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The Catcher In The Rye Phony Analysis

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The Catcher In The Rye Phony Analysis
There are roughly about 7 billion people in the world, and yet many of our youth often find themselves adrift from those surrounding them whether they be friends, family, or the entire population in general. They struggle to find their identity and a place in society where they can feel they belong. This is the case with Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger's main character in the book The Catcher In the Rye, a adolescent boy conflicted with his own feelings of isolation and alienation. This is made apparent by his lack of friends, his attempts to be accepted by others, and his longing for his dead older brother.
In Holden’s eyes, everyone is either “corny” or “phony”. He perceives a person to be this way if they do not act naturally and follow …show more content…
This can reflect that Holden can't manage to get by in life. Throughout the book, it is evident that Holden is running from so many things such as growing up, reality and people who are “phonies” as mentioned earlier. It seems that Holden is confused and trapped in memories from the past, that he is dealing with loneliness and isolates himself as a form of protection.“[…]I went into this phone booth. I felt like giving somebody a buzz […] but as soon as I was inside, I couldn't think of anybody to call up. My brother D.B. was in Hollywood. My kid sister Phoebe […] was out. Then I thought of giving Jane Gallagher's mother a buzz […]. Then I thought of calling this girl […] Sally Hayes. […] I thought of calling […] Carl Luce. […] So I ended up not calling anybody[…]” (9.1 Salinger) This quote from the novel is just another major example of how Caulfield has only ruined his chances of having any friends or simply someone to converse with. The sad reality is, he tries so hard to protect himself from the harsh cruelties of the world but has only created a barrier between himself and the world as a defensive mechanism which only promotes his isolated state of mind. Because Holden can’t seem to get any sort of company he only gets more and more depressed with time. “When I finally got down off the radiator and went out to the hat-check room, I was …show more content…
In fact the following aspects support this conclusion that Holden began losing his mind: he lost his personal interests, he lost touch with many of his acquaintances and friends, and he is a compulsive
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