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.