Holden’s problem is not ‘phonies’ but his inability to accept reality.” Do you agree?
Holden Caulfield main problem is with all the phonies that surround him and irk him. Reading extensively through the novel; we can confirm that Holden throughout the book is continuously tormented by the acts of these phonies who are superficial and hypocritical. Throughout the novel Holden meets various phonies who commit phony acts. One such case is when he first arrived at the Edmont Hotel and he saw these couples squirting highballs water at each other. Another case is of him witnessing another phony act is when he goes on a date with Sally Hayes but they bump into one of Sally’s phony friend, George.

This part of the book really highlights Holden’s main problem with phonies and this part killed me. It really did. The way phonies will interact with each other that is. The main problem that Holden finds with the meeting between George and Sally though is how he casually intrudes on their date and then doing what phonies do he has a phony conversation with Sally and then afterwards he finally leaves only so he can meet a couple of phonies over cocktails. The way they talk to each other and even what they talked about was pretty phony too; how they both acted like they were genuinely interested in each other and what people they knew and didn’t care about who lived at specific places. It really killed me. This also reminds me of another phony moment in the novel such as when Holden goes to Ernie’s and is surrounded by phonies and even bumps into a phony he knows called Lillian and also her date Commander Blop. At Ernie’s Holden sees and meets many phonies including Ernie himself as he becomes so full of himself after selling himself to the audience who applauded him like hyenas. Another phony Holden sees are the funny-looking couple who were sitting at a table not so far from