Holden often talks about people being phony. By nature he is a very judgmental person and we see that whenever he meets someone new or introduces them to the story. I think that Holden calls people phony that act or try to act like everyone else or try to fit in to a certain group or stereotype. I think this shows that Holden writes people off immediately after judging them, not getting to know them enough to form a real opinion of them.
As for phoniness in our society, a lot of kids and young adults think that their lives will be made better, that they'll have more friends, if they fit in to a certain stereotype or have more money, etc.
Personally, I don't think that Holden is phony. He doesn't know how to be. As far as I can tell, he doesn't care at all what people think about him and he isn't trying to project an image of someone he wants to be. He flunked out of a 'prestigious' school and wears a strange-looking hat.
Finally, I think that it is possible to grow up in America and not be phony but it's really hard. It's hard to not project an image of yourself of who you want to be rather than who you really are.
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