The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, interacts with many people throughout J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, but probably none have as much impact on him as certain members of his immediate family. The ways Holden acts around or reacts to the various members of his family give the reader a direct view of Holden's philosophy surrounding each member. How do Holden's different opinions of his family compare and do his views constitute enough merit to be deemed truth? Holden makes reference to the word "phony" forty-four separate times throughout the novel Corbett 68-73. Each time he seems to be...
himself a phony. He is an inveterate liar; he frequently masquerades as someone he is not; he fulminates against foibles of which he himself is guilty; he frequently vents his spleen about his friends, despite the fact that he seems to be advocating the need for charity" 71.

If Holden is a liar and a phony, perhaps his portrayal of each family member is totally false. However, his consistent and repetitive accounts at least give the reader some idea of how an adolescent boy, facing the common experiences and troubles of daily life, views each member of his family.