Examples Of Phony In Catcher In The Rye

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Ryan Engel Catcher in the Rye Essay
English 10H-4 10/01/17

Throughout humanity, people have often conformed to the society around them. In The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, the main character Holden continuously identifies other people in his life as “phony,” or better known as superficial. During Holden’s short time at Pencey, he encounters numerous "phonies,” such as Ackley and Stradlater. This causes the reader to wonder “Is it possible to grow up without being phony?” When in fact, focusing on Holden’s view of phonies causes …show more content…
When Holden witnesses his date Sally walking down the stairs he knew her to be “phony,” yet he “felt like marrying her the minute [he] saw her” (Salinger 124) even though he “didn’t even like her [personality] that much” (Salinger 124). This reveals Holden’s superficial personality, making even the least phony people in the world susceptible to being phony. Holden’s superficial personality makes the narrative heavily unreliable proving that not everything says is true. Towards the beginning of the novel, Holden is informed that he has been kicked out of Pencey. He decides to leave early and explore the city. Eventually, he arrives at Mr. Antolini's house, where he decides to sleep. Soon after falling asleep, he awoke to his former English teacher stroking his head. Holden perceives his actions as perverted and frantically leaves. However, Holden’s unreliable narrative brings Mr. Antolini’s so-called “perverted actions” into question. Mr. Antolini was acting as a concerned teacher due to the suicide of one his former students, James Castle. Antolini now fears that Holden is too headed down the same path as Castle. Antolini stroked Holden’s head to assure himself that he wouldn’t allow Holden to take his own life. However, this being from Holden’s point of view, Antolini was perceived as perverted, when in fact those were not his intended

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How Is Holden Caulfield Phony

In J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield frequently uses the term "phony" to describe the people he encounters. To Holden, a phony is someone who is insincere, fake, or pretentious. He believes that almost everyone he meets is a phony, and this perception is a recurring theme throughout the novel. Holden's obsession with phoniness stems from his desire for authenticity and genuineness in others. He is disillusioned with the superficiality and hypocrisy of…

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MMeehan 14 Essay

Type or paste your draft into this document. Be sure that your draft is double-spaced and in 12 point Times New Roman font. Save the file as: ENG304B_Honors_Project_Assignment_Name_FirstInitial_LastName.doc Example: ENG304B_ Honors_Project_Essay_M_Smith.doc (200 points) Catcher in the Rye is one of the most taught and controversial novels in the United States, it was written by J.D. Salinger and published in 1951. The novel is about a young Holden Caulfield and his mischievous adventures after…

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