He almost seems to think that people are inherently selfish and cruel, and that they are out to get him. He is a bit of a loner, represented by him standing on the hill overlooking the game at the beginning of the book. Holden scorns the school itself as phony, bringing up the advertisements such as the picture of the boy on the horse and remarking that heР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћs never seen anyone play polo there. In fact, he thinks his entire school is just a big joke.

Holden does not think very highly of the other students at school. Throughout the book, Holden refers to people as phony if he does not like them or feel the need to take them seriously, as a means to deflect his own shortcomings, and to cement his black-and-white idea that children are pure and adults are fake. He seems to prefer the company of children over people his own age and older, implying that he may be more childish at heart. This leads one to believe that Holden thinks these people are fake and that they are acting like someone they are not in order to seem better and more impressive. Officially, the word phony is defined as Р Р†Р вЂљРЎС™intended to deceive or misleadР Р†Р вЂљРЎСљ (Р Р†Р вЂљРЎС™phonyР Р†Р вЂљРЎСљ 931). Instead of admitting this, he tells himself that they are Р Р†Р вЂљРЎС™phonyР Р†Р вЂљРЎСљ in order to feel better. He writes off most of the world as artificial and resents many people that are more successful or different from him. He is cynical, yet immature, stuck in the awkward not-yet-adult but not-yet-child stage and reflects this in his actions. He is much like a typical high school student and the book is written from his point of view as if he is talking to the reader casually. SalingerР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћs 1951 novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is a first-person narrative featuring the protagonist, Holden Caulfield. This is not an example of the work written by our writers. This essay has been submitted to us by a student.

The catcher in the rye holden caulfield