Holden Caulfield
...ion, he doesn’t really want to listen to anything Mr. Spencer has to say to him. In order for Holden to get out of his conversation with Mr. Spencer, he tells him a lie. He says that he has to go to the gym and pick up some of his equipment, but Holden does not have any equipment in the gym. He continues to rebuff advice given to him throughout the novel. Holden likes to get into and out of a lot of situations by lying. In the beginning of the novel when he goes to visit his history teacher, Mr. Spencer, he lies to get out any farther conversation with his teacher. But in another instant of the novel Holden gets himself into a situation that in the end he regrets. When Holden is coming back from being out he feels really depressed, and while on the elevator the elevator man, Maurice asks Holden if he is, “innarested in a little tail t’night?” referring to a prostitute. Holden is kind of surprised at the question and Maurice can tell, so he asks Holden how old he is. Holden tells the man that he is twenty-two and accepts the offer of a prostitute for five bucks. When Sunny, the prostitute, finally comes to the room, Holden does not feel like doing anything, so he just gives her the five dollars. Sunny says that it is ten dollars, and Holden tells her that Maurice said five. She leaves with the five, but she comes back, this time with Maurice, and she takes the other five out of Holden’s wallet. Maurice also beats up Holden a little bit. This situation shows that if Holden would not be so “phony” and tell the truth, it could save him a lot of trouble in his life. Holden also tries to be a lot more mature than he really is. Holden is only sixteen years of age, and he tries to act as if he is twenty years old. A prime example is when he is downstairs in the bar of the hotel he was staying at. He tries to order himself a beer, and the waiter asks if he has any id, but of course Holden doesn’t. He tries to pers...