Catcher in the Rye - The Adolescent Holden

It is depressing to Holden that adults are willing to act as someone they're not in order to fit in with society. Because Holden observes individualism in most children, he fears that they will eventually become conformists to society as well.
             Additionally, Holden feels that adults are unable to experience the true meaning of friendship and intimacy because they allow materialistic things such as money and status interfere. He feels that when one is a child, they are unadulterated and oblivious to the world that surrounds them. As they grow into adulthood, they lose who they really are to the many distractions of society. Therefore, Holden fears the idea of children sacrificing the experience of true friendship in exchange for money. Holden proves how this interferes with relationships when he describes how his "bourgeois " bags ruined his friendship with Dick Slagle. Holden states:.
             The thing is, it's really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs "if yours are really good ones and theirs aren't. You think if they're intelligent and all, the other person, and have a good sense of humor, that they don't give a damn whose suitcases are better, but they do (Sallinger 109). .
             For Holden, the true meaning of friendship consists of humor and companionship. He finds it disappointing that his socio-economic status interferes with what had potential to be a great friendship. Moreover, Holden conveys how money interferes with companionship when Pheobe gives him all of her Christmas savings. Because Pheobe is just a child and she gives him her only money, Holden feels a sense of guilt and shame, stating, "Then all of a sudden, I started to cry. I couldn't help it " (Sallinger 179). Holden's inability to pay for his own taxi causes him to feel inferior to his little sister and therefore crestfallen. It is depressing to Holden that money caused him to question his position as a big brother.