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Catcher in the Rye, a la Shmoop. In J.D. Salinger's classic novel, The Catcher
in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is obsessed with phoniness.
Throughout the book, Holden describes many people as "phonies."
So we ask... in Holden's opinion, what makes a phony...well, a phony?
Let's see... ...folks who aren't honest...
...those who behave in a certain way to please a crowd...
...people who are shallow, superficial, deceptive... ...and... every adult. Holden's not a big
fan of his elders. He seems to think that, as people age, they
become worse, not better. Unlike fine wine. They become phonies.
So... what about you? What's your "phony" rating?
Time for a short quiz. Question numero uno:
Think about the way you behave in front of your parents.
Now think about how you act in front of your friends.
Same... or different? If you said "different"... give yourself a
phony point. Question two:
Have you ever fudged the facts? You know... gently massaged some numbers on
a college application? Or altered the truth for a job interview?
Maybe you just made the truth sound a bit... bigger and better?
If you said "yes" to any or all of the above, give yourself another phony point.
Question three. Have you ever pretended to like a movie or
song because it was popular, and not because you genuinely like it?
Phony point for you if you said "yes." Let's face it. If you have any points at all,
Holden would call you a phony. And really, Holden would likely call all of
us phonies. What would he think of emails and texts, or
even Facebook comments for that matter? Breeding grounds for phoniness.
Who hasn't sent a message or chatted online, behaving differently than they would in person?
What do you think? Shmoop amongst yourselves.