As you drive up to a red stoplight you stop, and wait for the light to turn green. You then proceed to drive through the intersection. At this moment you must have faith in the people driving who pull up in the other direction to their red light. You have to have faith in them that they will stop, and not continue going, thus hitting you. This is faith.

Holden Caulfield, the main character from Catcher in the Rye, was a confused young man, with a challenge to be a man of faith. Continually throughout the book, Holden refers to �good� actions and idealistic ideas as �phony� and �fake�. He did not believe that any of the actions had true meaning behind them. He believed phony behavior was that of a happy person who always had positive actions with a positive outcome; nothing negative about the way they act. One large example of the dislike of phonies is the school and all the people there. Holden does not like the school primarily because everyone there is a phony. He thinks they always act happy and are positive people. His faith in them was a little to begin with, but after his uncomfortable encounter with a trusted teacher stroking his head, totally dissipates. He also finds fake all the people he meets along the way back home from school, including the people at the hotels, bars, on the street, and at the movies.

In the beginning, he had not the mature mind to realize that that the whole world is not made up of �fake� and �phony� people. However, as time went on, he began to accept a couple people as not fake. For instance when he was with Jane and she began to cry on the porch, he felt pity for her, understanding the sadness in her heart. Not once while with her did he think she was fake, or ever lose faith in her. This time he was the one acting positively and lovingly, characteristics which he assumed only belonged to phony people. This is a testament to Holden�s faith in himself. Holden�s sister Phoebe was another person who Holden felt was not fake. Just like Jane, she had a good, positive relationship with Holden. However, unlike Jane, Phoebe provided Holden with love and support, as she tried to help him overcome the loneliness he acquired as a result of labeling the world as �fake� and �phony�.

Regardless of the faith-filled instances with Phoebe and Jane, these are only Holden�s outlying characteristics. His lack of faith in many more people much more often heavily outweighs these two small instances with faith.