Holden makes sure the readers know that he is a compulsive liar, and his lies are usually without reason; also they have the tendency to be cruel. As an example of his phoniness, he notes that one of his roommates was a brilliant whistler saying:

"Naturally, I never told him that he was a terrific whistler. I mean, you don't just go up to somebody and say 'You're a terrific whistler.'"

When Holden says things of this nature, he is sinking to the level of phoniness of everyone else around him.

The title itself, The Catcher in the Rye, first appears in Chapter 16, when a child that Holden admires for walking in the street instead of on the sidewalk is singing a song, "Comin' Thro' the Rye." In Chapter 22, Phoebe and Holden are talking about what he wants to do with his life and replies with his "image" of a "catcher in the rye." He talks about how he would like to catch the children, who are innocent, in the rye, from going over the cliff, which leads into "knowledge" and inevitabl

Being a liar is one form of deceiving the world of what you truly are, and this is one thing that Holden Caulfield isn't even shy about doing, nor admitting to. He uses lies to deceives his true intentions from those around him, this is shown while leaving Pencey Prep on the train and encountering the mother of Ernest Morrow. " It's me [Holden]. I have to have this operation... It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain." (Salinger, 58). In reality Holden was not going to New York to have a tumor taken out of his brain, but he was really going on a little vacation from everything. Although it was none of Mrs. Morrow's business to know where Holden was going, he chosee to deceive her of the truth, and received her pity because of the situation he described to her. He wanted her pity but he knew in order to receive it he would have to change his reality in order to earn it. Holden pretends to be sick, while he was in reality healthy. From that he ends up being a fake ill person. Holden also appears to use lying to protect his phoniness in another way. This is shown when Maurice asked him if he wants a girl sent up to his room. " I was already sort of sorry I'd let the thing start rolling, but it was too late now." (Salinger, 91). Before the final arrangements had been made for a girl to be sent up to Holden's hotel room, he wanted to back out. Instead he kept on going with the arrangements with Maurice. Yet again, Holden Caulfield deceived the world of what he truly thinks, deceives them again of who he is. Holden lies, by not saying anything when he wanted out of the arrangement. He knew he wanted out, but he was under the notion that it was too late now, at least that was the idea he gave. In both these cases Holden lies, either by not saying anything or not saying the truth. He deceives the world through his lies of what he is in reality. By using his lies he pretends to be something he is not. Further more Holden projects the image of himself being a phony to the world by going against his principles.

Throughout the middle of the book, forces of change unfold on Holden. While waiting for an old friend of his, he had the sudden urge to go into a museum that he had visited while still a child in school in order to bring back memories of his childhood. However, when he finally reached the museum, he decided not to. "Then a funny thing happened. When I got to the museum, all of a sudden I wouldn't have gone inside for a million bucks. It just didn't appeal to me..." This shows that Holden is becoming an adult. He did not want to enter the museum because he realized that he was too old to take part in such an activity. When he takes Phoebe to a carousel later in the book, he decided not to ride on it, or even stand on it during a rain storm, because he felt "too old" to get on. Holden also had another one of his childish fantasies for his future. He wanted to go and be a deaf mute somewhere in the west, so he wouldn't have to deal with all the phonies and hypocrites of every day life. Phoebe told him that she wanted to go along with him, but he denies her of this because of his growing responsibility and metamorphosis as an adult. He told her, "I'm not going away anywhere. I changed my mind."

Holden's red hunting hat is a symbol of Holden's uniqueness and individuality. The hat shows how Holden wants to differ from the rest of the "phony" world. Holden yet again contradicts himself. He is very self-conscious of the hat and always tells the readers the times when he is wearing it. He doesn't choose to wear it around people he thinks will judge him for it. Holden's "hat problem" is a mirror for the main conflict in the book: Holden's need for isolation versus his need for companionship. (Sparknotes.com, The Catcher in the Rye)

One of the most notorious symbols in the novel is Holden's curiosity about the ducks in the central park lagoon. When he searches for the ducks, his character takes on a lighte

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Approximate Word count = 5083
Approximate Pages = 20 (250 words per page double spaced)