Holden And Phony In Catcher In The Rye

In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is Caring because he wants to protect the innocence of kids and them growing into adulthood, he is also concerned with how corrupt and “phony” adults are, and despite his mental state, Holden always looks out for other even when he is not okay. The first reason why Holden is Caring is because he wants to protect the innocence of kids. He says that he wants to “catch” the kids in the field of rye like the poem written by Robert Burns. He says, “ You know that song ‘If a body catch a body comin’ through the rye?’” (Salinger 191). As his sister Phoebe is asking Holden what he wants to be he states that, “... I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of the rye and …show more content…
Holden recognizing this and showing his concern shows that he is caring toward others, and shows concern for kids that could be growing up into the corrupted society. Additionally, Holden shows his concern about the adult world and it’s “phoniness” when he is thinking back to his old school and he remembers his headmaster Mr. Haas. “He’d be charming as hell and all. Except if some boy had little old funny-looking parents… then old Haas would just shake hands with them… and give them a phony smile…” Holden by saying this shows how Mr. Haas was a “phony” because he judged people by what they looked like. Mr. Haas would only talk to appealing people or families with wealth because he would want donations from families from the schools. Although what Mr. Haas is doing could be seen as clever, Holden sees how neglectful Mr. Haas is of the families that work hard to have their kids go there, or for those who give small contributions. Because Holden can see how corrupt what Mr. Haas is, it shows that he is concerned about the other