Holden is a character study in teenage angst, with deep subtlety to his character increasingly revealed as the story continues. He derides everything as "phony," viewing the world around him as being filled with cynical falsehoods, but fails to realize that he himself is bitter and cynical. There are strong hints that he changed significantly after the death of his little brother, Allie, which occurs before the events of the novel. | Holden is a character study in teenage angst, with deep subtlety to his character increasingly revealed as the story continues. He derides everything as "phony," viewing the world around him as being filled with cynical falsehoods, but fails to realize that he himself is bitter and cynical. There are strong hints that he changed significantly after the death of his little brother, Allie, which occurs before the events of the novel. |