Theme Of Phony In Catcher In The Rye

Lokho Galgalo
Ms.Cheng
PAP English 2
23 March 2016
Catcher in the Rye Essay
In J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Holden can be described as a character in denial. Throughout the book the word phony is used to describe people who don't act in a genuine or rather act in a fraudulent way. Someone who is basically interested in playing part in society's expectations rather than being honest and being themselves. In this case Holden is one of the many people who dislikes phonies greatly even though in reality he carries characteristics of it himself.
Throughout the book, Holden uses phony multiple times. As the novel begins to progress the reader can finally start understanding the meaning of the word itself. By observing how holden uses the word phony we can see that in each situation it is somewhat related to society, everyday lifestyles, and lastly adulthood.Which holden hates to accept he
Its really helpful to first look at the people who he doesn't qualify as phony such as his sister phoebe,allie,and jane.they all hold characteristics that holden characterizes as not phony but rather gueneine. Such as being sympathetic and nice towards him, intelligent and overall being fun around and being themselves not worried about impressing people. He even states how “ you never saw a kid so pretty smart in your life….[and] if you told old phoebe something she'd know exactly what the hell you're talking about”(salinger