What is adulthood? Biologically adulthood is after a person hits puberty, yet politically it is the day one turns 18 and their parents no longer are responsible for their care. However, none of these really describe adulthood. The novel, Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger is about a rebellious prep-school teenager trying to navigate into the life of a mature adult. Like adulthood, Holden struggles to find what maturity really is. He struggles to realize that maturity is not something that just hits you, it is not a moment that you look back and say “that was the day I became mature”, no maturity is something you work for and that can and will fade in and out based on decisions. Holden’s inability to understand maturity lead to him acting
…show more content…
Although Holden runs through schools like girls run through mascara, he always seems to find a connection with one of his teachers. At Pencey, Mr. Spencer happens to be that teacher. When Holden goes to visit old Spencer before heading home, he notices that Mr. Spencer is rather ill, his room filled with medicine bottles, and to Holden that sounds like an awful way to live and he cannot even fathom “what the heck he was still living for” (10). However, it is not just people Holden knows that can scare him away from adulthood, it is also random people that he meets along his journey. While Holden met several people, there was one in particular that caught his eye, a bellboy. But, this was not any bellboy this was an older guy, who creeped Holden out so much he was “more depressing than the room” (80). Surprisingly, it was not just others actions that scared Holden away from maturity and adulthood, it was also his own thoughts and desires. Holden is a boy that wants to go on adventures, explore the world and not be confined to a cubicle all of his life. Unfourtantley Holden feels that “there [won’t] be marvelous places to go after [he] goes to college” (172). Now, it is little more understandable that Holden acts so immature because nobody wants to live a miserable life and Holden relates the idea of spontaneous and horsing around with the life someone
Although Holden runs through schools like girls run through mascara, he always seems to find a connection with one of his teachers. At Pencey, Mr. Spencer happens to be that teacher. When Holden goes to visit old Spencer before heading home, he notices that Mr. Spencer is rather ill, his room filled with medicine bottles, and to Holden that sounds like an awful way to live and he cannot even fathom “what the heck he was still living for” (10). However, it is not just people Holden knows that can scare him away from adulthood, it is also random people that he meets along his journey. While Holden met several people, there was one in particular that caught his eye, a bellboy. But, this was not any bellboy this was an older guy, who creeped Holden out so much he was “more depressing than the room” (80). Surprisingly, it was not just others actions that scared Holden away from maturity and adulthood, it was also his own thoughts and desires. Holden is a boy that wants to go on adventures, explore the world and not be confined to a cubicle all of his life. Unfourtantley Holden feels that “there [won’t] be marvelous places to go after [he] goes to college” (172). Now, it is little more understandable that Holden acts so immature because nobody wants to live a miserable life and Holden relates the idea of spontaneous and horsing around with the life someone