Holden Caulfield Phony Essay

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield often refers to the people around him as ¨phonies.¨ Although he uses this word to describe almost everyone he meets, Holden never refers to himself as a phony. In reality, Holden Caulfield himself is the epitome of phony. He is a pathological liar, and he often pretends to be something that he is not. Holden Caulfield is a phony because he often pretends to be a different person than who he really is. Holden regularly tries to change his persona for the people around him. He routinely goes to bars and orders alcoholic beverages even though he is only sixteen. When he is in the Lavender Room, Holden states “I ordered a Scotch and soda, and told him not to mix it. . .if you hem and

The only person that he is fully truthful to is Phoebe. Holden frequently lies to the other people in his life, which greatly outweighs the fact that he is truthful to one person, proving that Holden is a phony. Also, Holden may not be seen as a phony because he never lies about his emotions. He constantly expresses how he feels, often stating that he is depressed. Although he is completely honest about his emotions, Holden still habitually lies to those around about other subjects such as his name. Even though Holden is sometimes honest, most of the time he confirms that he is a “pathological liar”, which demonstrates that he is a phony. Holden Caulfield is a phony because he frequently lies to those around him and regularly pretends to be something that he is not. He continually lies about insignificant subjects, such as his name. On multiple occasions he pretends to be tough, even though in reality he feels weak. Even though Holden is honest to those he loves and speaks frankly about his true emotions, these few truths do not outweigh his frequent lying and pretending to be a different person than he really is, which, overall, results in the conclusion that Holden Caulfield is a