Catcher In The Rye :: essays research papers

Catcher in the Rye... J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, is one of the most well-known novels of the past fifty years. It’s a story about a kid named Hold Caulfield who experiences some interesting things and people. From having breakfast with a couple of nuns, to hooking up with a prostitute, to getting kicked out of school, Holden handles each situation the best way he can. Some of the people Holden meets, he likes, but the type of people Holden can’s stand are the ‘phonies.’ Holden met a lot of phonies in his lifetime. Holden lived in a dorm that was named after a phony, he heard a phony playing a piano, and he met his date’s phony friend. Holden went to a boarding school named Pencey Prep. There, Holden lived in the Ossenburger Memorial Wing which is the name for the new dorms. The hall was only for juniors and seniors. The dorms were named after this guy named Ossenburger who also went to Pencey a long time ago. After Ossenburger got out of Pencey, he made a lot of money in the undertaking business. After making a bundle of dough, Ossenburger gave some of it to Pencey and that’s why the new wing of the dorms are named after him. Then the next morning, Ossenburger gave a speech to the students of Pencey Prep about how he was never ashamed when he was in some kind of trouble or something that Ossenburger would get right down on his knees and pray to God. Ossenburger kept on rambling bout how you should always pray to God and to talk to God wherever you were. Ossenburger said think of him as your buddy. Holden got a kick out of his speech. Holden could â€Å"just see the big phony bastard... asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs.† Holden next went to this night club called Ernie’s. Holden was going there for a few drinks. Even though it was so late, the club was jam-packed. Ernie, the piano player, was playing some tune that Holden couldn’t recognize. Ernie was putting all these high notes, show-offy ripples in the high notes, and a lot of other tricky stuff that Holden thought was dumb. The crowd was going crazy for Ernie though, clapping and all that. â€Å"Old Ernie turned around on his stool and gave this very phony, humble bow.† Holden thought Ernie’s snobbish attitude was so phony but Holden felt kind of sorry for Ernie. Holden doesn’t even think that Ernie knows when he’s playing the tunes right or not. The last phony Holden met was while