In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden, characterizes many people as phony.
First of all, Holden is a sixteen-year old adolescent, so his view on the world will be limited by his experience. However, he calls many adults phony. By phony, he means they are insincere or shallow. Holden goes out of his way to look for this trait in the adults he meets. For example, Holden believes that the headmaster, Mr. Haas, is phony for the way he preferentially treats parents. Those parents who he feels are beneath his notice, he has short, phony conversations with. As well, Ossenburger, the wealthy undertaker, is phony, owning discount funeral homes that take advantage of the sorrowful families while he attempts to emphasize Christianity.
However, ironically, Holden fails to realize that being phony is essentially part of the world and does not necessarily make one a bad or evil person. In fact, Holden, himself, is phony when he calls Ackley "a real prince" (Chapter 7), and he's sarcastic or insincere in his interactions with other characters.
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