Catcher in the Rye

             "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life." This quotation by Holden Caufield in the novel Catcher in the Rye by John Steinbeck, shows what kind of person Holden really is: fun loving, but phony. Holden enjoys criticizing people by calling them phonies, but will never admit to being one. While Holden Caufield accuses people of being phonies, he is also one of the greatest phonies ever.
             One of Holdens claims is that people in general are phony. First of all is what he said about the women he knows if they did charity service. "If they just dropped their dough in her basket, then walked away with out saying anything to her...she'd quit in an hour." This shows they need attention to do charity. Second is what Holden thought about his boarding schools; "I-t was one of the worst schools I ever went to. It was full of phonies." Last is his overall attitude towards people. Holden said "I keep worrying about whether he is going to do something phony every minute." Clearly Holden finds people very phony.
             Just as people in general are phony, so are the people Holden knows. First is a donator of money to Pencey, a man named Ossenberger. He said "I could just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs." Second is his older brother D.B.'s ex girlfriend he only liked her because "She had very big knockers" said Holden. His decision about her, "Strictly a phony" Holden said. Last is Sally Hayes, a girl Holden used to go around with. She was very typical of the times. Or, as Holden put it "she was quite a little phony." As you can see, Holdens close encounters were "phonies."
             While other people are phony, Holden is the biggest. First of all was when he went to the bar and met some girls from out of state. Holden said, "the whole three of them were pretty ugly.... I started giving the three witches at the next table the ey
             ...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
Catcher in the Rye . (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 11:15, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/58952.html