How Is Holden Fake

Think about a time that you had to put a fake smile on your face, and go about your day and act as if nothing in your life was wrong...even though you were breaking inside. Did you ever consider yourself fake and two-faced for doing that? Probably not, as that is a very natural reaction in humans, and it doesn’t make us fake. Holden Caulfield is not a phony. He spent his life trying to act like everything was okay and did many things throughout The Catcher in the Rye that seemed hypocritical and fake, but he acted in that way to get his mind off of all the rough things that have happened in his life. As humans, it’s just an instinct to pretend like you’re okay when you aren’t, and everyone has done that at some point in their life. That doesn’t …show more content…
He used a different name for himself in many parts of the book, but the first time he lied about his name was a major sign of Holden just trying to be someone else for a while to get away from The Life of Holden. The first time Holden lied about his name in the book was when he was on a bus with a woman who had a son who went to school with Holden. When the woman asks for Holden’s name, Holden says ““Rudolph Schmidt” I told her. I didn’t feel like giving her my whole life history,” (Salinger 30). Holden purposefully lied so he wouldn’t have to talk about his life to this woman, knowing he might get into some devastating stuff like his brother Allie. Lying about your name due to not wanting to explain your life to a stranger is not a two-faced move, and can in some cases, even be used for safety purposes. That makes Holden’s lie justified, and not an act of phoniness. Hours before Holden gets on the bus, Holden gets beat up by a guy he knew from Pencey named Stradlater. Holden’s face showed obvious signs of violence, and when he was asked by the woman what happened, Holden responded with ““I got hit with a snowball,” I said...I probably would’ve told her what really happened, but that would’ve taken too long,” (Salinger 31). Holden lies in this part because he doesn’t want to get into his problems with Stradlater that could possibly turn into him talking about his feelings for Jane, all of which …show more content…
As Holden may seem fake in some of his actions, his lies, hypothetical questions, and hypocrisy are all his versions of putting on a fake smile to act like everything is okay. He lies on the bus so he wouldn’t have to share his life story and past disputes with friends to a stranger. He asks both his teacher and his cab driver their opinions on where the ducks go in the winter, when he really doesn’t care about the ducks. He’s concerned for his future without Allie. He even hires a prostitute because he’s so sad that he doesn’t know what to do with himself, and he ends up wasting both their time. While all those things might seem phony and unusual to some, they are actually all just cries for help without Holden deliberately saying he needs help. In the end, you find out the entire book was Holden talking to a therapist. This means that Holden was truly crying for help and finally decided to get some. Holden Caulfield was not a phony, he wanted help and