Holden the Hypocrite
Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden constantly says that people who do certain things, say certain phrases, or act in certain ways are "phony". Honestly, I think it's definitely favorite word. However, I've noticed that a lot of the time, the things he says are phony, are characteristics which apply to him. The example that brought my attention to this hypocrisy is when he is in the restaurant with the nuns. He goes on a monologue about how people who dress up fancily and go eat lunch at fancy restaurants are phony and he doesn't like them. Yet, Holden and his family are quite well off and Holden isn't reserved at all when it comes to spending his money. He'll pay for cabs when he could easily walk, he buys countless drinks, and he gave the nuns 10 dollars completely unprompted and even tried to pay for their order on top of that donation. It's quite hypocritical that the very class of wealth Holden is from is the one he finds most phony.
Another instance where Holden is hypocritical is when he repeatedly says that people should act as they appear, but Holden is always lying to everyone about himself. He even outright saying to the readers that he is the most terrific liar ever and he is seemingly proud of that. Similarly, he mentions multiple times that people involved with movies and Hollywood (like his brother D.B.) are phony. Yet, we see him throughout the book playing different dramatized roles he invents, exactly like characters we would hypothetically see in movies. For example, after Holden is beaten up by Maurice at the hotel, he goes around his room acting as if he is bleeding from his gut and is a wounded solider that Jane needs to attend to. He goes into great detail and the character he invents for himself could easily be transformed into a movie character in a Hollywood film.
Throughout the book, Holden constantly contradicts his beliefs about people and their actions and it's pretty easy to see, in my opinion, that it's mainly a result of his own insecurity. He hates the phony qualities of others that he sees in himself, but he isn't able to acknowledge that those very things he hates are part of his personality. To me, Holden's hypocrisy is one of the most interesting aspects of his character because I can relate to sometimes being a hypocrite. I'll hate certain things others do, but suddenly realize that I do some of those very things I hate. One example that just happened today is that I decided I didn't need to buy something I had grabbed at Walgreens and decided to put it down in a completely different section (don't worry, I realized my hypocrisy and went back and put it where it belonged). Whenever I see items in places they don't belong in stores, it irritates me, but I need to realize that I do it sometimes too. Although we don't see any indication of progress towards the end of the novel, I sincerely hope that as Holden grows up in his world that he would come to acknowledge his hypocrisy and try to work on it.
I agree with you that Holden is a hypocrite; it's something we discussed several times in class. I feel like on top of Holden being incredibly insecure, Holden is also not at all self-aware. He struggles to deal with all the trauma he's had, and he takes it out on the outside world, creating a me v.s. the world mentality. As you mentioned, Holden struggles to accept that maybe he is also "phony" at times, and he doesn't want to accept this because that would mean that his world view is wrong. However, I would disagree that Holden hasn't progressed throughout the book. I think that him finally being happy after so many pages spent depressed plus his realization that he misses his former classmates could lead him to change. This book shows Holden throughout only two days of his life, and I think it would be unrealistic to expect him to change fully and mature, but I think there is hope at the end of the book, something the readers didn't have at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI agree! It's interesting to watch Holden criticize the world around him for its phoniness yet never turn that critical lens on himself. I also found it ironic that Holden criticizes the habits of rich people in New York City while also being from a very wealthy family and spending money without any thought.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that Holden's behavior could be perceived as hypocritical, and it really makes one think why he's acting like this. Seemingly, since Holden's had a lack of support growing up through his life, he may feel closed off to this who are happier despite fitting his sense and ideology of becoming phony as soon as they grow up.
ReplyDeleteI would argue that there is a pretty strong degree of self-awareness underlying Holden's narration, and he does often seem aware of his own "phoniness"--as when he castigates himself for saying "glad to've met you" to the Navy guy in the bar even though he's not at all glad to meet him, but "to stay alive, you have to say that stuff." A big part of Holden's anxiety about adulthood is this idea that you can't avoid becoming "phony," and there's a good deal of self-criticism and self-loathing as Holden's narrative goes on. But it's definitely true that he tends to frame this self-awareness in terms of how others constantly disappoint him or fail to live up to his standards--even as he fails to live up to his own standards. In this sense, a degree of hypocrisy is simply an essential ingredient of being a social person. Would we *prefer* that he be more "real" with Spencer? Would you *like it* if Holden were to speak everything on his mind in that scene? Or does his "hypocrisy" actually render him a nice person (which Mr. and Mrs. Spencer seem to think he is)?
ReplyDeleteI agree that Holden is a hypocrite, and it gives much of what he says an arrogant tone because he will criticize others for doing things that he isn't above either. I think he seems to recognize this fact to some extent, and just doesn't care. With the way he thinks it's likely his hypocrisy crossed his mind, but his attitude leads me to think that he doesn't really count it against himself.
ReplyDeleteHolden is hypocritical and it helps us the reader to see his struggle with himself I think. He points out many of his flaws in people that he doesnt agree with as to avoid pointing them out in himself. If Holden can keep finding more phonies he doesnt have to face himself.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Holden acts the way he does because he looks down on everyone else. The phoniness in everyone is else "phony" because they are acting a certain way in order to appear better. I believe that his deception and self destructive acts are a morbid fashion of amusing himself, as well as a way of cementing that he is not a phony, which might be among the last thing he has.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting point about the frequency of his hypocrisy when he uses the word "phony". It makes me think that these are qualities about himself that he recognizes and dislikes, and therefore dislikes them when he sees them in other people. In fact, he may feel jealous of the people who seem contented by these "phony" traits. In his mind he acts the same way as the phony people he is surrounded by, and yet they are happy and he is not. So then how on earth is he supposed to be happy? Which results in him be miserable for the greater part of the book.
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