Examples Of Phony In Catcher In The Rye

Holden is a phony because of how often he lies. For example, Holden lies to the mother of Ernest Morrow. He rationalizes this by saying that ‘Mothers are slightly insane’ and , “I didn’t feel like giving her my whole life history.” Holden was not in trouble, therefore, he had no acceptable reason to lie, not that there ever really is. According to his own definition, this is what phonies do. He claims to be good and points out other people's flaws and that is what makes him the biggest phony. Another example is how Holden lies about his age. He is constantly trying to make himself seem older even though he wants to be ‘The Catcher in the Rye’. When making plans to go to a bar, Holden says, “Hello? I made my voice quite deep so that she wouldn’t suspect my age or anything.” However, he wanted to preserve child innocence. “…I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s what I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all that.” …show more content…
This generation’s teenagers are quick to lie and make their lives seem more ‘interesting’ or ‘socially acceptable’. They all strive to be the most ‘popular’. Some girls like to lie about their diets, saying things like, “I love to eat kale and I make fresh fruit and vegetable smoothies every morning.” Knowing that they never seen a real piece of kale in their life. Just as Holden says about Pencey Prep, All the boys are doing is bragging and pretending to like things to be perceived as ‘cool’. “It’s full of phonies…and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses…” Teenagers have not