Holden Caulfield Maturity

“This is someone you want to hang around, this sixteen year old with radar vision. Yet this is also the first glimpse of a boy who is disconnected, onely, confused. Rather than sitting in the stadium with a date on his arm, he is by himself and without a clear idea of whether he could, or wants to, fit in” (Wesner 37).
Holden Caufield must find his place in the world as he grows up from a child to an adult. In the beginning of the novel, Holden remains stuck in a state of paralysis as an innocent child, and he must grow up in order to break this state. Struggling with maturity, Holden leaves his own world and begins to associate with the outside world. Consequently, Holden makes many blunders and irrational decisions as he creates contact

558).
The carrousel makes Holden very happy because it represents purity and innocence. Since he matured, he also realizes that this state of purity cannot last forever in life. He notices not only must the carrousel’s innocence break, but his must also break too. This ending in the novel expresses Holden’s thoughts about life have changed as he matured. Holden’s maturity displays his escape from the state of paralysis as an innocent child unexposed to the real

“Holden flees in panic when he awakes to find Antolini patting his head, a gesture Holden interprets as “perverted”, though he later regrets this precipitous flight when he remembers Antolini’s kindness. This betrayal of trust contributes further to Holden’s overwhelming sense of depression and alienation” (Rollins 6). Holden feels uncomfortable when any person tries to connect with him emotionally. Since he always lives in his own world, the action of someone trying to join makes him hostile. He fails to trust anyone, especially people he does not know very well, because people constantly ignore him. “And his wearing it backwards suggest not only his defiant withdrawal from his teammates, but more generally, his basically recessive tendencies” (Vanderbilt 297). Holden chooses to wear his hat backwards because he does not want to be apart of the normal kids. For once, Holden chooses to escape his comfort zone, but he further isolates himself from his peers by doing so. He also chooses to act different because the thought of his classmates shunning him scares Holden. He feels more comfortable being by himself so he does not have to worry about what other people think about him. “Well—take me to Edmont then,’ I said. ‘Would you care to stop on the way and join me for a cocktail? On me, I’m loaded’” (Salinger 9). As Holden adventures into the real world and matures