In a world so big, it is a given that there are people who live phony lives. The novel, “Catcher in the Rye”, by J.D Salinger emphasizes the idea of what phony is. It is the word used to describe someone or something that is not genuine. Through the novel’s main character, Holden Caulfield, it is brought to light what living a phony life means to an individual. Catcher in the Rye is told from the perspective of Holden who thought of almost everything and everyone as phonies. Through his perspective, the reality that people can’t avoid being phony is shown. The attributes of the characters such as his old headmaster, old roommate, and his own attributes that identify him as a phony discloses what it truly means when people live phony lives and
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His old headmaster went by the name of Mr. Haas and according to Holden, “he was the phoniest bastard”(17). he ever met in his life. Like every other adult in both this novel and the world, Mr. Haas would put on an image that wasn’t real. When the parents would go to the school for visits, he would shake hands with all of them and as Holden said, “He’d be charming as hell and all”(17). However, his actions toward some parents were not as genuine as he tried to make them be. For instance, when the parents of one of the students were not presentably dressed, “old Haas would just shake hands with them and give them a phony smile and then he’d go talk, for maybe half an hour with somebody else’s parents”(17). His actions were very similar to how most adults can be. It highlighted that as people grow in life, they learn that it is not easy to survive in the world. Therefore, they put on an image that will be acceptable to others and they appeal to those they can benefit from because that is what they think it takes to go through life with no …show more content…
His most phony attribute was his habit of lying, especially if the topic was about a girl. For instance, whenever he would plan on calling his old friend Jane Gallagher, he would change his mind and not go through with it because he “wasn’t in the mood”(71). In addition, he lied to more than two women about what his real name was and explained that he did not give his real name because he “didn’t feel like it”(61). He would pretend to be something he was not and would make up stories that were not true so that he would impress the ladies. For instance, he lied to a woman on the bus that he had an operation because he had “this tiny little tumor on the brain”(65). He also lied about what her son was like in school. However, his mindset and habit of making excuses for his actions made him an even bigger phony. When he was having a conversation with Phoebe about why he got kicked out of Pencey, he said,“ I can’t explain, I just didn’t like anything that was happening at Pencey”(187). He refused to see any problem as one he created. Throughout the novel, he mentioned a lot of things that made him depressed and at one point “felt like jumping out the window”(117). However, he ignored the fact that his depression was a mental issue. He couldn’t see what was happening to himself and he hid behind his excuses. He did not realize that he wasn’t any different
His old headmaster went by the name of Mr. Haas and according to Holden, “he was the phoniest bastard”(17). he ever met in his life. Like every other adult in both this novel and the world, Mr. Haas would put on an image that wasn’t real. When the parents would go to the school for visits, he would shake hands with all of them and as Holden said, “He’d be charming as hell and all”(17). However, his actions toward some parents were not as genuine as he tried to make them be. For instance, when the parents of one of the students were not presentably dressed, “old Haas would just shake hands with them and give them a phony smile and then he’d go talk, for maybe half an hour with somebody else’s parents”(17). His actions were very similar to how most adults can be. It highlighted that as people grow in life, they learn that it is not easy to survive in the world. Therefore, they put on an image that will be acceptable to others and they appeal to those they can benefit from because that is what they think it takes to go through life with no …show more content…
His most phony attribute was his habit of lying, especially if the topic was about a girl. For instance, whenever he would plan on calling his old friend Jane Gallagher, he would change his mind and not go through with it because he “wasn’t in the mood”(71). In addition, he lied to more than two women about what his real name was and explained that he did not give his real name because he “didn’t feel like it”(61). He would pretend to be something he was not and would make up stories that were not true so that he would impress the ladies. For instance, he lied to a woman on the bus that he had an operation because he had “this tiny little tumor on the brain”(65). He also lied about what her son was like in school. However, his mindset and habit of making excuses for his actions made him an even bigger phony. When he was having a conversation with Phoebe about why he got kicked out of Pencey, he said,“ I can’t explain, I just didn’t like anything that was happening at Pencey”(187). He refused to see any problem as one he created. Throughout the novel, he mentioned a lot of things that made him depressed and at one point “felt like jumping out the window”(117). However, he ignored the fact that his depression was a mental issue. He couldn’t see what was happening to himself and he hid behind his excuses. He did not realize that he wasn’t any different