Holden Caulfield is a young and privileged young man. He has attended the best schools America has to offer, his parents care for him, his little sister adores him and his brother is living an exciting life in California. But Holden feels depressed and alone. He feels surrounded by people who do not understand him. He feels surrounded by so called “phonies” - hypocrites - whom he despises for being untrue and dishonest. Throughout the book the reader gets to know Holden. We know he is seventeen years old, already has some gray hair and is six feet two and a half inches tall. Holden can easily be described as contradictory and resentful of the world around him. Distancing himself from others yet at the same time wanting to connect. Holden leaves
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We experience his thoughts and we observe his actions. This also means we are subjected to his opinions and views on the world he is placed in. Especially his views on the people surrounding him, the majority of whom he refers to as “phonies”, a word he uses to describe the hypocrisy he finds in the people he meets. He seeks to distance himself from them even going to great lengths to avoid them: “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies “. (Page 17 line 1.) He actively attempts to avoid the so called “phonies”. One might note that Holden was possibly excusing his own expulsion, by stating that “It was filled with phonies”. Being phony, is something adults are very good at, according to Holden: “You never saw so many phonies in all your life, everybody smoking their ears off and talking about the play so that everybody could hear and know how sharp they were.” (chapter ?) He describes the privileged society he comes from, yet he doesn’t the fact that he’s just like them. Phony, rich and hypocritical: “Goddam money. It always ends up making you blue as hell.”(chapter 15). Holden states that he does not care for money, he doesn’t even like being rich. This is an example of Holden being a hypocrite. While in New York, he spends great amounts of money, taking cab rides, going to clubs, even hiring a prostitute at one point. Holden enjoys having money and spends a lot of it. Yet he claims it makes him “blue”. Holden actively contradicts himself throughout the book, mainly when he dislikes a great number of people, yet still gets upset when they do not spend time with him. We can observe this behavioral pattern quite early in the book, when Holden is greatly displeased, when Ackley from the room besides his, decides on spending too much time in Holden’s room. Touching his stuff, staying past his welcome etc. This annoys Holden, but Holden proceeds to sleep in Ackley’s
We experience his thoughts and we observe his actions. This also means we are subjected to his opinions and views on the world he is placed in. Especially his views on the people surrounding him, the majority of whom he refers to as “phonies”, a word he uses to describe the hypocrisy he finds in the people he meets. He seeks to distance himself from them even going to great lengths to avoid them: “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies “. (Page 17 line 1.) He actively attempts to avoid the so called “phonies”. One might note that Holden was possibly excusing his own expulsion, by stating that “It was filled with phonies”. Being phony, is something adults are very good at, according to Holden: “You never saw so many phonies in all your life, everybody smoking their ears off and talking about the play so that everybody could hear and know how sharp they were.” (chapter ?) He describes the privileged society he comes from, yet he doesn’t the fact that he’s just like them. Phony, rich and hypocritical: “Goddam money. It always ends up making you blue as hell.”(chapter 15). Holden states that he does not care for money, he doesn’t even like being rich. This is an example of Holden being a hypocrite. While in New York, he spends great amounts of money, taking cab rides, going to clubs, even hiring a prostitute at one point. Holden enjoys having money and spends a lot of it. Yet he claims it makes him “blue”. Holden actively contradicts himself throughout the book, mainly when he dislikes a great number of people, yet still gets upset when they do not spend time with him. We can observe this behavioral pattern quite early in the book, when Holden is greatly displeased, when Ackley from the room besides his, decides on spending too much time in Holden’s room. Touching his stuff, staying past his welcome etc. This annoys Holden, but Holden proceeds to sleep in Ackley’s