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Maturity In Catcher In The Rye

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Throughout the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, adolescents were expected to seek extremely particular paths in life, as a great deal of a teenager’s life would have already been outlined by society. Due to these stringent circumstances, many teens would purposely distance themselves from cultural norms, silently and actively rebelling by evading the traditional ways life while concurrently devising their own. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger utilizes symbolism to characterize Holden as a childish teenager who struggles to grasp the concept of maturity, despite it being a necessity. However, this is quite ironic on several levels. Most notably, he revels in many impure actions during his journey (e.g. drinking and hiring prostitutes), …show more content…

His immaturity is further emphasized when Mr. Spencer inquires if he even bothers to have foresight, asking, “Do you feel absolutely no concern for your future, boy” (17)? Holden makes a swift retort with repetition, seemingly without absolve, “Sure I do” and “But not too much, I guess. Not too much, I guess” (17). At this stage, Holden is still not ready to admit his faults or even realize that flunking out of school may cost him colossal setbacks in life, rather imagining juvenile events than anticipating his consequences. Immediately following the arrival at his dorm, Holden for the first time puts on his famed red hunting hat, which he buys after he abandons the fencing team’s equipment in the subway. Although the entire team blacklists him on the way back home, Holden still conducts his behavior like the blunder wasn’t his liability. The fashion that he proceeds in after his transgression additionally exhibits his youthful ethos. However, Holden still displays some remorse by purchasing the hat, utilizing it to shield his naive and brittle mentality. After returning to his dorm, Stradlater requests Holden to write a composition, stating, “Anything. Anything descriptive. A room. Or a house. Or something you once lived in or something.” (33) Holden

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