I could shoot the old bull with Spencer and think about ducks at the same time." This shows that he does not have to put much effort into talking with teachers, even with conversations concerning his grades. Instead of being focused, he thinks about insignificant things that have no relation to the conversation. He also says, "you don't have to think much when you talk to a teacher," which reveals the careless mindset of Holden. While some students would actually listen to their teacher's input and apply it to their lives, Holden disregards Mr. Spencer's advice. It seems like education is not on top of Holden's priority list. When it comes to anything that has to do with his education, the reader can see that he does not have much determination. Not putting in effort into things he should shows that Holden is at the point where he no longer cares or has hope in succeeding in many

When another character is introduced into the story, Holden usually describes them in a negative light. For example, when Ackley is first ushered into the story, Holden describes him as "one of these very, very tall, round-shouldered guys–he was about six four–with lousy teeth." Holden often focuses on the flaws of Ackley when he interacts with him, mostly emphasizing Ackley's teeth by repeatedly calling them "mossy and awful" and constantly pointing out his pimples which were, "not only on his forehead or chin, like most guys, but all over his whole face." He never really thinks about how much he enjoyed the company of Ackley until he has to leave Pencey. Holden is hit with the realization that there were actually some good aspects of Ackley, but he was too blinded by Ackley's faults to treasure his company while he had it. Holden also finds flaws in his roommate, Stradlater. Although Holden admits that Stradlater was seen as "a Year Book kind of handsome guy," Holden still emphasizes how much of a "secret slob" he is. He talks about the razor Stradlater uses as "rusty as hell and full of lather and hairs and crap." He also says that, "the reason he fixed himself to look good was because he was madly in love with himself." This confirms how pessimistic Holden's description of Stradlater was, saying he was disgusting and vain despite being good-looking. Sometimes, he even uses Stradlater's