"Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots
are, then it's a game, all right—I'll admit that. But if you get on the other
side, where there aren't any hotshots, then what's a game about it? Nothing.
No game"(12).
By thinking this, he is clearly mocking Mr. Spencer and showing no respect for adults. He shows rebellion in ways that no one notices. Usually he mocks people in his head, while being respectful when he is face-to-face.
Holden Caulfield is always judging people. Throughout the book, Holden refers to people as "phonies". He is very individualistic, and focuses on himself without considering the feelings of others. When someone is to do something that is unlike him, one is criticized for his or her actions. Through his constant lying and deception in the book, Holden proves that he is just as guilty of being a "phony", than the people he criticizes. Even though he never outwardly critiques himself. He fears interaction and judges quickly as he encounters unfamiliar people. His major labels
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of people he meets are boring and insecure. These are both characteristics of his term "phony", which most people are according to Holden. "Phony" is a term that infers people who are too predictable or typical. Holden has specific examples of the label. Teachers who act too much like teachers by acting different in class than they would in everyday situations or people who act as if they belong in a specific social class by the way they dress and act. These judgments are his way of criticizing superficial people. He finds humor in his criticism, and thinks people are so asinine that they might put "fuck you" on his tombstone. He categorizes people he meets. Holden's attitude throughout the book is sarcastic and worn-out. Most of the criticism's that are to be aimed at others, are in reality Holden criticizing himself. He is uneasy with his own limitations, and at times demonstrates as much phoniness, brutality, and tastelessness as people he comes across in the book.
Holden is young, about 16. While he is telling us this story about his life, he is in an institution that is not named in the novel. Simply from being at a facility, the reader can assume that Holden is mentally troubled. In the novel, he is constantly trying to separate childhood from adulthood. As the novel begins, Holden is atop a cliff pondering the separation of the two. As he is unable to divide the two stages of life, one can see that Holden is on the verge of a mental collapse. Holden is searching for a way to connect with the world that will not cause him pain. He refuses to talk about his early life. Holden doesn’t talk about his parents until the later chapters in the book. The only family he mentions before is his brothers, Allie, who died of Leukemia a few years ago and D. B., who is a writer in Hollywood. He seems bitter
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at D.B. and feels that he has "sold out" to Hollywood, leaving a career in serious literature for the prosperity and reputation of the movies. Then he begins to tell the story of his breakdown that began when he left Pencey Prep, a school he attended in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. There are multiple apparent signs that Holden is a troubled and unreliable narrator. He fails out of four schools. He shows complete lack of concern toward his future. And he is unable to connect with other people. At one point in the novel Phoebe, his sister, as him what he wants in life. He responds to this by saying,
"… I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all".
From this one can see that Holden is confused about the meaning of life. He feels he has to be a protector of innocence. As a reader, we know that Holden was deeply troubled by his younger brother, Allie's, death. This may be the reason why he has such a troubled mind. But, even with that knowledge, Holden's abnormalities cannot be explained as symptoms of an identifiable disorder.
Holden is also an exceptionally hypocritical person. In chapter four, his roommate, Stradlater has a date with Jane Gallagher. A girl, whom Holden has feelings for, but has never expressed to the readers knowledge. Stradlater's date with Jane doesn't just make him jealous. It irritates him to think of a girl he knows well, having sex with a boy she doesn't know well. Hypocrisy is shown here because
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Holden has sexual thoughts just as all teenagers do. But as soon as someone he knows goes out with his roommate he is upset. Even though he has sexual feelings, he is bothered by the fact that he is aroused by women whom he doesn't respect or care for. For example, the blonde tourist he dances with in the Lavender Room, or Sally Hayes, whom he refers to as "stupid" even as he arranges a date with her. Holden is a virgin and does not know much about sex, however he pretends when he is with these women. He puts on an act for them, which is what he usually criticizes people for, being "phony". On the subway after leaving Pencey a few days early, he meets a woman who turns out to be the mother of one of his classmates, Ernest Morrow. He dislikes Ernest immensely but tells extravagant lies about him to his mother, claiming that he is the most popular boy on campus and would have been elected class president if he'd let the other boys nominate him. Holden tells her his own name is Rudolph Schmidt, which is actually the school janitor's name. This is another lie that Holden tells. He is a deceiving individual and charms his way through most of the situations he encounters. These are the characteristics that make some "phony" according to Holden. He is the "phoniest" character in the book.
In the novel, Holden is a very peculiar individual. He chooses to exclude himself and criticize the people of society. He meets many people throughout the novel, but never seems to connect with any of them. He is judgmental, hypocritical, troubled and rebellious in almost all aspects of his life. Traumas have occurred in his life that have caused him pain such as the death of a friend from school, and death of his younger brother, Allie. He is looking for a way to live his life without pain. In
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doing this he has shut the world out, and becomes mentally ill. Instead of dealing with his problems he is constantly running away from them. People he encounters have tried to help him deal with his pain, but no one can figure out Holden or how to help him. He does not like authority, so any approach to help him that is commanding, he rejects. Many have tried but no one seems to be able to explain Holden Caulfield.
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Works Cited
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York. Little,
Brown and Company, 1951