Phonies

A detailed Summary of Phonies


People may not be what they appear to seem like. For Holden Caulfield from the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, he calls these people phonies. Holden despise people who try to act like someone in which they are not. He encounters numerous amounts of phonies in his journey throughout New York City and even before he left the boarding school, Pencey Prep. Many characters in the novel share this common theme of phoniness.

Holden sees Mr. Spencer, his past history teacher to be a 'phony' person. Mr. Spencer was one of Holden's favourite teachers in Pencey Prep. Before Holden leaves the school, he goes to his house for a goodbye visit. Mr. Spencer teaches Holden "life is a game that one plays according to the rules." (Salinger 8) By saying so, he wishes that Holden understands that if he does not play by the rules, he will not be able to


Probably not realizing this fact at first, but Holden is also considered by many to be a 'phony'. A 'phony' person is one that is not truthful and fake. Holden describes himself as, "the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life." (Salinger 16) According to Holden, anyone who pretends to be something he or she is not is a 'phony'. If that is true, then Holden is also a 'phony' because he pretends to be something/someone whom he is not through lying.

According to Holden Caulfield, the theme that the world has an outward appearance but really is not is known as phoniness. Salinger characterizes many different characters into the theme of phoniness to tell his readers that everyone in the world is a 'phony' at some points in their life. Even the great critique Holden is classified by many as being a 'phony' person. The common element that all the charact

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Approximate Word count = 581
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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