Examples Of Maturity In Catcher In The Rye

Additionally, Holden is constantly looking for answers to where the ducks go when not at the lagoon. For instance, “Do you happen to know where they go, the ducks when it gets all frozen over?” (Salinger 60). Holden’s concern for where the ducks go proves his anxiety and Holden feels he lacks anywhere safe to head to go in the world. Holden shows a growing ability to adapt to adult life. He also says people cannot rely on others to help them and sometimes people just have to do things without the assistance of others. Furthermore, part of growing up is to be able to go the distance for one’s own self. The ducks represent the Holden’s journey toward maturity because, throughout the novel, we see his journey see what he should do after his life after being kicked out of the school. The ducks symbolize Holden’s maturity has better and they symbolize the process of learning how to deal with his fear of becoming an adult. They show what would happen to Holden- being taken off by the zookeepers or fly away on his own. However, Holden is immature about admitting that he needs help because he cannot see how his behavior is, but he would rather live in the unknown place alone in New York City and refuses to admit that he needs protection from his parents. After speculating around and observing others, he goes to the Central Park to find the answer about “ducks”. Another example is, “… Then, finally, I found it. What it was, it was partly frozen… damn near fell in once, in fact- but

Holden is reluctant to enter adulthood because he cherishes his childhood. Through the course of the book, Holden unknowingly symbolizes the ducks in the Central park pond as the two worlds, adulthood and childhood. Holden remarks, “I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over. I wondered if some guy came in a truck and took them away to a zoo or something,” he continues, “Or if they just flew away” (13). Holden is unsure whether or not to enter adulthood. When Holden is writing the essay for Ackley and chooses the topic of his death brother, Allie, Holden describes his fondness of Allie: “God, he was a nice kid though” (38). Holden treasures his childhood since his brother was part of it. Holden does not want to enter adulthood because he reminisces his childhood.

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.

When we grow up we’re raised to do our best and to be mature. People know their right from wrongs. Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye by, J.D. Salinger the main character goes through a difficult life and time growing up. Growing up too fast is not the answer for everything. The main character Holden Caulfield is a misfit because he is very dramatic, he avoids facing things, and he shows reckless behavior.

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 only one experience that unites every single person in the world. Many people in the world can agree that it isn’t always the greatest experience, and many people have an extremely hard time getting through it, but every single adult goes through the act of ‘growing up’. For many, the transition can be very depressing, and confusing. When a child is young becoming an adult seems to be enjoyable and exciting, but it isn’t until that child is forced into the cruel, harsh world where the innocence of childhood can be appreciated and missed. The novel Catcher in the Rye explores how teenagers who are nearing adulthood see the adult world to be incomprehensible. J.D Salinger illustrates the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenge of transitioning into adulthood using Holden Caulfield.

The resistance of maturity and adulthood is greatly expressed throughout the novel. “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. Both fear and trauma created during past events can cause a delay or rejection in maturity. Holden is unable to let go of his past and is constantly trying to live in a memory, this causes him to want to stay with his childhood and never transition into adulthood Holden’s fear of adulthood causes him isolate himself from society in order to preserve his inner child innocence. Furthermore, Holden’s resistance of maturity, also leads him to constantly wanting to protect innocence. Lastly, Holden’s inability step out of his immaturity leads him to act impulsively and self-deceive. All these actions and thoughts are signs of immaturity and are the outcome of a fear and trauma that occurred in the past.

There is an only event that unites every single human being on the nature. Not everyone can say it is a pleasant experience, but no one can deny that it happened. This single event is labelled ‘growing up’. The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood is long and confusing, often uncovering questions that cannot be answered. During this time the adult world seems inviting and free, but only when we become members of a cruel, society can the happy ignorance of childhood be appreciated and missed. The novel Catcher in the Rye examines how adult life appears complex and incomprehensible to teenagers on the brink of entering it. Through the main protagonist Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger captures the confusion of a teenager when faced

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield, a seventeen-year-old boy, transitions from childhood to adulthood. The death of Holden’s little brother signifies the beginning his loss of innocence and growth of maturity. As he enters adulthood, Holden views society differently from his peers by characterizing most of his peers and adults he meets as “phonies.” Thus, Holden takes the impossible challenge of preserving the innocence in children because he wants to prevent children from experiencing the corruption in society. The Catcher In The Rye embodies Holden’s struggle to preserve the innocence of children and reveals the inevitability of and the necessity of encountering the harsh realities of life.

The ducks are first brought to the reader’s attention while Holden is visiting his teacher, Mr. Spencer, regarding his removal from Pencey. While conversing with Mr. Spencer, however, Holden’s mind drifts elsewhere. His mind drifts back to New York as he wonders to himself if the lagoon in Central Park is frozen over, and if so, where do the ducks go? A direct parallel can be drawn from the ducks in the lagoon to Holden’s present situation. He is mandated to leave Pencey, but has no idea where he belongs after leaving. Just like the ducks in the lagoon, “Holden is essentially homeless, frozen out” (Trowbridge par. 1). Holden’s life has not been filled with an abundance of stability and now what little he had is gone, albeit due to faults of his own, and he sees an unsure and hazy future. Holden inquires about the state of the ducks to the driver of the first cab he catches in New York, and the driver believes that he is kidding. Later on, he asks another cab driver if somebody came around “in a truck or something to take them away” or if they flew away “by themselves” (Salinger 81-82). Knowing what happens to these ducks, knowing that they are safe and secure even though the lagoon is frozen would provide Holden with a sense of comfort about his current state of affairs. What seems to be a ridiculous and meaningless question to the

The resistance of maturity and adulthood is greatly expressed throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye. J.D. Salinger describes the events of an adolescent and his inability to escape the difficulties of his past causing a delay in maturity. Both fear and trauma created during past events caused a delay or rejection in maturity. Holden is unable to move on from his past and is constantly trying to live in a memory. This causes him to want to stay with his childhood and resist transitioning into adulthood. Holden’s fear of adulthood causes him isolate himself from society in order to preserve and protect his childhood innocence. Lastly, Holden’s inability step out of his immaturity

No matter what time period they are in teenagers have struggled with the in between feeling of whether or not they are mature enough to make their own choices, and whether or not their parents and peers believe they are mature. In the Catcher in the Rye JD Salinger, demonstrates this feeling that many teenagers experience through Holden’s life and his maturity. Although just like with real life, readers have different opinions about Holden’s maturity and ability to make decisions. JD Salinger shows how Holden is too immature to make his own decisions because of his impetuous personality and his feeling of needing to act his age and be mature.

Everyone is innocent and pure during their youth, it is only when they begin to age into adulthood where they become corrupt and unscrupulous. In this coming of age fiction titled The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Salinger shows through the character of Holden Caulfield the jarring life of a depressed teenager trying to find his way. Having the trait of innocence is something everyone has while they are young, but change is inevitable, happening in mental ways rather than physical ways. Holden’s mental need for innocence is displayed when Holden is angered after he sees that, “Somebody’d written ‘Fuck You’ on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy” (221).

Although he is observant and quick to make judgments, Holden fails to socially interact with others and completely understand the situations occurring in his environment. In New York, Holden continuously wonders where the ducks in the Central Park lagoon go during the winter. The ducks can be seen as a parallel to Holden’s life itself. Similar to the ducks who are left with nowhere to move as the pond freezes over, Holden runs away from school in order to escape the pressure of change surrounding him. Isolated in New York with no one to seek comfort in, Holden’s anxiety increases and he repeatedly seeks for the answer to the location of the ducks. In an attempt to find comfort in the city, Holden repeatedly ask two drivers his query about the ducks, even trying to befriend one of the strangers by asking him to drink. In the moment, it seems like a crazy and immature request, but as a whole represents Holden’s desperate search to find a place of belonging in the world. Longing for companionship, the ducks provide a sense of comfort to Holden who feels the need to “see what the hell [they] were doing.” After enduring many hardships such as being robbed of his money and having no place to sleep, Holden’s mental state worsens. In a final attempt to understand his place in the world, Holden returns to the “partly frozen and partly not frozen” lagoon and becomes disappointed when

When Holden is taking a cab to a hotel, he asks the cab driver if he “know[s] those ducks in [the] lagoon right near Central Park South?” and if “By any chance, [he] happen[s] to know where…the ducks [go] when it gets all frozen over?” (Salinger 60). Holden is frightened by change and disappearance, as he wants to continue being young. Holden is worried about where the ducks go because he is scared that he too will have to leave soon, since he must grow up and enter his life of adulthood. As Holden drunkenly walks the streets of New York, he finds “[the lagoon]…partly frozen and partly not frozen” and although he “walked all around the whole damn lake…[he] didn’t see a single duck” (Salinger 154). Holden desperately wants to find a duck still at the lake so that he could hold on to his hope that he doesn’t have to grow up. Instead, Holden finds the lake “partly frozen and partly not frozen”, which signifies the current state of the transition he’s in, between childhood and adulthood. The ducks in the lagoon symbolize that Holden cannot remain a child forever, and that he must accept change and no longer be afraid to grow