Holdens Fear of the Adult World

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In life there comes a time where you think that everyone wants to see you fail and are “phoney”. This particular time happens mostly in the teen stages of life as they are usually trying to find there identities. Holden Caufield, a teen was a high school student at a boy's high school called Pency Prep, which he got kicked out from. He feels as though he had fought the world and lost, everyone is against him, just out there to see him fail. After getting kicked out he journeys out to New york city where he faces some of the toughest times in his life surrounded by “phony” adults that Holden would never want to become.

Phoniness is a word commonly used by Holden to describe the flaws he encounters in others and he uses this as an excuse for all the negative things that has happened in his life. Holden also starts to see a trend as he gets older in his eyes he sees more problems and could only feel certain thoughts in his mind: “certain things should stay the way they are”(p.g 122) At this time Holden was thinking about his future and wishes that it would not be so hectic. But instead he strives for a life that is easy to mange. Holden also says this because he would like to believe the world is a simple place where he can lead a simple life, and does not like the way adults act and procrastinate, and finds this phoney just because he does not want to lead this kind of life but does not realize that when your an adult, you must work for everything you earn and with hard work comes a great reward. A symbolic representation of Holden's feelings for the phoniness of the adult world is a manikin. This is because it shows a simple life which Holden would be able to manage without any change from the little joy he has in his life t...

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...ut the exact flaw in his life that is holding him back from realizing his true potential in life. “you don't like anything thats happening” (p.g 169). At this point in the book Holden has been kicked out of Pencey prep, and comes home to phoebe while his parents aren't there hoping to find something he can carry on his journey out. Before he does anything he sees phoebe. Holden tells Phoebe that the school is full of “phoneys” and that the teachers are where he mostly got the idea of them being phoney. This quote from phoebe is basically telling Holden that he has a negative attitude towards life and basically everything he hasent experienced such as adulthood. Holden has a negative towards adult hood just because of the negative things he hears and has seen. Although Holden has never really given the thought of adulthood a chance, much less even experience adulthood.

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