Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Phony Adults
One of the most memorable things about Catcher in the Rye is how
Holden classifies most adults as "phony." Why does he do this? What
does he mean, and why is the idea of being "phony" or "not phony"
important to Holden's story? What does it say about Holden's
psychological state that he sees people in these terms? Use some scenes
or details from the book to illustrate what you mean (for instance, the
scene with Sally, or the scene with the girls in the bar, etc.)
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Throughout “The Catcher in the Rye”, by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden Caulfield, classifies other people as being “phonies”. There may be an alternate meaning to why he is doing this. In one scene, Holden goes to a bar and, in his mind, is talking about and judging the piano player, Ernie. He said, “...old Ernie turned around on his stool and gave this very phony, humble bow.” And then, he continued to say, “It was very phony-I mean him being such a big snob and all.” (Salinger 84) One reason I believe he calls such a very talented man a “phony” is because he is jealous. Holden does not have this talent and envies it, so instead of praising Ernie and feeling happy for his accomplishments, he just makes fun of him and makes his talent seem stupid and not worth the applause. Holden has a very difficult time dealing with differences and being around people that are better than him or do things differently. In the scene with Sally, Holden says that he wants to move away to Maine. This is an indication that he wants to get away from people and be secluded where he can be alone and live without having to compare himself to anyone. Psychologically, Holden is confused and does not know how to be his own person. He can not accept the fact that we are all different and he can’t keep hiding from problems and growing up. Phony, to me, is saying that something is fake or made up. When somebody has a talent or a differing opinion, Holden just automatically classifies them as a “phony” because he does not believe what they are doing or saying is real or right. Judging by these facts, Holden, more than likely, will not be mentally stable. If he lives his whole life with this mindset, he will not be able to handle the real world and the cold hard facts that we are all different will never “stick” in his mind.
ReplyDeleteDuring the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger a very memorable thing is how Holden Caufield constantly refers to people as phony. His ideas and actions toward particular people and mostly all adults is normally rude and ignorant. In addition, this is important to him and the judgement of others because if you are a phony person or if he thinks of you as having phony actions he normally does not like you. Also, Haulden does not look at a phony person as an honest or loyal person based on his interpretations of that person’s actions. Another way he associates phony as a reference to actions is through his own actions and how he talks to people. For example, Holden says “I stopped on the way, though, and picked up Ackley’s hand, and gave him a big phony handshake (Salinger 50).” This shows his action toward others and how Holden internally is “phony” towards others as they are onto him in his eyes. This is very important to his story because Holden is much more of a follower than a leader. He does not go to set the example but goes to follow the examples that other people set. Furthermore, this is very associated to how people act around Holden. If he interprets that someone talks to him in a “phony” way then he will respond in that same phony tone. To conclude, Holden Caufield is a very hypocritical person and acts the way he thinks people act to him. The description of being “phony” is a great example of Holden’s psychological style and how he responds to certain inner and social situations.
ReplyDeleteThroughout J. D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye” the main character Holden refers to nearly everyone who crosses his path as phonies, especially adults. He classifies most adults as phonies because he himself is still very immature so he never does responsible things such as managing his money, working within the rules of a job or in his case school, or work well with others. To work within the rules of something or work well with others a person has to in a way alter their personalities or opinions to fit with others. For example, when Holden is talking to his sister Phoebe about how Mr. Spencer would act when the headmaster would come in and interrupt with bad jokes he says, “Old Spencer’d practically kill himself chuckling and smiling and all…” (Salinger 168). From situations like this Holden classified Mr. Spencer as a phony because he knows that you can’t say or do exactly what you want all the time without there being repercussions. Holden doesn’t get the fact that when people change their normal personality it is because they want to avoid the negative consequences that would happen if they didn’t act a certain way. This lack of understanding of a common human behavior shows how Holden unintentionally isolates himself and makes his feeling of not fitting in with society worse. The fact that he does not understand a typical human behavior shows how he is unable to connect with others which implies that there is something wrong with him mentally. This lack of understanding is also the root of him calling others phony because it is easier for him to blame others than realize that it is him who has a problem and not the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel "the Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield tends to characterize adults and other people as being a phony. Holden believes that those who are considered phonies are people that find their outward appearance and the roles they play in society as something more important than doing, or saying anything that is honest and truthful. The word "phony" has a negative connotation and is a theme throughout the novel that ties directly into what Holden thinks about the people around him. Salinger writes, "...old Ernie turned around on his stool and gave this very phony, humble bow... It was very phony-I mean him being such a snob and all." (Salinger; 84). While Holden is at a nightclub called Ernie's, he gives a detailed explanation about Ernie who is the piano player at the club. In front of him is a mirror which Holden believes is used for the audience to see his facial expressions as he plays. Although Holden believes Ernie is talented, he thinks that Ernie doesn't put his heart and soul into his piano playing. Therefor, Ernie is considered a phony. Going off of what Holden defines as a "phony," Ernie plays the part of being the star and showcases his talents through playing the piano, but Holden believes that it's all for show and how Ernie does not fully invest in providing top quality music with all his heart. Throughout the novel, Holden calls other characters including Sally and also Sunny as "phonies." The only two people who Holden does not consider to be a phony is Phoebe and also Allie, his brother. The reason for this is that they are two people who Holden admires and looks up to. Categorizing people as "phonies" is something that happens throughout the novel based on Holden's perspective about people and shows his lack of admiration for people who are not willing to invest everything they have got into what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteIn the Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden is the main character and he is constantly calling people phony. Phony to me is acting fake, saying stuff you don’t really mean. I think in Holden’s eyes he see all adults as phony because they grew up and are people who work in the city doing the same stuff everyday. Holden doesn’t want to grow up, Holden doesn’t want responsibilities that all adults have. In part of the book he is on a date with Sally were they have just went ice skating at Radio City and are now inside having a drink. Holden is talking to Sally about leaving together and living in the woods in a cabin together. Sally though is not too thrilled with the idea she tells him that they are both children and that they can do it after Holden goes to college and after they get married if they do. Holden takes it personally as if she is saying she doesn’t want to go with him but all she is saying is she doesn’t think it’s the right time. After, Holden starts telling Sally about what adults do in New York City almost as if what their routine is everyday and that it never changes. Holden may call adults phony because they have routines that they do and they live a lifestyle of working and responsibilities. Throughout this book many people who seem rich and preppy Holden also calls them phony, like the boy Sally sees at the movie theater. Holden may call other people phony because he is judging people all the time and if he isn’t judging other people he would be judging himself and he may not be able to handle judging himself and what could be his possible flaws, maybe he is actually the phony one portraying everyone else as phony.
ReplyDeleteMany young people believe that their significance in the world can only be defined by how society labels them. Therefore, Holden is frustrated by those who have found a societal clique that they can survive in. He becomes bitter when discussing people who are successful or have self confidence, and accuses them of being “phonies.” When on a date with Sally, Holden says “You ought to go to a boys' school sometime… It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques” (Salinger 131). Holden is frustrated because the boys at his schools are apart of things that makes them relevant and normal in society while he is left groping for significance. However, he is also disgusted by how deceivingly normal they seem. Holden knows that many of their methods of achieving their “normality” are not genuine, and this frustrates him to no end. Stradlater, for example, is considered a handsome and popular person at Pencey. Holden notes that his razor is disgusting and he never cleans it, yet it still helps Stradlater uphold his status. He sees that many people are simply keeping up appearances in society, and labels them as phony because he sees that they are always lacking in one way or another. Holden is repulsed by this, and is angry that they can pretend to be “normal” while he cannot grasp how to become an active part of society. Labeling people as phony also shows that Holden has trouble separating idealisms from reality. His mind clings to ideas that could give him a sense of normality, no matter how impractical they may be. He acts sporadically as a result, and often fails to consider the consequences of his actions. This is seen during his date with Sally. Holden suggests they leave New York and travel, and becomes so excited that he loses awareness of his actions. He is unaware that he goes from shouting to whispering, and does not think about the negative effects of leaving with Sally. He becomes so set on these extravagant ideas that they cloud his perception and ability to create more practical solutions to his problems. Ultimately, Holden is trapped by society’s ideals and his compulsive tendencies, and is unable to define who he is as a result.
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ReplyDeleteIn “The Catcher in the Rye”, by J.D. Salinger, Holden accuses most of the people in his life as “phonies”. Since holden is unable to process thought and emotions like a normal adult he is viewed as odd by his peers. He classifies the people who do not understand the way he sees things as phonies because he does not understand the concept of each individual viewpoints. To Holden, all the bad things that go on in his world are labeled as “phony” that way he can cope with the idea of growing up. Holden’s narration leads you to believe that he is mature (i.e. his often and rapid consumption of alcohol) but he reveals himself as a scared boy who is desperate to remain in his adolescent years. When he sees the people around him going through the stages of life and entering into the adult world Holden realizes his fear of responsibility and adulthood. ““Well I hate it. Boy, do I hate it,” I said. “But it isn’t just that. It’s everything. I hate living in New York and all. Taxicabs, and Madison Avenue buses, with drivers and all always yelling at you to get out the rear door, and being introduced to phony guys that call the Lunts angels, and going up and down in elevators when you just want to go outside, and guys fitting your pants all the time at Brooks, and people always--”” (130 Salinger). Holden labels elevators, pants fittings, and riding buses as “phony” things because they all fit into his idea of the adult world. When Holden sees a mature adult going about their lives in a way he does not believe is realistic he decides they are phony people. Holden’s views on “phony” people indicates his unrealistic expectation with the way people should live their lives. Having a job and riding the elevator is “phony”. When Holden sees people doing things he does not agree with, he labels them as “phony” because of his inability to cope with the entrance into adulthood.
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ReplyDeleteIn J. D. Salinger’s book, “The Catcher in the Rye,” Holden continuously talks about how the adults are “phonies”. He seems to believe that nearly all adults are denying who they really are, and are putting up a facade for the rest of the world to see. In the book Holden refuses to grow up, and tries to hold on to his youth, and the innocence of young people. He believes that when people are young, they do not care what others think, or do things for any reason other than genuinely wanting to do those things. Adults, however, have more responsibilities and have to do things that they do not really want to do, or is contradicting of their personality, in order to succeed in life and their society. In the book, J. D. Salinger writes, “When he was finished, and everybody was clapping their heads off, old Ernie turned around on his stool and gave this very phony, humble bow. Like as if he was a helluva humble guy, besides being a terrific piano player. It was very phony--I mean him being such a big snob and all.”(Salinger 84) Holden thinks of Ernie as a snob and not humble at all, but Ernie gives a seemingly humble bow after his performance anyway. Although Holden thinks this is very uncharacteristic and phony for a guy like Ernie, Ernie is being charismatic and courteous in order to succeed in his career as a pianist. Holden does not like how actions like this are necessary, and therefore refuses to grow up. Because of this, Holden is very immature and undeveloped psychologically. He is outright refusing to accept the fact that at some point he has to let go of his childhood. He shows his hesitance of growing up when he does impulsive things without thinking about the consequences and when he talks about how he has “had quite a few opportunities to lose [his] virginity and all, but [he has] never got around to it yet.”(92) Also, all of the people that Holden really admires are still children, like his younger sister and brother. Holden’s dislike for the “phoniness” of adults causes him to refuse to mature psychologically, and long for a way to seclude himself from people other than those who are innocent and free of responsibility.
ReplyDeleteHolden calls most people phony because he does not understand social etiquette. He does what he wants and says what he wants. Most people would understand that breaking into someone’s house, even if it is their parents’ house, is not acceptable. Most people people would understand that looking through someone’s notebook without permission, even if it was their sister’s, is inappropriate. When someone holds themself back from doing the things Holden does without thinking, Holden thinks they are phony. He does not seem to understand that people do care about others, or that someone would act out of respect for them. Like a small child, he acts only for himself, and seems to believe that everyone is the same way. Whenever Holden sees someone do something which appears to give nothing in return, he believes they are a phony. This ‘phoniness’ is a source of anger for him, and his lack of ‘phoniness’ is what drives him to make many of the bad decisions he does.
ReplyDeleteThroughout reading the Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger you will often come across Holden referring to many people as a "phony". It is almost as though Holden believes everyone he meets is sort of a phony. During his time at Pencey school Holden introduces the readers to several students and teachers whom he thinks are phonies. In Holden's eyes a phony is a liar, a snob and a crook. To Holden all adults are phonies, maybe because they grew up and our now onto a job and a real life which is a constant struggle for Holden to accept. He is stuck between maturing to an adult and staying a child. Calling an adult a "phony" could just be a word Holden uses to mask his jealousy or confusion. For example, when Holden is on his date with Sally and she sees another boy that she knows he immediately thinks he's phony, "His name was George something...He was the kind of a phony that have to give themselves room when they answer somebody's question." (Salinger, 127). Keep in mind, Holden has never met George before nor has ever talked to him in his life so how come he knows George is a phony? I believe Holden might be a little jealous or upset that this man that seems to be alright and put together is talking to Sally, when Holden himself is a confused boy that doesn't know what his next step is. I think to be a "phony" or to not be a "phony" is very important to Holden's story. Being a "phony" is almost as though another word for an adult, or a person that doesn't have half the problems Holden has. In his eyes certain people are phonies but to the world they are just regular people. You can tell a lot from Holden's physiological state of mind when choosing who to consider a "phony". It is clear that Holden has a mental illness and is very confused on when to grow up or be stuck in his adolescence.
ReplyDeleteHolden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” is a person who does not understand how to deal with any kind of social situation and he does not know how to express himself. He shows his lack of understanding through calling people “phonies” quite frequently throughout the book. Holden seems to be in denial of the fact that people go about life in different ways than he does. He could be jealous that those other people have an idea of what they are doing with their life. He thinks since he is unable to get his life together that no one else is able to, so he calls them phonies, he thinks they are fake because they have their lives in order. Although he calls everyone and everything around him phony, he never actually says what isn’t phony in his opinion. Everything that isn’t his or him seems to be phony to him. For example, Holden says the piano player, Ernie, is a phony for showing off to the crowd. He says “He was putting in all these dumb, show-offy ripples in the high notes, and a lot of other very tricky stuff that gives me a pain in the ass... Ernie turned around on his stool and gave this very phony, humble bow.” (Salinger, 84) Holden sees Ernie enjoying himself while playing the piano, he is playing as well as he can, putting in “tricky stuff” that Holden perceives as showing off. He calls him a phony for enjoying the crowd and the music. Holden may not realize that this is how a normal humans act when they really enjoy what they do because he has nothing he likes to do. He didn’t care much about fencing at Pencey, and now he has no hobbies besides drinking. Holden is not able to have what Ernie has so he calls him a phony out of jealousy. Holden calls the movie he sees at Radio City phony. It is a love story, and even though they have troubles, the couple ends up together. He is saying that is it making him sick and it is phony. He says “All I can say is, don’t see it if you don’t want to puke all over yourself today...You take somebody that cries their goddam eyes out over the phony stuff in movies...” (140). Holden struggles with love and quits very easily. Since he has trouble with relationships and has no idea how to be in one, he envies the couples in the movies who are able to make it through tough times. “Phony” is a word Holden uses to express his inability to cope with his problems and his jealousy.
ReplyDeleteThroughout “The Catcher in the Rye”, by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield the main character of the novel constantly refers to others, specifically adults, as phonies. Holden does this because he sees that what they’re doing isn’t what they want to be doing. In other words they’re only doing things because it’s what they’re supposed to do, or what society expects them to do. When people walk over and shake Holden’s hand or introduce themselves even though neither person has any interest in the other, those are the kinds of things Holden finds phony. An example of this is when he and Sally met George at the play, “Finally when they were all done slobbering around, old Sally introduced us. His name was George something-I don’t even remember-and he went to Andover. Big big deal.You should’ve seen him when old Sally asked him how he liked the play. He was the kind of phony who had to give themselves room when they answered someone's question”(127). In Holden’s mind George probably didn’t actually think all the things he said, instead he just said them to impress Sally. Another thing is when first going to the hotel when he sees the perverts through the window, he does not call them phonies. Holden does this because they are doing what they want to do, even if others find it weird or gross. In the end phony is a term Holden uses when describing people who only do what is society expects them to do, instead of what they really think.
ReplyDeleteIn the story “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden Caulfield, repeatedly calls most people he meets as phonies. He does this because he is jealous of these adults. His idea of a phony is someone who does things the right way. In Holden’s mind, it is important to not be a phony because then you are “being real.” He usually classifies someone as a phony if they do something that he thinks they are not being genuine. For example he calls his old headmaster at Elkton Hills, Mr. Haas, a phony. “On Sundays, for instance, old Haas went around shaking hands with everybody's parents when they drove up to school. He’d be charming as hell and all.” (14). Holden thinks that people that are proper and polite don’t mean it therefore making them a phony. He also calls many people phonies who are more talented or smarter than him or people who are figures of authority. He calls Mr. Haas and Mr. Thurmer phonies. They were headmasters he had. He also calls many of the boys who are smarter than him and who get better grades than him. This shows his jealousy of them. Holden also calls the pianist, Ernie, a phony because he is a very talented piano player but flaunts it too much. Holden is clearly jealous about Ernie’s talents. Holden is not psychologically stable if he thinks this way.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Catcher in the Rye", Holden Caulfield walks through life constantly judging those around him, but never really taking a good look into the mirror. He classifies most adults and accomplished people as “phonies”. In Holden’s eyes a phony is a talent prostitute or one who shares their skills with the world. Being around successful people depresses Holden because he is reminded of his many failures. It is hard for Holden to cope with the idea of his brother, D.B., advancing his writing career in Hollywood, when he has flunked out of yet another prep school. When Holden recognizes talent he feels threatened because he has not set or pursued any goals for himself. Referring to adults and others who have taken on responsibilities as “phonies” is Holden’s mechanism of coping with the fact that he is incapable of growing up. Instead of being inspired by success stories around him, Holden’s self-confidence is lowered even further. In terms of his future, Holden feels helpless. He has made no real efforts to solve his personal problems, so he chooses to blame his issues on the world. Instead of finding his interests when it comes to possible jobs, he only knows what he does not like. When Holden’s sister, Phoebe, tries to offer career options, Holden shoots them all down. For instance, Holden rejected the idea of becoming a lawyer. His argument was, “How would you know you weren’t being a phony? The trouble is, you wouldn’t” (Salinger, 224). Holden uses this fear of becoming a phony as any excuse for not planning his future. He fails to recognize that in order to advance in life, sometimes one must appeal to social standards. Since Holden is so socially awkward and does not understand the idea of following a set of unspoken rules, he views anyone who abides by these principles as phonies. He wishes he could avoid most people so that he would not have to deal with his flaws. Holden does not want to accept the ideas adults try to teach him because he feels personally attacked. According to Holden, “All you have to do to depress somebody is give them a lot of phony advice…” (Salinger, 219). Although Holden seems to loathe accomplished people, he would be nothing without them. In Holden’s fantasy he would run away and live in the wilderness, separated from anyone whom he could compare himself to. He fails to acknowledge that without others to judge, he would finally have to examine himself. This would only depress him further. In a conversation with Mr. Antolini, Holden considered what his feelings were about “phonies” like Stradlater and Ackley: “ I hated them once in a while… [but] if I didn’t see them… I sort of missed them” (Salinger, 243). This quote shows how Holden relies on others to distract him from his own troubles. If he is so insecure about himself that he must judge others, Holden is definitely not psychologically stable and should seek help. Without the assistance of a psychoanalyst, Holden may never be able to push past his fear of becoming a “phony” and could remain in the stage of adolescence indefinitely.
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ReplyDeleteOne of the most constant phrases other than “old”, that we see in The Catcher & The Rye by J.D. Salinger is the word “phony”. Holden Caulfield is constantly referring to the people inside his world as “phonies”. Behind this word lays a deeper look into the main character. Through observation, I have noticed a number of things revolving around this word. One of these observations was, how he never has referred to his younger siblings as “phonies” or any children for that matter. Following this, we can see that Holden has a fear of growing up or envisioning his future. Much of the time Holden tends to associate phoniness with amiability and caring for others, which is a part of growing up and maturing. An example of this was in Chapter 20, when Holden in his lonely drunken state talks about the probability of Sally having a date a with an Andover Prep school boy. He describes this thought through imagery as the Andover boys, “swimming around in a goddamn pot of tea and saying sophisticated stuff to each other and be charming and phony”. Thus, Holden has trouble with seeing people who were once children begin to act grown up. Whether working a stable job, using manners or just caring for others. Everyone around him are finding there way in the world while he is lost in his sea of thoughts, inside his own demented world.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger the main character Holden Caulfield calls practically everyone he meets “phony” especially adults. Holden is worried about his future and uncertain of what he wants to become and achieve. You can see this when he states in two occasions that he wants to run away, live in the wood and have no connections with any human beings. Holden doesn’t want to become a “phony” adult with a “phony” job and a “phony” family. Holden uses the word phony as people use the word basic today. To Holden phony means unoriginal and just-like-everyone-else. Holden is afraid of becoming the iconic man from Harvard, with a suitcase and a tie heading to work every morning. For Example “... old Ernie turned around on his stool and gave this very phony, humble bow ... It was very phony I mean him being such a snob and all” (Salinger 84). Holden thinks Ernie is “phony” because he pretends to be a very humble person when infact Holden knows that his is not humble at all. In Holden's eyes everyone is trying to be better than they actually are. They are all trying to fit into society. To Holden children are not usually “phonies” because children still have their own character. Kids are all different and unique and they aren’t trying to fit in yet. Since children can't be “phony” Holden doesn’t want to grow up because he doesn’t want to be “Phony”. Ironically Holden is a bit of a “Phony” himself. He is always trying to be cool and make connections with people he doesn’t even like. Holden also pretends that he knows everything about sex because he wants to be cool. I don’t think Holden sees himself as a “phony” but maybe if he looks at himself closer he will realize that he is infact a “phony”.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, the character Holden has trouble expressing his thoughts and feelings about himself and others. A repetitive situation that keeps coming up in the novel is that Holden keeps classifying most adults as “phony”. Holden tends to use the word “phony” to describe people who think highly of themselves and that he is jealous of. Those are the kind of people that don’t understand the kinds of things that Holden sees and thinks about. One of the first times Holden used the word phony was when he was describing his teacher from Elkton Hills. “Mr. Haas, that was the phoniest bastard I ever met in my life” (Salinger 13). A possible explanation for Holden calling Mr. Haas a phony is that Mr. Haas is someone who kills you with kindness. This causes Holden to think of him in a negative way. Holden is not satisfied with the world around him. To him, the world is full of a bunch of phonies. Adults aren’t the only thing Holden describes as phony. Holden also explains how “the jerk had one of those phony, Ivy League voices”(Salinger 128). He uses the word phony once again to describe people who he feels inferior to. He compares himself to the others and by using the word phony, it takes the attention off of how much different he is than them in other ways.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading The Catcher in the Rye you often find Holden referring to many people as phony. When Holden first meets someone he quickly determines whether or not they are phony. I think this shows what type of a person Holden is and that he does not like when people are “phony” and don't tell the truth or are not straightforward. Holden most often finds the adults in his life phony, I think this is because he hates the way adults live their lives with such routine and he finds them phony because he doesn't believe anyone could enjoy a life like that. This is important to Holden's story because it shows how Holden sees the world and how he reacts to others. Holden's physiological state reveals his problems with socializing with others and i think that he often times is too quick to calling someone phony based off of how they appear to be but he does not get very close to people to actually learn enough about them to judge them. Throughout the book all the times he has called someone phony it has been based on his own opinions on them and often times it was after having a negative interaction with the person that drove him to decide they were a phony person.
ReplyDeleteIn Catcher in the Rey by JD Slinger , Holden describes almost every character in the book as phony and makes the reader believe there is a deep meaning to his reasoning. To Holden , all the boys at Pence were phony rich kids who Holden didn't classify himself with. This proves that Holden couldn't relate to people and feel the same emotions, whenever someone did something he didn't agree with they were automatically a phony. For instance when the boy Holden knew from school didn't have the conversation Holden wanted he deemed him a phony , or when Maurice beats him up and takes the money the only thing he can yell through his tears are phony. This shows Holden is incapable of relating to anyone because he cannot feel emotions and he doesn't understand how to react in certain situations .
ReplyDeleteDuring the course of “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger, Holden has psychological problems that lead to him having some conflictions with most adults people. The majority of people that Holden does not like end up being called “phonies” by him. Holden’s issue with people most likely comes from some deeper complication within his mind, but the notable correlation among the people are that they are in some way better than him or more mature. There has not been too much revealed about why Holden would react this way toward people, but speculation around his character could show possible trauma as a child or maybe he was born with psychological issues that make him think in a unique way. Nonetheless, it is clear that there must be some sort problem in his head, despite the lack of solid evidence proving it. Furthermore, Holden’s classification of these people as “phonies” probably is an insult towards them because of them being better than him in some way, shape, or form. This is actually a recurring theme throughout the story, where Holden with see someone or think about a person whom of which are described with better qualities when compared to Holden. Intelligence is one of these things that Holden will call someone a phony about which is surprising because he often considers himself to be an smart. One thing that continues to be seen is when Holden will say that you can never have an intelligent conversation with someone. One example of Holden mentioning this was when he said, “you could see that there wasn’t any sense trying to have an intelligent conversation”(Page 133). Holden acts as if he is a smart person, but this is a bit of a contradiction with some parts of his character like the fact that he is actually illiterate. That does not necessarily mean that he is not intelligent, but it gives some sort of sense as to where he lies on that scale. He’ll call someone like Al Pike a phony after saying that he is “all muscles and no brain”(page 135), but in reality that is more than Holden can probably say for himself which could result in him having some sort of resentment or jealousy towards Pike for being better than him. People who Holden don’t consider to be phonies are routinely people that he considers close to him or people who will actually talk to him like a friend which is what Jane was to him. His idea of people being “phonies” and “non phonies” is very important to the story because of how it relates him and his self reflection, even if he does not know it himself. The concept of “phonies” to Holden is a major part of himself so it equates to an important piece of the story as well and figuring out how and why he feel the way he does about people.
ReplyDeleteIn the story “the Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden Caulfield is a extremely different person. Holden has many different opinions on things. Almost everything that Holden sees or notices he feels the need to comment on it, sometimes in a negative way. Holden often notices adults as being “phonies” and it seems to really bother him. When he speaks to adults or sees adults interacting he finds everything that they say fake and not genuine. For example when Holden went out with Sally to see a movie he already thought was phony, Sally sees an old friend and throughout their whole conversation Holden never believed it was genuine. He got extremely frustrated just listening to the conversation even when he wasn't even the one in the interaction. Holden also touches upon how he feels about phony adults when he talks about how his brother is in the show business and how he and the films are also all phony. Holden says how all the films are so fake and how they are so unrealistic. Holden sees the characters in films as just characters and doesn't really listen to the story of the film. I think that Holden sees everyone as phony because he does not know how to act in social situations and is often confused how people do social interaction well. Holden seems to constantly be yelling or extremely flustered whenever he is out with someone and doesn't act in the same social manners as others. In one social situation we saw him in was on they rain when he was talking to the mother of one of his old friends. He seemed normal to the woman he was talking to but she did not know that everything he said he was making up. He made up his name and even made up things about his friend. This was the only way that made Holden feel comfortable enough to hold a conversation with someone else and not have poor social behavior like we have seen in the past.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, Holden classifies most adults as “phony”. This term is mentioned throughout the book by Holden countless times and has become very significant to it. One scene that shows this is when Holden is in old Ernie’s bar and states, “Anyway, when he was finished, and everybody was clapping their heads off, old Ernie turned around on his stool and gave this very phony, humble bow”(Salinger 84). Holden remarks that old Ernie, the piano player at a bar, is a phony for being a talented musician. This makes me think that Holden is insecure about himself and does not believe that others can be successful and talented in life because he does not yet know where he fits in life. He does not have a clear view of what he wants to do after he graduates and calls the people that do know and have already done so phonies. Also, in the same scene, when Holden is in the bar he says, “How marvelous it is to see you!” old Lillian Simmons said. Strictly a phony” (Salinger 86). In this scene Holden encounters an old friend and he calls her a phony. Holden does not realize that the people that he calls phony are really just normal people and his state of mind is just not all there. When someone says phony it usually means fake or fraudulent which is why when Holden uses it to describe the adults he sees, he is reflecting on the point that he can not take the truth about the real world and how he is suppose to live in it like the people he is accusing of being phony. Holden Caulfield is so obsessed with calling out other peoples flaws in themselves that he does not take the the time or want to realize the fact that his life is full of flaws and misguidance. The description”phony” that he uses is just a disguise for his inner conflicts that he does not acknowledge.
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