Is Holden more boy or man in this novel?.
The Catcher in the Rye is a novel that deals with a troubled boy named Holden Caulfield. He tells the story from a mental asylum, of how he is never applying himself and getting kicked out of schools. The book deals with many of Holden's problems including depression, individuality, deception, but mainly maturity. .
Holden seemed very intellectual through out the book, even though Pencey was the fourth school he had attended and flunked out of. It was obvious Holden had problems from the beginning of the book but he was such a peculiar character that never handled his emotions, so it was hard to distinguish what was really wrong with him. At the beginning of the book it seemed as though he was too mature for his age, almost like a disgruntled old man. His thoughts seemed simple and understandable which was how he wished his life was. But as the story unfolds, the reader begins to realize that Holden was only trying to avoid maturity and becoming a man.
Holden hides from his adulthood by getting kicked out of school, he wants to be isolated because he hates every thing that surrounds him, but in actuality he does not want to face his fears. Holden loathes phonies, and that is, in his opinion what every adult will become. To Holden phonies are one of the many things that are wrong in his world, and he is too busy making him self aware of the phoniness that surrounds him rather than realizing the phoniness within himself. Holden lied constantly and randomly which is the worst form of deception because he did not notice how his behavior was reflecting the people in his life. .
Holden seems to keep himself trapped within his fantasy world, in which he can do anything he wants with out the challenges or pain of the real world. It was only after his brother Allie's death, that Holden feared change. He made it clear with his comments about the Museum and how it was so peaceful and nice there, due to how the atmosphere was forever the same.