Holden Caulfield Phoniness

Societal standards and viewpoints can be seen as corruptive and imposing; they have lead people to refrain from translating their thoughts into their actions and instead provoked them to assert themselves fakely for their own benefit. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the novel The Catcher in the Rye, has labeled this inconsistency in people as “phoniness,” and classifies almost every adult that he meets as a phony. In contrast, he is drawn to the innocence and genuinity of children, and he believes that they are the only people who are devoid of phoniness because they have not yet been affected by the adult world and its fraudulence. He believes that the change from childhood to adulthood is fatal, as he compares the transition from one

Mr. Antolini, Holden’s former teacher, is lecturing Holden when he decides to write down a quote for him, “‘The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.’” (188). When Holden reads this quote of Wilhelm Stekel, it brings him closer to overcoming his childishness and realizing that the fall from childhood to adulthood is an unavoidable part of life. The immature man’s death for a noble cause is reflective of Holden’s fight to save children from adulthood, which ultimately does not benefit the children and their well-being. Mr. Antolini is trying to convey to Holden that if he continues to follow this path of unacceptance, he will never find a way out. He is trying to encourage Holden to follow the mature man’s path of life and to eventually understand and accept change in children. Mr. Antolini is a catalyst for Holden’s growth; he comes closer to his ‘fall’ to adulthood through their

When watching Phoebe on the carousel, Holden says, “‘The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them’” (211). This quote of Holden’s indicates a complete reversal of his previous opinions on childhood. His former wish to be the “catcher in the rye” is refuted; instead of stopping children from falling to adulthood, Holden comes to the understanding that children must reach for the “gold ring,” symbolizing something of the adult world, and if they fall into adulthood while doing so there’s nothing anybody can do to stop them. He realizes that the entrance to this adult world is necessary for children to make, and attempting to prevent it is futile and transgressive. He is finally able to live humbly for a cause and not take actions that only worsen it, and as a result he is finally happy to just sit in the rain and watch Phoebe rather than running for shelter. His ability to recognize the truth shows his growth throughout the book from ignorant and childish to content and