Salinger, the main character, Holden, is constantly calling others phonies. I believe that Holden uses this name to call people he meets or knows because he can't accept reality.The reality is that Holden cant accept the success of other people which is a reason why he might consider them phonies. Holden refuses to acknowledge and fix the way he is living life at the moment. He believes everything that is happening is a phase which shows Holdens lack to face reality. Holden is wrong for judging others because his only purpose is to make himself feel better about himself. If he considers people who aren't perfect and have bad habits as phony, he is one himself. Holden only calls other people phonies because he lacks the ability to face the truth.
To begin with, Holden is a very judgemental person, which makes him a phony since he points out the imperfections and faults of others to make him feel better about how he is living life. Despite the small flaws of the people that are introduced to the reader as phony by Holden, they haven't been kicked out of school or are vulnerable in the world. Holden is a helpless teenager who has been kicked out of school and dropped out more than once. In the text he states, I wasn't supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself at all. They gave me frequent warnings to start applying myself. This shows how ignorant Holden is because unlike all the people he calls phonies, he has committed worse mistakes by giving up on his education. Without education it is not guaranteed that he will be successful in life but he lacks to realize how much of an impact this will have on his future. Instead he judges the life of others, making him a phony for worrying about the lives of others and failing to acknowledge how his is going downhill.
Furthermore, Holden isn't able to face reality because he cant let go of his past.
