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How is Holden Caulfield being a hypocrite to the adults in The Catcher in the Rye? Who are the adults that he is hypocritical to?

Holden Caulfield is an interesting character in that his own actions do not reflect his beliefs about how others should act and who they should be. Throughout the book, he expresses the idea that a person should be exactly who they present themselves as; if they turn out to be somewhat different than they appear to be, he refers to them as "phony." This is fascinating because in the book we see that Holden is...

Holden Caulfield is an interesting character in that his own actions do not reflect his beliefs about how others should act and who they should be. Throughout the book, he expresses the idea that a person should be exactly who they present themselves as; if they turn out to be somewhat different than they appear to be, he refers to them as "phony." This is fascinating because in the book we see that Holden is very dishonest when interacting and speaking with others; he often pretends to be someone that the reader knows he is not. He is critical of the people that he meets, yet he is lonely and in need of companionship. He wants to be able to know who a stranger is, and yet he lies to them constantly about who he is. When he escapes his prep school to journey into the city of New York, he is shocked at how people's behavior does not live up to his expectations. 


Mr. Haas, Holden's headmaster at the school, is frequently described as one of these "phonies." He shakes hands and smiles at the parents who drop their children off, but to Holden, his obvious judgment of others is very disingenuous. However, he lies to Ernest Marrow's mother on the train ride to New York about what his name is and the details of his life. His older brother, D.B., is working in the movie industry, which Holden also finds disgusting, and so he likewise judges his brother for being associated with it. When he finally goes out to The Lavender Room and tries to make some friends in three women that he meets there, he even says, "You could hardly tell which was the stupidest of the three of them" (63). These actions on the part of Holden demonstrate how his hypocrisy has kept him from banishing his loneliness, because he just keeps isolating himself and alienating others. 

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