Holden then begins to wish he had not come and whilst Mr Spencer is lecturing him Holden’s mind begins to wonder about the ducks in Central Park. This shows how he is reluctant to admit to his problems and how he prefers to avoid issues that he does not want to discuss. His wandering thoughts are also an effort to avoid Spencer’s questions, especially when he asks, "How do you feel about all this?" The truth is that Holden, even though he is constantly thinking, is trying desperately not to feel anything.
Holden characterises Mr Spencer’s behaviour as vindictive and mean, but his is clearly just concerned for Holden’s well being. However, in schoolwork, like in life, Holden seems bored and unchallenged. He seems to be looking for reasons not to listen to Mr Spencer even though he is only thinking of Holden’s future and this highlights Holden’s lack of positive adult role models.
When Holden meets Mrs Morrow on the train, a parent of one of the pupils at Pencey, he begins telling ridiculous lies, claiming to be named ‘Rudolph Schmidt’ and to be going to New York for a brain tumor operation. Although Holden loathes her son and claims he is “the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey…”. He tells Mrs Morrow exactly what she wants to hear about her son by making her believe that her son is one of the most honorable and decent students at Pencey. Although Holden talks about people being “phony”, he is none other than a phony himself. He says, "Then I started reading this timetable I had in my pocket. Just to stop lying. Once I get started, I can go on for hours if I feel like it. No kidding. Hours." This conveys how Holden cannot face the truth when talking to adults in any way and in this case it goes as far as lying about his own name! Through his lying and deception, Holden proves that he is just as guilty of phoniness as the people that he criticizes.
Mr. Antolini is another person that Holden encounters who forces him to confront his difficulties, however, his view of Mr Antolini is different to the others; he claims he was “the best teacher I ever had”. He is the only person that Holden does not label as a “phony” but instead he believes he is intellectual, sensitive and moral. At first, Mr. Antolini seems to offer Holden his only chance of making a sympathetic connection with an adult. Holden respects his teacher’s intelligence when he arrives and expects to be understood. He believes this great man will see his point of view, but instead Holden is given a very academic lecture about how brilliance and creativity are the result of a good education. At this point Holden says “I kept trying not to yawn…I was so damn sleepy all of a sudden”. Once again, he is finding reasons not to listen to what he knows he should be listening to as he is avoiding dealing with his emotions. Like all other adults in the story, Holden feels that Mr. Antolini betrays his trust. When Holden wakes to find Mr. Antolini touching his head, he immediately thinks the worst and suspects him of "flitty" behaviour.
Although we do not meet Phoebe until nearly the end of the book we know a lot about her and about Holden’s relationship with her by then. The reader gradually builds up a picture from Holden’s isolated remarks. An example of this is when, for no particular reason, Holden decides to stop at a record store and buy a record for Phoebe. He wants to get her a rare record called ‘Little Shirley Beans’ by "this colored girl singer, Estelle Fletcher". This shows that Holden seems most comfortable in the world of children. He believes all of them are like Phoebe, honest and unpretentious and never phony. It is obvious that Holden is very fond of his little sister. He wants to buy her the record because he instinctively knows she will like it.
The museum gives us a deeper insight as it represents the world which Holden wishes he could live in: the world of his “catcher in the rye” fantasy, a world where nothing ever changes and where everything is simple and understandable. Holden is terrified by the challenges of life as he hates conflict and he is confused about relationships with other people. This is because in the museum’s world, communication is unidirectional: Holden can judge the exhibits, but the exhibits cannot judge him back. "The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. . . . Nobody'd be different." Above all else, it reminds him of his childhood, as can be seen by his memories of it, where everything is simple.
His idea of wanting to be the Catcher in the Rye – to protect children, in particular his sister from the danger of the adult world is linked to his sister on the carousel. He doesn’t want to think of her being too old for the ride and wants to keep her safe in childhood.
Returning home and seeing Phoebe again makes Holden forget his problems and feel relaxed and good about himself. He says, "I felt swell, for a change. I didn’t even feel like I was getting pneumonia or anything anymore." Holden has assured the reader all along that Phoebe understands him best. When she wakes up she is excited to see Holden and he shows the broken record he bought her. Phoebe is not quite like what Holden has described her to be. I feel he has given her quite a “rosy” impression because when she finds out that Holden has been expelled from school she begins to get upset and very disappointed. She refuses to talk to Holden which makes him feel like a failure. He has believed all along that Phoebe will understand what no one else seems to and that Phoebe will accept him for what he is. When she turns her head away, Holden is sad and upset.
Phoebe’s concern for Holden begins to emerge when he tells her that he is planning on leaving. Despite her young age, she has a better view of the situation than Holden as she is worried he may need her. Nevertheless, Holden sees the effect his plans have on someone he cares about which is a first sign of him maturing. He becomes more confident and shows concern for Phoebe. It is Pheobe who has made Holden take the decision to return home.
The death of Holden’s younger brother Allie could also be a cause of Holden’s behaviour and we learn this in Chapter 5 when Holden's roommate asks him to write a composition for his English class. He chooses to write a personal story of his brother's baseball mitt. We learn about Allie and how Holden feels about his death and this may be one of the events that caused Holden's psychological troubles. Allie’s death was the beginning of a downward spiral in Holden’s life. According to Holden, Allie was one of the most lovable people ever. "You'd have liked him... He was terrifically intelligent. . . But it wasn't just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest".
Thinking of Allie both comforts him and upsets him. On his last day in New York, there is even a point when Holden walks on the street talking aloud to Allie saying; "'Allie, don't let me disappear... Please, Allie.' And then when I'd reach the other side of the street without disappearing, I'd thank him". This conveys how Allie’s death was a sort of catalyst to Holden’s behaviour as he still feels guilty that he was unable to prevent Allie’s suffering.
Overall, Holden does get on better with children than adults and we can tell this because he has invented a fantasy that adulthood is a world of “phoniness”, while childhood is a world of innocence, curiosity, and honesty. Nothing reveals his image of these two worlds better than his fantasy about the catcher in the rye where he imagines childhood as a field of rye where children play and have fun. Adulthood however, is unknown and frightening and this is why he is so protective towards Phoebe as he does not want her to make the step into the adult world. In my opinion, I think that there is no reason why Holden will not return back to school after his breakdown. If he gets the help that he needs then he can begin to get his life back on track again and start to live a “normal” life as an adolescent and actually enjoy the adventures of growing up instead of fearing them.
