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Catcher in the rye


            Holden Caulfield is the main character in the book, Catcher in the Rye. Holden is characterized as a young, reckless, loner. He does not fit in anywhere, often not even trying to find a place for himself. He keeps failing in traditional roles. He has been sent away to a private school, probably because he was a difficult son. He flunks out of school after school, because he does not to do his work. He is liked no one and has no real friends because he is strange and isolates himself. In the beginning of the story, his lack of receiving makes him feel separated. Holden is judgmental, interested in sex, and sensitive. He seeks to place the blame for his sadness on outside people and things, which he usually judges as phony. He longs for honesty but he seems to be the only real person he knows. He longs for connection, but no one understands him. He blames the world, with its phoniness and insensitivity, for bringing him down.
             The most obvious of Holden's characteristics is how judgmental he is of almost everything and everybody. He criticizes about people who are boring, people who are insecure, and people who are phony. He criticizes about everybody, like his school neighbor Ackley. "Ackley is a supremely irritating classmate who constantly barges into the room, exhibits disgusting personal habits and poor hygiene, and always acts as if he's doing you a favor by spending time with you," is what Holden thinks about him. Holden carries this desire for passing judgment that it often becomes very funny. Holden applies the expression "phony" to those who are too predictable or too typical. While Holden uses the label phony to imply that such people are shallow, his use of the term actually means that his own visions of other people are low. Almost every time, he rejects more difficult judgments in favor of simple specific ones.
             Holden's personality that is interesting is his attitude for sex.


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