Holden's Phony In The Great Gatsby

Fake, deceiving, ungenuine, all these words describe a true phony. Both narrators of the books, The Great Gatsby and The Catcher In The Rye fit the characteristics of a phony. The narrator in The Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield, is phonier than Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, because he’s a hypocrite, lies about his age,and lies about how he feels.

Holden often talked about how phony people in his life were, however, he was also a phony, which made him a hypocrite. Holden would often mention things he hated that someone did, but sooner or later Holden was guilty of doing the exact same thing. In chapter one Holden is hypocritical towards his older brother, D.B. He says “Now he’s out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute.”(Salinger

There are numerous times in the book that Holden lies about his age. It seemed as if Holden wanted to be older than what he was. He was always wanting to do the things older people do, but he never looks the age he says. Most of the time he never got away with his lie, which made him a little more phony. Holden often liked to try to go to the bars and drink. In chapter 10, he goes to a bad and it says, “I ordered a scotch and soda…’I’m sorry sir,’ he said, ‘ but do you have some verification of your age.’”(Salinger 69). This is one of the many times Holden lies about his age and gets rejected. Holden was very interested in sex, even though he didn’t know much about it. He was always trying to get a girl to be with him. Women or prostitutes would not want to be with a teenager, so this is another reason he always lied about his age. In chapter 13, Holden meets the elevator man and the man offers him a prostitute. “‘How old are you, chief?’ the elevator guy said. ‘Why?’ I said. ‘Twenty Two.’”(Salinger 91). This is another example when Holden lies about his age, but the person he lies to questions him. Holden is a phony that never told the truth, not even about his