A Catcher in the Rye

In J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a character in denial. He greatly dislikes phonies, and even though he too carries the characteristics of a phony, he refuses to admit to himself that he is a phony as well as the rest of them. In Holden’s point of view, phonies are those people who lack innocence, have already matured, and metaphorically speaking, phonies are those people who have fallen off …

…going around and around” (Salinger 213). At that point, he realizes that his worries were unfounded. At the end of the book, Holden seems ready to fit himself into society and accept the responsibilities of adulthood. “Holden will be alright…He will even become more tolerant of phonies” (Behrman 74). “With the development of a sense of humor will come maturity that can straighten him out. He will begin to see himself as others see him” (Corbett 178).