Is Holden Caulfield a Phony?
Throughout the Catcher in the Rye , Holden constantly expresses his distaste for phonies. This starts in the first chapter when he refers to his school's headmaster as a 'phony slob'. He doesn't elaborate on why the headmaster is a phony slob but it's clear he is not a fan of him. He continues to describe people as phonies which are people that he thinks are superficial and fake. He also sees phonies as people who try to fit into the norms of society and are also dishonest. Holden also has a bit of an obsession with being authentic which causes him to be very critical of the world. Specifically, the adult world. He associates adulthood with hypocrisy and lies and he doesn't take many adults seriously. This is clear at the beginning of the novel when Holden is visiting his former history teacher Mr. Spencer after he flunks out of Pencey. Mr. Spencer attempts to give Holden a lecture about taking things more seriously, but Holden is not impressed. This is als...