Home Here’s our thought (just roll with us for a minute): we think Holden is a typical teenager in a lot of ways, but we also think he just might be a representation of a post-World War II America—an America that’s dropped the atom bomb and lost its claim to innocence. Who is Allie, what does his glove symbolize, and why does Holden keep it in The Catcher in the Rye?Critical Essays When Holden gets disgusted with the phonies, he’s disgusted with the idea that anyone can continue to walk around as though the trauma of war and the bomb hasn’t happened, that life can simply continue on.Phonies Lead to Hate; Hate Leads to the Dark SideNo matter how many times Holden says he’s “lonesome” (it’s a lot), he often can’t even get to the point of reaching out at all. Well, maybe. After all, he does (maybe) experience a come-on at the hands of his former teacher, and he did (maybe) have "perverty" stuff happen to him "about twenty times since [he] was a kid" (24.94). Is it related to Holden's feelings on adult phoniness, his brewing madness, his emotional intelligence, and his dislike of social constructs? We’re going to quote the whole passage, because it’s worth it: Holden Caulfield is the main character from the book The Catcher in The Rye. Sometimes, he seems terrified at the thought of his own death, like when he prays to Allie while crossing the street not to let him disappear. (Maybe you are too.) We can’t make up our mind between feeling sorry for him and telling him to just get a grip already. I'll volunteer for it, I swear to God I will” (18.7).We’re not psychoanalysts but here’s our take: if Holden calls everyone a phony, he can feel better when they reject him. Study Guides But we’re not so sure about that. Short-Answer Quizzes
He's depressed all the time. Next So, is Holden really an incisive judge of human character who’s too good to be ordinary—or is he just an unlikable, awkward kid with a big chip on his shoulder and a defense mechanism to match?He invites Ackley along to the movies, but Ackley won't return the favor by letting Holden sleep in his roommate's bed.
On the one hand, this is just Holden’s passivity.
Scratch that: like a cute little puppy with a really bad attitude. Essential Quotes by Character: Holden Caulfield When is Holden Caulfield "phony" in Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye? Holden Caulfield's joke is that he randomly shows up out of nowhere and screams at people, who fake stuff, calling them a "phony". He also might read homosexuality where it isn’t, as with Carl Luce or Mr. Antolini. The problem? In fact, it seems to us that he feels like he can’t have a sexual relationship with a girl at all, because it would turn her into an object.
He doesn't want to grow up and get a job and play golf and drink martinis and go to an office, and he certainly doesn't want anything to do with the "bastards" that do.In Chapter 9, Holden looks out of his hotel window into other rooms, where he sees a "distinguished-looking" man prancing about in women's clothes, and a couple squirting water or highballs or something into each other's mouths.Holden may not understand himself too well, and he may be troubled, but he does come up with some Yoda-like statements that really knock our socks off.
What is their relationship? We learn about it almost right away, and then Allie pops up over and over again. Holden doesn’t sound Why all this ambiguity? You know like making fun of the cool kids so it doesn’t hurt when they don’t invite you to their parties. Holden describes many people and things as "phony" throughout In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden calls other people phony. In what way is he one? (We’re not so sure about his unconscious.).
What are three ways Holden changes as a character in The Catcher in the Rye?Chapter Summaries Free Daily Quotes.
Oh, Holden. What we have is Holden, a confused, possibly sex-crazed sixteen year old who admits that he "just [doesn't] understand" sex (9.15).Question #1: Why don’t these people close their shades?You know—like maybe they’re picking up on something that Holden can’t even admit to himself?Now, this isn't exactly Algebra or Ancient Egyptian History, but there's a real emotional intelligence here.
Characters We talk about the irony a in Holden may want to make friends, but we’re not sure why: in his mind, everyone is a social-climber, a name-dropper, appearance-obsessed, a secret slob, a private flit (a.k.a gay), or a suck-up.
To be a phony would be the worst thing in the world, likely. We have a sneaking suspicion that the girls are the ones having a laugh at Holden’s expense—a scrawny little teenager who can’t even get the bartender to serve him.Maybe Holden has good reason to respect boundaries.
So phony that he uses the word 33 times—and trust us, that’s a lot of times to use a word like phony. Subscribe Phony Quotes. If you do, you start...
All he wants to do is connect with someone—Right about now, Shmoop is looking around a little self-consciously. So phony that he uses the word 33 times—and trust us, that’s a lot of times to use a word like phony. bullgatortail
And Jane either did or did not get molested by her stepfather. Who cares if the three girls in the Lavender Room weren't terribly interested in giving him the time of day; they were just phonies who couldn't carry on a conversation. In fact, you could even argue that Salinger made Holden Every time Holden thinks of someone to call, he ends up deciding not to—usually because he’s afraid he’ll have to interact with someone he doesn’t like. Almost certainly.
But there’s a famous literary character who just so happens to introduce himself in the first person as having been born with a caul: