How Does Holden Become An Adult

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Imagine being stuck between wanting to grow up, but being too scared. Well, in the book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, Holden gets kicked out of boarding school. This pushes him to venture off to NY City and there he is faced with adult challenges. It becomes very apparent throughout the book that Holden wants to become an adult, but doesn't want to lose his childlike innocence. The author expresses the hardships of growing up by attempting adult situations, sex, and saving the youth's innocence. Holden is always trying to show his maturity in this book. He tries to act like an adult, so he won’t be considered a child. For example, Holden goes to a bar and orders a scotch and soda. He says “I ordered a scotch and soda, and told him not to mix it.”(p.69) Obviously, Holden is only a teen and cant drink, but he wants to give off the impression he is older. Also while at the bar he tries to hit on older ladies. He then gets laughed at and turned down. The author is trying to show that although Holden wants to grow up he is still a teen and innocent. He then continues to try and act older by wanting to have sex. …show more content…

Holden hires a prostitute and although he doesn’t go through with it, it is obvious for the reader that its Holden’s attempt at maturing. You can tell Holden looks at sex as an adult thing to do, and is kind of unsure about it. In the quote “sex is something I just don’t understand. I swear to God I don’t”(p.61) it shows Holden’s confusion on the topic. He wants to grow up by getting the prostitute, but shows that he’s not ready to take the leap by following through with sex. Not only does Holden struggle with the path to adulthood within himself, but also for the

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