Holden Caufield

Holden Caulfield is a junior at Pency High School. He has been flunking for some time and is finally being expelled. Holden wasn’t actually the greatest guy in the school and had a pretty lonely exit; no one will know that he’s gone until they graduate most likely. Now to, introduce you to Holden Caufield.

"I, Holden Caulfield, the realest man alive, everyone else... is just phony." Even though JD Salinger never stated this, it was assumed. Holden says he can tell whether some on is phony from the first time he sees them, and honestly, he thinks everyone is phony except 4 people: His brother Ally, his brother DB, Jane, and his sister Phoebe. Although he says everyone is phony and I’m real, and blah blah blah, in Chapter 2 he says “I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life.” Now with him saying this, makes you have to question him throughout the book, maybe the things he tells the reader are lies, and he’s just lying about an important situation.

This investigating started for a fact, in Chapter 8. In Chapter 8, a parent of a boy at Pency was on the train with Holden. They get into conversation and Holden COMPLETELY lies to her. I doubt that he said ONE honest thing to this woman. They were talking about her son who Holden, in his mind says “oh, Hernest is the biggest jerk ever. blah blah blah. He goes in the locker room slapping guys with towels.” But instead, he tells her “oh, Hernest is the most humble man you can ever meet. He gave up speaking at an event because he was so humble and wanted to give someone else a turn. Blah blah Hernest is just perfect.” So is Holden’s definition of “phony” different or is he just phony?

 Some people in the class argued that he is phony. Others argued that “he’s so real, that he’s making an example out of a phony person, and how phony people will believe everything, anyone says because they’re phony.” Well both of them are actually quite accurate to me.