In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger develops Holden Caulfield as a morally ambiguous character. Throughout the book, Salinger speaks like Holden and presents him as an insensitive and subjective individual. However, the author allows the reader to be in Holden's mind, giving the audience an alternative perspective of Holden's true character. Without the darkness of Holden's personality, the work would be missing a crucial element. As the protagonist, Holden serves as a duplicitous teenager with whom the reader can identify. The term "false" recurs throughout the novel; Salinger informs the reader, “you will find that you are not the first person who has ever been…disgusted by human behavior.” (189) Initially, Holden is portrayed as an extremely critical individual; however, the reader cannot help but ignore the underlying truth of what Holden observes around him. Overall, Holden is disgusted by the superficial and hypocritical world that is evolving around him. Holden Caulfield meets numerous "fake" people. Many of his acquaintances have traits that make them easily labeled as pretentious, just like Ward Stradlater and Carl Luce. Yet there are other individuals that the common reader would not consider "fake", for example the actors in the play. It portrays the actor as performing more than actually acting and makes him seem conceited. Furthermore, when he converses with other viewers, he also believes that they are superficial in the way they discuss the show. From Holden's quick perception of people, Salinger presents Holden as a hypocritical and disapproving villain. Alternatively, Holden describes people as they really are and wishes the world could be much simpler... middle of paper. The habitual lies of… refer to times when he was hypocritical about his environment. be full of impostors. Salinger provides these little details of deception to further advance Holden's character and the play as a whole. Throughout the novel, JD, Salinger develops Holden's character with numerous situations. Holden makes the reader question his righteousness through the perspective of those around him, his sexual desires, his overall attitude, and his chronic lying. Because Salinger allows the audience to know how situations progress from Holden's point of view, the audience has an alternate side of Holden to evaluate. Without the various traits that Holden exhibits, The Catcher in the Rye would not fully portray Holden as a suffering individual. Therefore, Holden's character is morally ambiguous and crucial to the overall development of the novel.