Catcher in the Rye...

J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, is one of the most

well-known novels of the past fifty years. It’s a story about a

kid named Hold Caulfield who experiences some interesting

things and people. From having breakfast with a couple of

nuns, to hooking up with a prostitute, to getting kicked out of

school, Holden handles each situation the best way he can.

Some of the people Holden meets, he likes, but the type of

people Holden can’s stand are the ‘phonies.’ Holden met a

lot of phonies in his lifetime. Holden lived in a dorm that was

named after a phony, he heard a phony playing a piano, and

he met his date’s phony friend. Holden went to a boarding

school named Pencey Prep. There, Holden lived in the

Ossenburger Memorial Wing which is the name for the new

dorms. The hall was only for juniors and seniors. The dorms

were named after this guy named Ossenburger who also

went to Pencey a long time ago. After Ossenburger got out

of Pencey, he made a lot of money in the undertaking

business. After making a bundle of dough, Ossenburger gave

some of it to Pencey and that’s why the new wing of the

dorms are named after him. Then the next morning,

Ossenburger gave a speech to the students of Pencey Prep

about how he was never ashamed when he was in some

kind of trouble or something that Ossenburger would get

right down on his knees and pray to God. Ossenburger kept

on rambling bout how you should always pray to God and to

talk to God wherever you were. Ossenburger said think of

him as your buddy. Holden got a kick out of his speech.

Holden could “just see the big phony bastard... asking Jesus

to send him a few more stiffs.” Holden next went to this night

club called Ernie’s. Holden was going there for a few drinks.

Even though it was so late, the club was jam-packed. Ernie,

the piano player, was playing some tune that Holden

couldn’t recognize. Ernie was putting all these high notes,

show-offy ripples in the high notes, and a lot of other tricky

stuff that Holden thought was dumb. The crowd was going

crazy for Ernie though, clapping and all that. “Old Ernie

turned around on his stool and gave this very phony, humble

bow.” Holden thought Ernie’s snobbish attitude was so

phony but Holden felt kind of sorry for Ernie. Holden

doesn’t even think that Ernie knows when he’s playing the

tunes right or not. The last phony Holden met was while

Holden was out on a date with his girl Sally. Holden and

Sally had known each other for a while. For their date, they

both went to go check out a play named The Lunts. When

the first act was over, Holden and Sally went outside for a

smoke. Holden was listening to all the people outside who

were smoking too talking about the play. The way they were

talking, Holden thought that they were all phonies. Sally was

talking about the play to Holden until she saw some dude

she knew on the other side of the lobby. The guy noticed

Sally too and had came over to say hello. The guy and Sally

were talking about stuff until she finally introduced him to

Holden. His name was George and he and Sally were talking

about the play. Holden thought “he was the kind of phony

that have to give themselves room when they answer

somebody’s questions.” Holden really hates those kind of

phonies. In Conclusion, those were just some of the phonies

that Holden encounters with during his lifetime. Holden

showed that you can meet a phony at any time of the day

and any day of the week. For examples, you could one day

be living in a dorm that is named after someone that you

think is a phony, or you could be out at some night club for a

couple of drinks and hear a phony playing some tunes on a

piano, or you could meet a phony while you’re out on a

date. So when you’re in a situation dealing with phonies,

don’t become one, just remember to keep it real.