John McNaughton, a famous director, says, “Maturity begins to grow when you can sense your concern for others outweighing your concern for yourself.” When a person can put others well-being and needs over their own, it shows they are responsible, self-sufficient, and highly mature. However, achieving the mature “status” can be difficult for some teenagers, including Holden Caulfield, the sixteen year old protagonist of the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. Throughout the novel, it is evident that Holden detests the reality of growing up and becoming an adult because he feels adulthood depreciates the values of innocence and virtue in children. On the contrary, maturity comes easily to certain children like Jeanette Walls, …show more content…
the main character and author of the memoir “A Glass Castle”. Jeanette is a four year old innocent, fun-loving girl who thinks it is impossible for her father to mess up and make big mistakes in life. Progressively throughout the book, more-so when she is in her pre-teens, she is able to see how ludicrous her family really is. Sooner than later, Jeanette realizes the reality that she has to grow up and learn to be self-sufficient in order to help her family, and she becomes successful as a result of this. Holden Caulfield from “The Catcher in the Rye” desires to be “forever young”, whereas Jeanette Walls in “A Glass Castle” is seeking ambition and opportunity as she matures throughout her life. Holden has many people in his life who are willing to help him succeed, but he fails to appreciate their kind gestures and reacts rudely and immaturely.
In chapter two Holden pays a visit to Old Spencer, his sickly history teacher. They converse about Holden’s grades and Old Spencer says, “I’d like to help you. I’m trying to help you, if I can” (Salinger 14). Old Spencer is a kindhearted man who just wants to help Holden pass his class and furthermore all of his classes since he heard the news that Holden failed out of Pency Prep. Holden is very disinterested in what Old Spencer has to say, so he tells Old Spencer he has to stop by the gym to pick up his equipment and leaves Old Spencer’s house. In the beginning of the next chapter, Holden tells the reader, “I’M THE MOST terrific liar you ever saw in your life…” (Salinger 16). This is apparent because instead of picking up equipment at the gym, he walks back to his dorm. However, Old Spencer is not the only man to give Holden advice and offer his assistance. Mr. Antolini, Holden’s English teacher, did as well later on in the book. Mr. Antolini writes down a quote on a piece of paper and advises Holden to keep it. The quote reads, “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die for a cause while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one” (Salinger 188). Holden’s greed and immaturity gets into the way of him noticing that people go out of their way to help him and genuinely care for
him.
Immaturity of Holden in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden, cannot accept that he must move out of childhood and into adulthood. One of Holden’s most important major problems is his lack of maturity.
After many years of ideas coming and going, one that seems to stay the same is the thoughts of tennagers. In the book The Catcher In The Rye written by J.D Salinger many can still relate to Holden’s story even after a 76 year difference. While exploring the city around him Holden takes the time to try to find himself on a deeper level and try to grasp how growing up really makes him feel. Given the fact that everyone is unique in among themselves the need for self satisfaction is always current meaning many run from the true responsibilities that come with age.
Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.
Growing up is not easy. The desire to slow down or stop the process is not unusual for adolescents. Resisting adulthood causes those who try to run away from it to eventually come to terms with the reality of life: everyone has to grow up, and fighting against it makes it much harder to accept in the end. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield often tries to resist the process of maturity in an effort to avoid the complicated life he might face as an adult, making him an unusual protagonist for a bildungsroman; this struggle, however, opens Holden’s eyes to the reality and inevitability of growing up, helping him realize that innocence does not last forever.
The transition from a teen to an adult is one of the major steps in life. This major transition can be really scary. Some people are so scared of becoming an adult, that they try to keep their inner child alive. One person in the book The Catcher in the Rye is Holden Caulfield, Holden is the main character in the novel written by J.D. Salinger. A prominent theme in his novel, The Catcher in the Rye is the painfulness of growing up. As this theme is going on through the novel, Salinger weaves in symbols that Holden happens to use and talk about throughout the novel.
Innocence lies within everyone in at least one point in their lives, but as reality consumes them, that purity begins to vanish slowly as they learn new experiences. In the coming of age novel set in the nineteen-forties, J.D Salinger writes about a sixteen-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield who stands between a road that separates childhood from adulthood and is confused about which path to take. On a three-day trip in New York away from his family and fellow peers at school, Holden encounters many situations in which lead him to think twice about who he wants to become and how he wants to guide others who are in the same situation he is in. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger utilizes symbolism, vivid imagery, and slangy diction to expose Holden’s struggle to preserve the innocence of the people that he loves while alienating himself from the adult world he calls “phony.”
Playwright Tom Stoppard wrote, "If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older." Youth live in a carefree world constantly surrounded by people looking out for them. As they grow older, they are given more responsibilities, and finally, the weight of the world is placed on their shoulders. Some people are able to wean themselves from childhood more easily than others. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield struggles with the difficulties of the adult world. Due to this clash of identities, Holden simultaneously plays the dual role of adult and child.
Holden Caulfield is the protagonist in the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”. In the book Holden hears a quote “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he want to live humbly for one” (Salinger 188) which he embraces as he matures throughout the story. Holden’s opinions of childhood and adulthood change as he grows through experience.
It takes many experiences in order for an immature child to become a responsible, well-rounded adult. In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s main character Holden Caulfield matures throughout the course of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Holden is a juvenile young man. However, through his experiences, Holden is able to learn, and is finally able to become somewhat mature by the end of the novel. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s story represents a coming of age for all young adults.
There is a certain process that every human being on the planet has in common. Not everyone can say it is a pleasing experience, but nobody can deny that it happened to them. ‘Growing up’ happens to everyone one whether they like it or not. The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood is long and confusing, which often reveals questions that can never be answered. The novel Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger explores how the adult life has its complexities and can be very puzzling to teenagers starting that phase in their lives. The main character Holden Caulfield realizes the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenges of adapting to an adult society. The catcher in the rye shows the inevitable loss of innocence
Growing up and becoming mature can be an intimidating experience; it is difficult to let go of one’s childhood and embrace the adult world. For some people, this transition from youthfulness to maturity can be much more difficult than for others. These people often try to hold on to their childhood as long as they can. Unfortunately, life is not so simple. One cannot spend their entire life running from the responsibilities and hardships of adulthood because they will eventually have to accept the fact that they have a role in society that they must fulfill as a responsible, mature individual. The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger follows the endeavours of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy who faces a point in his life where he must make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In an attempt to retain his own childhood, he begins hoping to stop other young children from growing up and losing their innocence as well. As indicated by the title, “The Catcher in the Rye” is a book that explores a theme involving the preservation of innocence, especially of children. It is a story about a boy who is far too hesitant to grow up, and feels the need to ensure that no one else around him has to grow up either. His own fear of maturity and growing up is what leads to Holden’s desire to become a “catcher in the rye” so he can save innocent children from becoming part of the “phoniness” of the adult world.
There is one event that unites all human beings. This event is the process of growing up and becoming an adult. The transition into adulthood from childhood can be very long and confusing. As a kid most of them can not wait to become an adult but once you experience adulthood you miss your childhood. The novel Catcher in the Rye shows how a teenager on the break of entering adulthood can get scared. Through the main protagonist Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger captures the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenge of adapting to an adult society. Holden is faced with many problems as some teens
There is a singular event that unites every single human being on the planet, growing up. Not everyone can say it was pleasant, but no one can deny that it took place. The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood is long and confusing; often forcing one to seek out the answers to questions that likely have no definitive answer. During the process, the adult world seems inviting and free, but only when we are on the brink of entering this cruel, unjust society can the ignorant bliss of childhood be truly recognized. Catcher in the Rye explores the intimidating complexities associated with adulthood and how baffling it seems to the naïve teenage mind. Through the main protagonist, Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger captures the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenge of adapting to an adult society.
When do you think people mature? In the novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger’s, the main character Holden Caulfield goes through a series of emotional events but remains as immature as he was at the beginning of the novel. Majority of teenagers become responsible and more mature people. Holden goes through many events that cause stress and burdens and instead of coming out more mature and grown up, he still has the same childish views on life. Throughout the whole novel, Holden fantasizes about killing people, he views on sex remain confused, and he does not think out his actions.
In the coming of age novel, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year old boy who never wants to grow up. Holden surrounds himself with objects and concepts to prevent change and keep the chaotic, responsibility filled adult world at bay. Through the use of these symbols he manages to fabricate an oversimplified, naive fantasy of the world.