"Phonies"

For this week’s English post, I have decided to write about the Cather in the Rye, and Holden’s opinions about “phonies.” Holden, the main character of the story, talks about how he dislikes “phonies,” or people that feel one way but act another. Near the beginning of the book the two phonies he talks about are Ackley and Stradlater. He talks about how Ackley acts annoying and loud because he is insecure and thinks that he is unpopular. In Holden’s mind, Ackley is a phony because he hides his true feelings and acts like someone he is not just because he is insecure.
Holden also shares his thoughts about Stradlater. He really doesn’t like him very much but is nice to him anyway. And that brings me to my next point. In my opinion, Holden is a bit of a phony. I think he is a phony because he himself feels one way about certain people, but acts differently towards them. For example, how he feels about Ackley. Holden dislikes him and points out all of his flaws, but at the same time, he is nice to him and doesn’t let him know how he really feels about him. He acts like everything is fine and dandy. And it’s the same situation for Stradlater. Holden doesn’t like him either but is still nice to him and continues to do favors for him. These are fine examples of a phony to me.
In short, even though Holden says Ackley and Stradlater are phonies, I think he is also a phony and just hasn’t realized it yet. If Holden didn’t spend so much time worrying and thinking about how much Ackley ans Stradlater annoy him, maybe he would come to realize that his is in some ways just like them.