Catcher in the Rye Post #1: "Phoniness"

I think that one of the themes in this book, The Catcher in the Rye, is the phoniness of people in Holden's world.  Right off the bat I could tell that Holden is a judgmental person.  He seems to believe that all adults are phonies.  He busies himself with identifying the superficiality and the hypocrisy within other people.  For example, Holden stated that he liked the headmaster's daughter because she probably knew " what a phony slob he [her father] was" (p 3).  Another occasion in which he uses the word "phony" is when he is with Old Spencer.  Spencer is talking about how he met with Holden's parents.  He calls them "grand people."  In tern, Holden thinks "Grand.  There's a word I really hate.  It's a phony.  I could puke every time I hear it" (p 9). 

Not only does Holden think most people are phonies, but he believes that due to their phoniness, they don't have the ability to understand him or recognize the phoniness in themselves or others.  For example, when Old Spencer asks Holden why he "had some difficulty" at one of his previous schools, Elkton Hills, Holden avoids answering by saying "it's pretty complicated."  Holden confesses (in his thoughts) that "one of the big reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies" (p 13).  Holden doesn't explain this to Old Spencer because he doesn't believe he will understand.  

Although Holden is excellent at identifying other people's phoniness, he overlooks his own.  Holden himself is compulsive liar.  For example, on the way to New York, he meets a woman (who happens to be the mother of one of he school mates) and proceeds to tell her lie after lie from how his son is the school hot-shot, to how he is going to have an operation on his back.  I think Holden would like the reader to believe that he is the only "real," down-to-earth person in a world of phonies, but in fact, this is far from the truth.  

Kai, why do you think Holden believes everyone is a phony?  Is he just pessimistic?  Or do you think it is a defense mechanism?