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Recommended: Why Holden lies
Early in a child’s life, they learn that lying to deceive others is not only useful, but necessary. Even parents unknowingly teach their children to deceive others in the form of lying. “Tell grandma how much you love the gift, even if you don’t” a mother says to her child, just as Holden is very comfortable with misleading others in J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher In The Rye. Salinger shows that becoming comfortable with deceiving others is an essential part of growing up. The skill of misleading others by lying is something Holden is very comfortable with. For example, when Holden was on the train with the mother of a boy who went to Pencey school with Holden, he started the conversation with a lie about his name, using the name of a …show more content…
The way we see how naturally lying comes to Holden, shows that he has been doing it since he was very young. Salinger believes that lying to others to mislead them is necessary to growing up, as Holden does regularly. Also, when Holden sneaks into his house to say hello to his younger sister Phoebe, he smokes in the house because his parents are not home, but then they arrive unexpectedly and they smell the smoke. Holden’s parents ask Phoebe if she’s been smoking. “I just lit it for one second. I just took one puff. Then I threw it out the window” (177). When Phoebe lies, even her mother believes it. Phoebe seems almost as good at deceiving others as Holden is, and she is much younger. Meaning, Phoebe is not new to lying either. Both Phoebe and Holden can deceive others naturally which is Salinger’s way of showing us that these children have been lying since they were very young, as most children should because it is not only useful, but necessary to becoming an
Since Holden was isolated from his family, in order to not get hurt again he tries to find hypocrisy in people to stop himself from trusting others. Holden feels isolated after being sent to a boarding school that “was full of phonies” by his parents (Salinger 90). Salinger’s message to the audience with this quote is that when
In the novel Holden is what you would call an unreliable narrator. The definition of unreliable is - a person or thing that cannot be counted on or trusted. You cannot trust Holden if you know that he lies all the time. Since the reader knows that he is a habitual liar you may never know the difference from when he is telling the truth or when he is telling another one of his stories. Holden goes in and out of mental lapses throughout the novel that affected his mind and psychological state greatly.
Throughout the whole novel Holden has always been in denial of everything. As stated by Freud, denial is the “Refusal to recognize a threatening impulse or desire” (Sigmund Freud). When he visited his ten year old sister Phoebe, she was trying to communicate with Holden but she was nervous that it would displease him. She stated “Because you don't. You don’t like schools. You don't like a million things. You don't…Why the hell do you have to say that?” I said. Boy was depressing me” (Salinger 169). Even though Holden is very fond of Phoebe he didn't bother to listen to what she had to say, this demonstrates that Holden is very in denial because he got very upset when Phoebe said that he dislikes everything. Which furthers shows how he is unable to recognize that what Phoebe is
He also exhibits honesty; as a child, he chopped a cherry tree by accident but confessed and told the truth when asked by his father. Now, let’s view at Holden and see how he fits in when compared to one of the most known hero of the United States. Holden lacks honesty as he confesses to the reader how, he’s the “most terrific liar” (16). Another clear example is when Holden talks to Ernie’s mother at the train station. From when they first met, Holden already lied by telling her that his name was Rudolf Schmidt, an obvious phony lie. As the conversation went on, more lies were told about Ernie. Holden “shot the old crap” by saying how everyone adored Ernie, while Holden thought that he “was doubtlessly the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey” (54-55). This shows how that Holden can’t even manage to tell the truth which shows a character trait that a hero wouldn’t display. In addition, Holden clearly lacks courage, which is a vital thing a hero would have. One example is when Holden narrates his story of his
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
I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera. It's terrible. (pg.16) Holden's ability to lie is one of the first traits that he reveals about himself. He takes pride in saying that he is a good liar. His inability to have normal conversations and relationships is possibly one of the factors that has him shunned by his peers. Holden's insecurity is one of the reasons for his compulsive lying. This, in turn, is why he can't find his place in the world.
...’s habitual lying relates back to times where he is hypocritical about his environment being full of phonies. Salinger provides these small details of deceitfulness in order to further advance Holden’s character and the work as a whole.
While Holden is in the city he recalls that “[a]t the end of the first act we went out with all the other jerks for a cigarette. What a deal that was. You never saw so many phonies in all your life” (Salinger 164). Meanwhile Holden is doing the exact same thing, he is calling other people fake for doing, proving that he is equally as flawed as everyone else. No one is immune to Holden’s view of how people should act, and how they actually do, not even his family.
that he is trying to hide his true identity. He does not want people to know who he really is or that he was kicked out of his fourth school. Holden is always using fake names and tries speaking in a tone to persuade someone to think a cretin way. He does this when he talks to women. While he is talking to the psychiatrist he explains peoples reactions to his lies like they really believe him, when it is very possible that he is a horrible liar and they are looking at him with a “what are you talking a bout?” expression. Holden often lies to the point where he is lying to him self.
Holden is a teenage character who has suffered a lot in his life. He has suffered a lot. He doesn?t care about anybody other than his sister, Phoebe. He did not like the adulthood because he thought that every adult was a phony. Holden thinks that when people lie, they are being phony.
Holden is a pessimistic, remote, and miserable character and he expresses this attitude through dialogue, tone, and diction. Throughout the book he has remained to be a liar, a failure, a loner, and lastly, a suicidal guy who feels like he has no purpose in life. Perhaps Salinger expressed his perceptions and emotions of his teen years in this book and it was a form of conveying his deep inner feelings of his childhood. Readers can see this clearly shown in The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger.
Holden's problems in the real world were too much for him, he had to make up things to make himself seem better than what he was.
...peaks with Phoebe she says, “‘Did you mean it what you said? You really aren’t going away anywhere? Are you really going home afterwards?’ she asked me. ‘Yeah,’ I said. I mean it too” (212). Holden moves from wanting to do crazy things with his life to understanding that he can make it better even without making changes so drastic.
Holden would tell people lies just so they could not become closer to the real Holden. Holden tells lies on numerous occasions to gain. Holden pathetically tells Mrs. Morrow, "I have to have a tiny operation. it isn't very serious. " I have this tiny little tumor on my brain" (58).
Holden is “the most terrific liar you ever saw,” when it comes to people wanting to assist him in finding his way in life.... ... middle of paper ... ... Holden’s inability to have faith in anyone has led him to witness everyone as “the phoniest (people he) ever met” (13-14) in his life. Sadly, Holden’s depression leaves him with psychological problems that are not easily dealt with alone.