The color of his hair, half gray and half brown, symbolizes the struggle he faces between childhood and adulthood.
Adulthood is what Holden strives to stay away from. He resents the adult world and resists entry into it, but he has little choice. Holden also believes that adulthood crosses the line that separates innocence from experience. Everywhere he goes he is constantly pushed into adulthood. He confronts marriage and sex. He has strong interest for sex, but doesn't want to proceed to having any kind of sexual intercourse. His body longs for things usually achieved by adults, and Holden tries to fight this off by acting like a child.
Holden's childlike behavior also reveals his romantic side. Holden is a dreamer, often fantasizing the things he strongly believes. The first example is the report he writes for Stradlater. He writes his report on Allie's baseball mitt which shows that Holden has a poetic imagination. Following this, he gets into a scuffle with his Stradlater which fascinates him: "You never saw such gore in your life It partly scared me and it partly fascinated me. All that blood and all sort of made me look tough. I'd only been in about two fights in my life, and I lost both of them. I'm not too tough. I'm a pacifist, if you want to know the truth. (pg. 45-46)" Holden also vamps into a tough guy fantasy when he gets roughened up by Maurice. He fantasizes about being shot and seeks revenge. "About halfway to the bathroom, I sort of stared pretending I had a bullet in my guts. Old Maurice had plugged me. (pg. 104)" Holden also expresses his imaginations through the lies that he tells. Often making up names for himself when talking to other people. His interest for the book The Great Gatsby shows that he is a romantic because he admires the romantic character James Gatsby. Holden's fantasies help him deal with physical brutalities. Holden's fantasies also connect to his feelings towards realists.
Homers strugle to fulfill his role as a father A. ... (Dembski 1) Homer reminds me of lazy, uneducated, dishonest, easy-going-through-life people, whom I have met in my own life. ... Burns Life; naturally Homer also expects to reap great rewards doing it. ... In conclusion, "The Simpsons has become a huge part of American life..."...
