Imagine living in a world where, from your perspective, everyone around you is a fake. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In the book Catcher in the Rye, the author uses Holden's catchphrase "sham" to describe the superficiality, hypocrisy, pretension, and shallowness of the world in which Holden lives. This falsity is a symbol of everything that is wrong in the adult world and most adults who live in this world do not know that they are false. Holden draws an imaginary line that people must cross and if someone exhibits personality traits that cross that line, such as being deceptive, hiding hatred, or putting on a false face in public, Holden labels them as inauthentic. There are a few characters who are considered the exception to his views on society, allowing us to see the author's contrast between genuine and fake, but like most of the characters Holden meets in the book fall into the general category, the author uses Holden's pessimism. comments to criticize the company. Holden describes society in a way that. Holden critiques society in a way that allows us to speak to him. Through Holden's eyes the author talks about what is wrong with the adult world in that people are only out to serve themselves and Holden refers to this as a life that he does not want to have. In chapter 17 of the book, he actually asks Sally to run away with him to a life in a house in the woods, a fantasy life far from the city. He then goes on to explain why he hates the city. The noise, the doormen, the tailors and the people who care so much about their cars and trade them in for newer cars. When the author gives his opinion on Holden, that the city represents the society. This is typical of the author's vision of a greedy and self-centered society. Holden said, “But it’s not, that’s all. I hate living in New York and everything. The cabs and buses on Madison Avenue, with the drivers and all always yelling at you to get out the back door, and introduced to you to phone you, the guys who called the Lunts Angels and who go up and down the elevator when you just want to go out and guys who wear pants all the time at Brooks and people always…” Usually when he criticizes something about society he uses the word wrong. In this passage, he criticizes society. He criticizes this life because he believes that society has no real qualities. Throughout most of the book, Holden meets people in the book and at one point in their interaction he calls them not genuine. He sees society as a collection of people like this. For example, in chapter 10, Holden walks into a bar and starts a conversation with a blonde woman who he finds attractive, although he is interested and tries to make conversation, she wasn't listening to him. She was looking for hot shots. She and her friends kept looking around the room to see if any celebrities would come to the bar. So he tells one of the women that Gary Cooper, the movie star, was on the other side of the dance floor and she stopped dancing right there to start looking for him. All the while, they barely spoke to each other in pursuit of movie stars. Holden finds that these ladies are the same as the rest of society and when he confirms his view of society, he utters the phrase "who killed me". Holdens says in the book that movie stars are fake, just like these women, because that's all they are..