Catcher In The Rye Phony

Jerome David (J.D.) Salinger was an American novelist, born on January first of 1919, a year after the first world war came to an end. While the war may have inspired many writers, young and old, to write about the pain and anguish, the depth and drama of the battlefield, J.D. took a different approach. Salinger wrote Catcher in the Rye in the year 1951, and since then, it has been revered as an intelligent novel that truly captures the image of isolation, innocence (or lack of it), and the unfortunate “phoniness” of the adult world. Catcher in the Rye begins with Holden Caulfield, a troubled 16 year old boy who, to say the least, struggles with his daily interactions with other people. Though he is quite intelligent, he also struggles in school
While attending these different private schools, Holden encounters all kinds of “phonies” in his relationships, whether they are his friends/acquaintances, the romantic relationships he witnesses, or even members of the staff at school. The phoniness of his acquaintances seems to have a heavy impact on Holden. From his dorm-mate Ackleys’ slobbish behaviour, who also tells tales of having relations with a specific girl, and changing his story every time he tells it, to the self-obsessed Stradlater, who is a phony in the sense that he presents himself very highly, but is a “secret slob”--as Holden would refer to him. The school he attends and recalls most in the book is called Pencey Prep, a highly regarded school for young men that seems like it would be a great opportunity for anyone to attend, but this is not the case for Holden. He encounters a fair amount of phoniness while at Pencey, and has a difficult time dealing with it. Overall, Holden’s problem with the blatant dishonesty of the world around him leaves him quite distressed, to say the
Though he may not entirely say that he is analyzing them for “phoniness”, the reader can easily infer that he is doing so. This is particularly prominent at his school, Pencey Prep, where he encounters a large majority of subtle (and not so subtle) deception from the adults in his life. As it is advertised in countless magazines, Pencey Prep’s most distinguishing trademark is the image of the “hotshot guy” on a horse, jumping over a fence. Holden makes a comment regarding the false advertisement by saying “...Like all anyone ever did at Pencey was play polo.”(Salinger, 1) and though his response may seem cynical, his statement is true, and he proves this by saying that he’s “never even once [seen] a horse anywhere near the place”(Salinger, 1). It can be inferred that the point Holden is trying to get across is that a school which advertises the riding of horses and the playing of polo, should provide horses and allow students to play polo. In this case, the adults at Pencey Prep are using this desirable imagery to project a certain lifestyle that they actually don’t accommodate at the school. Another part of Pencey’s advertising ‘scheme’ was their motto: “Since 1888, we have have been molding boys into splendid, clear thinking young