Our world is a vastly populated planted filled with different ideas and perspectives. In the novel, "The Catcher In The Rye", Holden Caulfield views life in a peculiar and unique way contrary to how most of us see it. He is an orange in a basket of apples. What he does and what he thinks makes up his character; you truly have to scrutinize deep into his brain to really understand and interpret how he feels towards certain things. He views people differently and behaves peculiarly. He also isolates himself for self-protection.
"Phoniness", one of Holden's favorite concepts, is used throughout the novel to describe many different things. He uses phoniness to describe the hypocrisy and superficiality of the world around him. In one example he refers to his schoolwork as phony, which is only an excuse to isolate himself away from it. Many of the people he encounters in the novel at one point or another are referred to as phony. Phoniness, for Holden, stands as a symbol to show everything that's wrong around him and the complexity of how life truly is. When Holden uses the word phony, he sometimes doesn't have a justified reason for using it; he just uses this to interpret how he views the world. The huge thing with the word phoniness is that he states that people don't know that they are phonies, when in reality he himself is a phony and doesn't know it. His views on phoniness help illustrate how he views life. .
Another example of how Holden is unique is in his behavior. One of the qualities that make up is character are that he is irresponsible; he flunked out of three schools. He is also a very cynical and pessimistic person. Throughout the novel he lies for the benefit of himself and is unwilling to consider how his behavior affects those around him. He also has an aberrant look on sex; many examples show his obsession towards the subject. He also attempts to flirt with an older woman on the bus, who is the mother of one of the students at Pencey Prep and lies to flatter her.
