Analysis of Holden Caufield

Ever since its publication in 1951, J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye has been a topic of much controversy and debate. Holden’s incidents of crudeness, impulsive spending, sexual exploration, depression and other erratic behavior have all served to cause much controversy surrounding the book. Throughout the book, Holden deals with his inner conflicts and trying to find some truth in a world that he sees as full of lies and phonies. Holden is the main character of the book and the reader gets an insight into his complex mind as he tells his story from the first person. Holden frequently is shown to be a hypocrite as he criticizes society throughout the book. He also is an adolescent stuck between childhood and adulthood. Both these themes are related to him through the two children in his life he respects most – his brother Allie and his little sister Phoebe. There are also several examples of Holden being irresponsible and unable to take care of himself throughout the book. Holden has a multi-dimensional character with many difficulties that he runs into as he takes his journey through life.

Holden seems to play the role of a critic towards society and also a hypocrite. He criticizes seemingly almost everyone he meets because they are being phonies, however Holden contradicts himself in that he is constantly lying, which in turn makes him a phony as well. Right from the beginning of the story the reader can see that he is a liar as he talks with his history teacher, Mr. Spencer, who had flunked him. His first line in chapter 3 is "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life." (Salinger 9) As he is leaving Pencey Prep he meets one of his classmates mothers and completely lies to her for no apparent reason, which seems like something a phony would do. This gives the reader the idea that even though Holden is criticizing society for being phony, he is guilty of it himself, and is therefore criticizing himself. He refuses to conform to society in his head, but in reality he is becoming what he hates about society as he begins to become an adult. And by criticizing everything around him, it seems to be a way for Holden to justify how the world is a bad place and to grow up and leave adolescents behind is just something that no one should do.

Holden's journey takes him though a cross section of American society. From school, to bars, to the city, to his family, I think Salinger wants to portray how widespread phoniness has become. His relationship with his brother D.B. used to be something he respected until he moved out to Hollywood. Hollywood was a good place for Salinger to use because it's a place where we can understand the meaning of phonies. Holden refers to his brother as a prostitute who has given himself up for the money in Hollywood becoming a thing that he hates the most. It would make sense that Holden didn't like movies because it was something that required acting