Immaturity In Catcher In The Rye

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Confused on how to get a girlfriend? No need to fear, Holden Caulfield is here. The Catcher in the Rye is a coming-of-age fiction novel written by J.D. Salinger. Set around the 1950s, The Catcher in the Rye is told through the perspective of the main protagonist, Holden Caulfield. As the novel progresses, Holden is immediately introduced as the confused, lonely teenager that struggles to acquire a decent education and life. Just some of Holden’s indecencies toward his female peers include his immaturity and confusion towards sex and sexual relationships, his difference in opinion towards Jane, as well as his desperate attempts towards trying to become closer with Sally.
A clear example in which Holden is seen as someone who is confused
…show more content…
As they were watching a play, Sally had greeted someone who she had met before, Holden’s reaction to their ongoing conversation was, “He didn’t hesitate to horn in on my date, the bastard” (142). Again, despite the enormous amount of jealousy Holden feels towards George and Sally, he isn’t able to confront Sally and tell her that. As the date had progressed, Holden began opening up to her, telling her his true feelings about school and about boys. However, he takes an extremely demanding approach by asking Sally to run away with and live together with him. When Sally had refused his offer, Holden responds back impulsively, saying, “Why not? Why the hell not?.. I’d get a job. Don’t worry about that. You don’t have to worry about that. What’s the matter?” (147). Before Holden had knew it, his date with Sally had been ruined. Making such a proposal had pressured Sally, making her confused and emotional. Holden had really messed up his date after saying, “You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth” (148). Holden, without good reason had said something thoughtless that could have ended a relationship entirely. Not only is Holden clearly confused sexually, he also is not able to continue a relationship without hastily screwing something

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