Another example of irony in The Catcher in the Rye is Holden's incessant use of the term "phony." Throughout the text, he refers to the majority of his peers and adults around him as "phony." The term, as he uses it, seems to suggest any individual who acts in a way that is contrary to their authentic self or their true beliefs. For example, he accuses the girls in the nightclub of being phony for pretending to be like New Yorkers when really they are from elsewhere.
But consider Holden's behavior: he does Stradlater's homework for him when in fact he disdains him; he insults his teachers and fellow classmates when really he is just frustrated that he is unable to do the work or engage socially; he breaks into his parents' house to spend time with his sister, Phoebe, when he is unable to address his feelings about the death of his brother, Allie. Throughout the text, it is Holden who covers his emotions with actions and convictions not his own. In short, Holden is a phony, too.
Well, an overall ironic element is Holden's desire to preserve the innocence of the young. Yet while he goes about trying to accomplish this, he cannot help bringing corrupting influences into those lives. While trying to keep his little sister pure, he smokes, swears, drinks, runs away, and is needlessly and purposefully cruel to her. He is also very selective in who he thinks is worthy of this purifying effort. Jane Gallagher is meant to be protected because he believes her to be worthwhile and hates...
See This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this answer and thousands more. Enjoy eNotes ad-free and cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
the idea of Stradlater making empty promises and aggressive sexual advances toward her. Yet, he carries out this same behavior with Sally.
He is stuck between the adult world and the world of children. When he is thrown into an adult situation, he acts like a child, as seen with Sunny, Carl Luce, etc. But when he retreats to the world of children, he brings his faux-adult act with him, as seen with Phoebe, or his fantasy destiny as the Catcher in the Rye.
It is fitting that his fascination with the ducks in Central Park occurs when he feels lost. The ducks innately know it is time to leave and where to go when the pond freezes and time changes. Holden's childhood pond is, like a museum, frozen, but he is shut out. Like his question about the ducks, he doesn't fly away; he is taken away by men in trucks, presumably wearing white jackets.
What is an example of allusion in The Catcher in the Rye?
An allusion indirectly references something of literary, cultural, historical, or political significance. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield makes frequent allusions, often to works of literature he has read.
One of these allusions occurs when Holden is sitting in a sandwich bar eating breakfast and two nuns sit down next to him at the counter. A conversation begins between them, and Holden mentions the materials he has read for his English class, including Romeo and Juliet. Holden feels awkward about this conversation since he claims that the play "gets pretty sexy in some parts." He also spends an inordinate amount of time talking about how he doesn't like how someone "very smart and entertaining" (Mercutio) gets killed in the play because of someone else's mistake. Because he doesn't mention Mercurio directly, this is an allusion.
What is an example of allusion in The Catcher in the Rye?
Allusion is to make a reference to something, or use something as an example of a thought.
The most important allusion in The Catcher in the Rye is precisely in Chapter 22, as Holden heard the Robbie Burns song: "Coming though the Rye," and Phoebe asks Holden basically what he wants to do with it, and he explains that he sees kids playing in the rye and he wants to be the catcher before they fall off its cliff.
What is an example of allusion in The Catcher in the Rye?
You don't have to read long to find an example of allusion in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. There's one in the opening sentence. Holden Caulfield, the narrator, begins his story with what he is not going to write about: where he was born and how lousy his childhood was and how his parents were occupied before they had him. He sums up what he is not going to write about with an allusion:
...all that David Copperfield kind of crap.
He's alluding to David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. The narrator is not going to write a Victorian-like, Dickens-like, heavy on the description and heavy on the detail portrait of abuses he suffered during childhood. For one, he didn't even tell that personal kind of stuff to his brother when he saw him. Secondly, his parents are nice, though they are quite touchy.