Goddam Phonies

Throughout chapter 18, Holden gives us a large insight to his thinking. The chapter begins as Holden leaves the skating rink after his poor date with Sally. Holden does not act as though he cares much about the event that had recently transpired, but the readers can tell from his actions that he is upset. Although Holden just had a drink, he has a meal after leaving the rink. The very next thing Holden does is go to a phone booth and call Jane. Holden looks for company because he feels lonely and upset. He wants to spend time with or simply talk with someone else. Since Jane is not home he looks for others to call. Finally, he decides to call Carl Luce, a Columbia student that is three years older than him. After hanging up with Carl, Holden tells us, "I think he was pretty surprised to hear from me. I once called him a fat-assed phony." (p. 137) This quote shows the readers that Holden and Carl were never especially good friends. It proves how desperate Holden really is for some kind of understanding, support, or conversation. While telling us about the incident in the phone booth Holden gets distracted as always. He diverges to tell us that girls will always think what they want to think about certain guys, "no matter how big a bastard he is". (p. 136) After leaving the phone booth, Holden decides to kill time by going to the movies at Radio City.

At Radio City, Holden shows the readers what he hates most in the entire world: Phonies. Before the film, the Rockettes did a show for the audience. Then a man on roller skates came on stage and told jokes while performing tricks. Later, a Christmas show begins and several actors carry crucifixes and sing "Come All Ye Faithful!". Finally, the movie begins. The film is about an engaged British man, Alec, who loses his memory in the war. He falls in love with a new girl, and he writes a book to help her publishing business. Eventually his old fiancée, Marcia, recognizes him and brings him home. After getting hit in the head by a cricket ball, Alec regains his memory. Ultimately everyone is happy and the right lovers end up together. Holden detests all of it. He can't even focus on the spectacles before the movie because he keeps worrying about how phony it is. He says he can't stop imagining the actors practicing for the show. After telling us about the film Holden says, "All I can say is, don't see it if you don't want to puke all over yourself." (p. 139) He sits next to a woman that cries throughout the "phony" film and acts cruel to her child. This makes him hate the movie even more. After leaving Radio City, Holden walks to the Wicker Bar, where he was supposed to meet Carl Luce. As he walks he thinks about how much he would hate the army, on account of all the phonies that would be in it. Holden resents the adult world because he perceives it as phony, fake or insincere. He acts as though he needs a mentor or a supporter in his life, but he constantly resists the world around him. Do you think that Holden should continue to push against others? Do you think he should be more open about his feelings? Should he simply ask for the help he might need? Is the wall that he has built against the world counterproductive? Why or why not?