Catcher In The Rye Phony Quotes

Justin Wong
English 2A, Ms. Mitchell
Block 7
17 April 2017
Holden Caulfield's Judgmental Qualities JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, characterizes Holden’s tendency to accuse people of acting fake in order to stay within the social norms. Holden feels he is surrounded by phonies, who he judges as hypocritical, shallow, superficial, and inauthentic. He experiences phoniness mainly in the adult world and believe adults such as lawyers and actors are taking on a new identity other than themselves. The transition into the adult world is what Holden fears the most in his life. He is not willing to accept change and wants to stay as a young adolescent. Holden's alienation is also due to the fact that he is preoccupied with wanting to be

He is always seeking human contact and love, but has a hard time forming intimate relationships with new people. His alienation is mainly due to Holden critiquing people for being phony and not being unique and different. Because Holden is pushing people away from him such as Sally Hayes's, Ward Stradlater, and Jane Gallagher, it provides him a deeper loneliness. For instance, on his date with Sally Hayes, his loneliness makes him insult her by saying “You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth” (133). As the story advances, Holden's isolation is a way for him to protect himself and to single himself out of the phony world. For example, Holden's red hunting hat is a symbol of his isolation; the hunting hat is his way of expressing his uniqueness and individuality. “The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around to the back-very corny, I’ll admit, but i liked it that way. I looked good in it that way” (18). Holden's interactions with other people overwhelm and confuse him, and his superior feeling serves as his own protection. His alienation leads him to be conflicted between seeking companionship or to stay isolated from his close

Holden does not want to associate with people who are phony because they have been exposed to the adult world where they grow up and become liars and adolescents. Unlike his younger brother, Allie, Allie never got the chance to experience the adult world, or lost his innocence. Holden does not think kids are phony, and he actually likes children because they are pure and have not reached the adult world. At various points in the book, Holden mentions how Allie never grew up and how “All the visitors could get in their cars and turn on their radios and all and then go someplace nice for dinner-everybody except Allie” (156). The thought of Allie dead bothers Holden because Allie never gets the chance to live a life while everyone keeps growing, living, and experiencing new things. Not only has Allie’s death prevent Holden from forming friendships, but he also is preoccupied with wanting to be the catcher in the rye. Holden says, “I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be. I know it's crazy” (173). All Holden wants to do is save people who are special and innocent just like his younger brother Allie. Even though Allie died, Holden thinks Allie is always watching over him and making him feel better. For example, after Holden spent the night sleeping on a bench at Grand Central Station, he starts