Irony

The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is filled with moments and examples of irony. One major example of this is Holden Caulfield's behavior and attitude towards the people that he refers to as 'phonies'. He starts to characterize pretty much everyone, especially adults, as being a phony however, and in chapter two Holden says: "One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies". One reason that adulthood troubles Holden so much is that he thinks becoming an adult will also cause him to become phony, because he has somehow become convinced that adults must be phony, like is it mandatory that you must be a fake to be an mature adult. However, as the novel progresses, Holden ironically begins to seem phony as well. He deceives people and lies to people to conceal his identity, which makes him just as fake as what he thinks adults are. Holden even admits that he is not a good liar, which just makes his own phoniness more obvious to others and makes him a character that can be easily disliked and hard to sympathize.

Another example of irony in the novel is found in Holden's religious outlook. He says that he absolutely despises religion and people who act of disciples of God, but then Holden seems to completely go back on his previous opinions, saying that he admires Jesus. A big part of the irony in the novel is Holden being a total and complete hypocrite. It's almost like he is unable of sticking to one idea or belief, and switches these around to what he thinks is right at the moment.

As the novel moves forward and Holden continues to try and define himself, Holden begins to think of himself as the only truly genuine person left in the entire world, even though he is eventually revealed to be just as fake and superficial as everybody else is. Holden tries to make himself seem different, but by doing this, he simply alienates himself and pushes himself further away from society.