Analyzing Holden Caulfield

1. Analyzing Holden Caulfield By: Lucas, Mitchell, Reilly, Jarrod, and Jesse

2. Is Holden as perfect as he wants be? • Holden is not as perfect as he wants to be because he is always lying • He always lies about his self image indicating he is insecure about his real self and may not like how he is • Holden judges other people to make himself seem superior showing that he has low self esteem

3. He often lies to get out of uncomfortable situations that he put himself into like with Mr. Spencer, he lies as an excuse to leave. • “I have to get going now, I have quite a bit of equipment at the gym…” (Salinger 16)

4. Reasons for Holden’s alienation • Holden alienates himself because he is constantly judging people and that translates into how he acts around people • He has very awkward conversations with people and seems to lack social skills • He tries to socialize with people that he says he hates rather than trying to start fresh

5. Is Holden a phony and a hypocrite? • Holden is a phony himself and therefore a hypocrite as well • He is always lying about his image to people and faking things • When he speaks to Ernest morrow’s mom almost everything he said to her was a lie • He often puts on an act and lies about himself to not reveal his true personality

6. When Holden lies about himself is tells us a lot about his character. It tells us that he is insecure about himself • The fact Holden is insecure about himself shows that he may be suffering from depression and the constant lying is causing him to be disengaged with society

7. Is Holden a hero? • Holden is not a hero because he does nothing heroic throughout the book • He doesn’t help anybody and instead he judges them and calls them phonies • A hero has a situation thrust upon them and does something that may risk their wellbeing expecting nothing in return. Holden does not fit that description

8. Works Cited • Salinger.The Catcher in the Rye. New York: This Little, Brown and Company, 1951.