Unlike conventional novels, where the hero is often portrayed as good, courageous and kind, the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye appears to be troubled, erratic and unreliable. For example, his continues failings in academics and the fact he shows complete lack of interest toward his future. “Oh, I feel some concern for my future… but not too much, I guess. Not too much, I guess.” The most noticeable of Holden’s eccentricity is how extremely critical he is of almost everything and everybody. He criticizes people who are boring (Mr Spencer), people who are insecure (Ackley), and above all, people who are “phony”. Holden uses this term constantly throughout the opening chapters to describe not only people who are insincere but also those who are too conventional or too typical, such as the people who dress and act to match their social status. However, by using the term it indicates that Holden’s own perceptions of other people are superficial; when describing people, he often rejects more complex analysis of their personalities for simple, categorised ones.
However, although Holden spends so much energy searching for “phoniness” in others, he does not seem to recognise his own phoniness. His deceptions are usually pointless and cruel and he declares that he is the “most terrific liar you never saw in your life”. Holden is his own counterevidence. He wishes the readers to believe that he is the only honest person in a world of phoniness, but we could see clearly that it is not the case.
Another theme explored in the novel is the isolation of people as a form of self-protection. Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be an outsider, excluded by the world around him. He does not go down to the football games, nor does he have, or try to make any friends in school. Just as he wears his hunting hat,(a symbol of his uniqueness and individuality) to show his desires to be different from everyone around him, he tries to use his isolation as a sign of strength, to show that he is better than everyone else around him and therefore does not need their help.
As readers, we can see that Holden’s alienation is the cause of most of his pain and the reason behind his cynical character. He never addresses his own emotions directly, e.g. when he talks about his brother’s death he uses deictic language, nor does he attempt to discover the source of his troubles. He desperately in need of human contact and love, but his sense of self-protection pushes away everyone who seeks to make a contact with him.