Home > The Catcher in the Rye Summary & Study Guide > The Catcher in the Rye Group > Question and Answer

Question:

Answers:

1. 
   ms-mcgregor Teacher
   High School - 12th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   Holden believes actors are phony. He says actors try to be real, but end up just sounding like actors, not like real people. His hatred for actors and the movie first begins when he berates his brother,D.B., to selling out his talent and writing for the movies. Holden says the theater is also phony because instead of showing people the truth, it puts the emphasis on theatricality. He insists he never saw so many phony things as he saw in the theatre. Holden also shows his hatred towards three women he meets at a bar because they are only interested in movies and famous actors. In Chapter 16, when Sunny, the prostitute, tells Holden she spend most of her time at the movies,he calls her the "queen of phonies". The irony is that Holden is going to a play in the afternoon and he is paying to see a lot of those same "phony" actors.

   Sources:

   http://www.enotes.com/catcher

   http://www.enotes.com/catcher/characters

   Rate answer:

   • Flag as inappropriate

   Posted by ms-mcgregor on Thursday September 25, 2008 at 5:17 PM