Phony In Catcher In The Rye

In Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Holden uses the word "phony" to define people who are insincere and to label people who grow up only to conform to society's standards, even though they’re capable of much more in their life. Besides the nuns at the sandwich bar and Holden’s little sister and brother, almost everyone in society embodies Holden’s depiction of phony, except for most children. Children are exempt from Holden’s definition of phony because children do not care about society’s standards. Children do not care that “[car brakes screech] all over the place” (128) while they are singing a song while walking on a curb “the way kids do” (128) or how they look while wearing a cowboy hat “practically over [their] ears” (230). On the other hand, Holden, a maturing young boy, faces criticism for his childish
The two nuns, for instance, are not phony because they are different from other Christians Holden knows. They do not spoil their conversation by asking if Holden is Christian or by asking for a donation. The nun that teaches English “[does not] even sound much like a nun” (123) when talking about books. Holden even appreciates that she does not focus on criticizing the sexual aspects of the book and instead focuses on the story itself. Phoebe and Allie also challenge society’s standards as children. They differ from other children due to their incredible intelligence and maturity that most children and other adults fail to exhibit. They even differ from other redheads, which is astonishing considering a redhead is unique in himself or herself from everyone else with brown or blonde hair. Both Phoebe and Allie further their uniqueness among the particular redheads by challenging the idea that redheads are temperamental through their kindness. Above all, Holden admires his little siblings the most for their individuality among children and their objection to social