"The Catcher in the Rye," is a story told in first person by a seventeen-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield. The story basically consists of what Holden does between his expulsion from high school and when he returns home to tell his parents the bad news (which is the span of three days). This expulsion is not the first he has had, for he had been expelled at least a couple times before ... . However, Holden does not get expelled for bad behavior, but for lack of effort, and failing grades (except in English). Through the course of three days, Holden leaves his school, meets old friends, gets...

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• Grade Level: High School

Catcher in the Rye - Phoniness and the quest for innocence Holden Caulfield is an adolescent boy who is preoccupied in preserving the innocence of children. He does not want to lose that innocence because that would mean that he would have to enter the adult world and become "phony." He believes that all adults are phony, but that they cannot seem to see their phoniness. He wants to remain ... does realize that as they grow older, the innocence will diminish and they will, sooner or later, become phony. The only times that Holden is purely happy are when he is dealing with children, because t...

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• Grade Level: High School

... interpretations. Can be being phony possibly hinder an attempt to accomplish a task to fully function mentally? Can phony delay an individuals maturing period? In J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Holden's "phony phobia" restricts him from becoming a fully matured adult. In Holden's attempted journey in becoming a fully matured adult, he encounters many scenarios involving friendships, personal opinions, and his love of children. His journey is an unpleasant and ... difficult one with many lessons learned along the way. Holden possesses abnormal relationships with some of the characte...

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• Grade Level: High School

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Stalinger, there are many examples that symbolize and illustrate phoniness in our society. These examples show realistic events and scenarios of phoniness that play out in our day to day lives. The books viewpoints are demonstrated throughout many altering perspectives. From Holden's point of view, the whole world around him is phony and unrealistic, which differs from the actual phoniness that is unraveled throughout the ... Another case of Holden's flawed interpretation of phoniness, is a completely random one. In one part of the novel's numerous instances wh...

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• Grade Level: High School

... Caulfield In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses many symbols to describe or characterize Holden Caulfield. For example, Holden uses the word "phony" many times to describe other people, when in reality he himself is a phony. Another symbol that is used throughout the novel to characterize Holden is the hunting hat he had just purchased in New York City. The hat represents Holden's awkwardness; it does not fit in with the environment ... is seem as though everything is okay. One of the reasons why Holden took the time to call Mrs. Marrow or talk to the girls at the bar ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... In the book Catcher in the Rye the main character is Holden Caulfield. He is a teen- age boy who goes through some major changes. His life is taken over by isolation and depression. This is all caused by his attitude towards others, his failure to accept the world around him and his various obsessions with sex and alcohol. Holden is not able to survive in ... he knows well having sex with a boy she doesn't know well. He is also disturbed by the fact that he is aroused by women whom he doesn't respect or care for, like the blonde tourist he dances with in the Lavender room, or like Sally ...

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• Grade Level: High School

From the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the youthful protagonist Holden Caufield, employs the word "phony" to describe the behavior of a number of characters including Mr. Spencer and Ossenburger, however it is not them who are"phony", it is the young main character. First, Mr. Spencer, Holden's ex- history teacher, is not described as phony, but according to the adolescent, his choice of words are. Secondly, ... he portrays himself to be, but rather a greedy undertaker. Lastly, the protagonist could quite possibly be the authentic phony. All in all, the main character's use to describe many ...

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• Grade Level: High School

In many instances Holden is simultaneously contradicting himself. He is both a hypocrite and a moralist. A part of him is condemns society for its corruptness yet he plays a part in the same materialistic crookedness. For example at the end of Chapter 15 he meets two nuns and all he focuses on are how displeasing they"re suitcases are. "I hate it when somebody has cheap suitcases. It sounds terrible to say it, but I can even get to hate somebody just looking at them, if they have cheap suitcases." (109) Holden is bothered by the fact that the nuns aren't wealthy and don't have enough money to ...

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Holden is not an unpopular person. He decides to isolate himself by declaring that everyone besides himself is a "phony". He wants to be close to someone, but he does not know how to communicate with people. Even though he thinks most people are "phonies" or "slobs," he still looks for and finds something good about everyone. He wants people to look past society and be their true selves, and he wants to do that also, but he does not want to be in complete isolation. He feels that the cause of phoniness is being in group situations and feeling like you need to be good enough for everyone else. ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... Artemis as goddess of the moon. All three of the meanings relate to heavenly heights. Phoebe shines as the light in Holden's life, bringing him pure joy when nothing else possibly can. As the moon orbits the earth, Phoebe is always in Holden's thoughts, affecting his decisions for the better, subconsciously holding him back from blindly stumbling off the cliff of the rye field. From the etymology of "luce ... " to "light" to Phoebe's name conveying shining, it is apparent there is much beneath the surface of J.D. Salinger's character's titles. Whether ... it were written out for the reade...

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... knows a famous author or that he has a brain tumor and his name is Rudolf. The person in the song doesn't use the word, but labels himself as a phony. Holden doesn't like phonies, but the irony is that he himself is one - like the speaker of the song. Also shared in the song and in Catcher in the Rye is the outsider motif. Holden feels that he is an outsider observing a world that he cannot decide ... to accept or reject. The singer repeatedly refers to himself being "on the outside". Finally, there is a parallel between the singer's relationship with his love and ... ...

• Word Count: 546
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• Grade Level: High School