Examples Of Phoniness In Catcher In The Rye

Phoniness is a term used to denote something artificial or fake, however this definition can extend to an individual's attitude as well. This is a major theme discussed in J.D. Salinger’s book, The Catcher in The Rye. The main character, Holden Caulfield is a troubled young teenager who has a cynical outlook on society and has been expelled from many schools. In general, as well as in the novel, the desire to achieve a certain economic status leads to phoniness within society, which invalidates an individual's perception of the real world. The Catcher in the Rye develops the idea that achieving a high economic status leads to phoniness which invalidates one's perception of the real world. For instance, when Holden is studying at Pencey, one of his previous schools, he recalls a man named Mr. Ossenburger, who held a speech at Pencey. His speech was about his success after attending Pencey and how much Pencey has benefited his life. He made “about fifty corny jokes, just to show us what a regular guy he was”. However, he would continuously show off and boast about his self worth. This shows how he lacked a genuine personality and to fill the empty void he would say jokes to show how much of a “regular guy” he was. He acts as a fake individual because it is caused by society’s expectations of what a wealthy man should be. Mr. Ossenburger reveals himself to the world through his economic status instead of his identity. This denies him the ability to show his true perception of the world. In
And closely related to phoniness is the idea of economic status which closely interconnects to greed and deceitfulness, that can lead to falsehood within people and society. As shown in the novel, people become so caught up within wealth, it leaves no room for an individual to express themselves truly without wealth having to back the individual