Holden's Maturity In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

prostitutes youth, she is already corrupted. By having sex with her, he wouldn't be taking her innocence he would be taking his own which he is unable to do. Moreover, Holden shows his immaturity by not taking responsibility for losing the equipment and by characterizing everyone he meets as a phony. At the same time, he shows an obsession with innocence in others. Holden tells Phoebe his dream job would be the catcher in the rye, catching children before they fall off the cliff. Metaphorically, he wants to save children from being corrupted and entering the adult world. Nevertheless, by the end of the book he realizes that its impossible to stay a child forever. On account of this, he decides to not enter the museum or ride the carousel. These actions show that he has come to terms with his own maturation into adulthood. Similarly, Holden also accepts that all children will lose their innocence when he lets Phoebe and the other children reach for the gold ring despite this putting them in danger of falling. …show more content…
Although like Holden he begins relatively innocent and immature he progresses and gains maturity through his experience in the adult world. For instance, when he decides not to turn Jim in, despite the morals he was taught by society he shows maturity. Similarly, when he realizes the Duke and the Prince are frauds and decides not to tell Jim he is demonstrating not only maturity but also a loss of innocence. Throughout his adventures, Huck comes face to face with the evils of the adult world, and each time he reverts back to the river and the world of innocence and childhood. In the end, instead of accepting the inevitability of growing up and accepting society Huck rejects civility and choses to "light out for the territory ahead". In other words, he decides to continue running away from society in an attempt to hold on to his