The Catcher In The Rye: Holden's Fall From Innocence

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I initially believed.

The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, interacts with many people
throughout J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, but probably none
have as much impact on him as certain members of his immediate family. The
ways Holden acts around or reacts to the various members of his family give
the reader a direct view of Holden's philosophy surrounding each member.
How do Holden's different opinions of his family compare and do his views
constitute enough merit to be deemed truth? Holden makes reference to the
word "phony" forty-four separate times throughout the novel (Corbett 68-73).
Each time he seems to be referring to the subject of this metaphor as
someone who discriminates against others, is a hypocrite about something,
or has manifestations of conformity (Corbett 71). Throughout The Catcher in
the Rye, Holden describes and interacts with various members of his family.
The way he talks about or to each gives you some idea of whether he thinks
they are ...

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trouble is, you wouldn't' (Salinger 172). When Holden describes
his mom, he always seems to do so with a sense of compassion yet also with
a jeering tone. Holden makes his mom sound predictable and insincere. These
phony qualities are shown in two different examples when Holden is hiding
in the closet of D.B.'s room as his mom walks in to tuck in Phoebe:

'Hello!' I heard old Phoebe say. 'I couldn't sleep. Did you have a good
time?' 'Marvelous,' my mother said, but you could tell she didn't mean it.
She doesn't enjoy herself much when she goes out. …'Good night. Go to sleep
now. I have a splitting headache,' my mother said. She gets headaches quite
frequently. She really does ...

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