Holden, the main character of Catcher In the Rye, is very wary throughout the book about entering adulthood. He describes adults as phony. Phoniness, according to Holden, is characterized as perceiving oneself as something one is not. While adulthood is filled with phoniness, childhood is all about honesty and purity. However, Holden's behavior and state of denial falls into the phony category.
Holden is phony, because he's a habitual liar. For instance, on the train to Penn Station Holden met on of his ex classmate's from Pencey's mother. He lied to her about how nice and well-respected her son was. This was an unnecessary lie and a meaningless conversation.
His fear of companionship also makes Holden phony. He longs for companionship, yet he pushes people away. Throughout the book, he thinks about Jane Gallagher, a girl he used to date. However, he's unwilling to make any real effort to get in contact with her. He does end up contacting another girl he dated in the past, Sally Hayes. When they meet he cuts their meeting short by upsetting Sally with his rude remarks.
The phoniest thing about Holden is how he analyzes the flaws in everyone around him, but fails to recognize the phoniness in his own character. If he'd quit being concerned about others and focus on himself, he'd be able to improve his character.
Overall, Holden uses the phoniness of adults as an excuse to remain isolated. And spends so much time analyzing others that he fails to recognize his own phoniness.
Validness of ideas; effectiveness of examples; grammar
Monday, May 25, 2009
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