Holden Caulfield Phony Analysis

Everyone has certain types of behaviors they do not like, which are usually ones opposite how they themselves act and behave. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield claims he hates “phonies,” although it is clear that Holden is one himself. On his long journey home from being kicked out of school, he runs into several characters, and around all of them the reader can see just how phony Holden actually is. He rides a train to his home state, where he wanders around two days, trying to figure out what everything really means in his life, before heading home to his parents for forgiveness and another chance. Although Holden clearly states he does not like “phonies”, it is obvious to the reader that Holden himself is a “phony” through his encounter with a mother on a train, with some nuns in a coffee shop, and with Sally, an old acquaintance of his. Holden takes a train …show more content…
On the ride home from Pencey, he finds himself on a train with Mrs. Morrow, the mother of one of his classmates, Ernie. Holden does not like Ernie at all, but since he has nobody else to talk to, he decides to carry on conversation with Ernie’s mother. Holden likes the mother, and knows that the only way to keep conversation is “to [talk] about what a hot-shot their kid is. [So] then I really started chucking the old crap around,” and most of it is a lie (Salinger 56). Holden is being a phony in this very scene, as he is expressing opinions that he doesn’t believe in just to win someone over. Holden doesn’t want to be alone on his journey home, and he doesn’t want to lose his conversation partner, Mrs. Morrow, so he deliberately goes against his own opinions for personal gain. He launches into stories of how humble Ernie is, reminding the reader silently that Ernie is always the opposite of what he describes him as. He