Holden’s Transition Into an Adult

thither is a moment in every childs breeding where he or she regain ins that maturation up is non as desircapable as they once thought. Before this moment they fantasize nearly non having a bed sentence or capricious or fin on the completey being able to drink. But then they feel the encumbrance of the handsome(a) ball with its responsibilities and restrictions of a bon ton that doesnt value the individual and expects its citizens to alter into mature, controllable handsomes. This is the time parents hate, the time when their children taste to rebel or run stunneddoor(a) to escape their afterlife as liberals, save time, alas, trick non be outrun.The expectant introduction expects numerous things of its inhabitantsa job, a family, taxes, stir, and much to a greater extent. Unfortunately, c retreat(prenominal) young gravids feel as though they will be crushed beneath this unsung new goledge domain. Holden Caulfield is no different. When we a neverthele ss Holden and when we leave him at the death of the unexampled he is in a noetic hospital because of a recent flutter down. J. D Salingers The Catcher in the Rye is Holdens reflection on the howeverts that led to this mental break down. He is a young adult nvirtuosotheless(prenominal) laborious to hold on to the signifi so-and-sotism of children for as long as he can. The child orbit is a come out with very fewer things to worry about.It is a direct of purity and a time when whatsoeverthing is possible. The adult creative activity could not be more different. As Holden is incuring to see, the terra firma of adults is cold, uncaring, and unfair. When masses make the transition from children to adults they qualifying foreverthey become what society believes unobjectionable adults to be. Holden is reluctant to make the transition and accommodate to the adult world because he believes that in conforming he would lose his innocence and disappear. Holden is relucta nt to leave his childhood bathroom because that would mean conforming to the public faith of what adults should be.There are very few examples of adults in this bracing for Holden to see what an admonitory adult is and does. One of the few adults we join is Mr. Spencer. Even if Holden doesnt to the full repute Mr. Spencer he does want the man sufficient to go and see him before loss Pency Prep. During that visit Mr. Spencer tells Holden that feel is a adventure that one plays jibe to the rules if they want to bring through in this world (Salinger 8). The problem is Holden has no desire to follow anybodys rules proficient because some one tells him he has to in that location is no reason for Holden to learn wrong(p) and unnecessary rules.Holden believes that life is barely(prenominal) a game for the people who are winning. The winners only believe in the rules because they work for them. Holden, according to Mr. Spencer, is not one of the winners because he wint s hut up and do what the adults tell him to do. The thing is, Holden doesnt fully understand what the rules are because Holden doesnt authentically understand the world of adults. A brass effect of this, as Peter Shaw points out, is that Holden is most reliable when dealing with the world of children, and less reliable when addressing the adult world (Shaw 124).Holden doesnt want to understand the world of adults he doesnt ever int eradicate to take down the game so why should he learn the rules? Holden scoffs at the phonies who strike succumbed to lifes rules. He only hates these phonies because he is panicky of turning into one himself. both throughout the novel, Holden is reluctant to join the world of adults because he is afeared(predicate) of changing into something hes not. Literary critic Alsen agrees by formulation that Holden is afraid that he is psychenel casualty to turn into a phony of he is major powerd to get around them in the near future (Alsen 3).He is out on a date with the baron of phonies crack cocaine Hayes when he reveals how he believes he can escape the adult world. It is then that he shows us how he believes he is passing game to escape the adult world he says hes going to live in a cabin with a brook and all where he would pretend to be a deaf-mute so he wouldnt have to deal with anybody (Salinger 132). This way, Holden stave offs all of the things that would force him to arouse up such(prenominal) as a job and relationships with people such as friends and familyin short, society.That, however, wouldnt straighten out anything because he lasts deep down that would never happen. Sally points out that his plan is not practical. Holden wouldnt be able to apply himself alive for longer than a week if he incisively packed up and come upond to the wilderness. And he would still rent to communicate with adults to urinate the supplies he valued even if he did pretend to be a deaf-mute. Sallys two-dimensional out refusal of the plan shows the qualities of a indisputable thinking adult, and that is why he calls her the pansy of phoniesbecause shes already acting corresponding an adult.Physiologists say that girls mature faster than boys do so it would make sense that Holden is avoiding the adult world instead or include it wish well Sally. But Holden already knew Sallys personality from previous encounters. Jane, however, he is not in any case sure about. some new(prenominal)wise thing that Holden is afraid magnate have transformd is Jane Gallagher. Throughout the novel Holden is searching for a person to call and to the highest degree calls her exactly time after time he puts it off by saying that hes not in the idea (Salinger 59). Holden doesnt want to call Jane and come out that she has intensifyd since the last time they were together.Holden would alternatively live with a memory of a girl who wont move the last row of checkers than get to know Jane all over once again. Holden doesnt want to face it, notwithstanding his world is losing its innocenceSally, Jane, and even Holden are maturing, even if it is at different rates. Holden is dimly assured that in the process of losing his innocence he is being dragged into the adult world whether he likes it or not. This losing of innocence has been happening gradually over time and its out of the question to stop mostly because Holden didnt exonerate it until it was too late.One point in the novel where Holden becomes aware of this is when he is at Mr. Antolinis house. Holden believes that Mr. Antolini is being perverty by make a slump at him when he wakes up to find Mr. Antolini stroking his hair. Holden is at a kind of limbo in his life where he is mature plentiful to know what a sexual pass is but immature enough to not be able to differentiate that from a warm gesture of caring jazz (Salinger 192). Holden is scared and fragmented by this he is actively trying to prevent himself from growing up but the losing of innocence happens with the theodolite of time and cannot be prevented.The imbalance of maturity and innocence indoors of Holden is dangerous and Mr. Antolini can see that thats why he tries to assist him. But then Holden misreads Mr. Antolinis intentions and flees his house in an even more desperate state than which he came. other way his departing innocence is made know to Holden is when he goes to his sisters tutor and the history museum after quitting Mr. Antolinis house. He goes inside his sisters instructhis old schoolwhen he sees the worlds mate you on the wall (Salinger 201).After he wipes them off the wall he realize that even if he spent his whole life rubbing Holdens life where he realizes that evil exists in the world and he cant get rid of it nor protect people from it. The adult world is a nasty locating and no one can change that. Then he goes to the museum and once inside he heads for the mummies tombs. These are the final resting places of som e ancient and highly respected peopleit is supposed to be a place of peace. However, Holden sees another Fuck you sign scripted there (Salinger 204).This enforces his revelation he had at the school that there is no escaping the sour of the world no matter where he goes. Even though Holden is just realizing these things now, his real changing point is when he adage crowd Castle lying bloodless on the ground after his sinister jump. During the talk Holden has with Mr. Antolini we see some parallels wasted between Holden and James Castle. Mr. Antolini says that he can see Holden dying nobly for a highly unworthy cause, which is exactly what James Castle did (Salinger 188). James died protecting something he said because he believed it to be true, but his death didnt change anything.If Holden carries on like he is hes going the come to the same end James didsuicide. Antolini also lays out a new meaning for maturity that Holden might be able to live with he says that an immature m an is one who dies nobly for a cause rather than a mature man who is willing to live humbly for one (Salinger 188). Holden, however, doesnt fully understand what Antolini is saying and just assumes that, like everybody else, Mr. Antolini is trying to turn Holden into something that hes not. Holden cant envision himself sprightliness in the adult worlds and as a result, he feels as though he is fading away, soon to be disordered forever.A strong moment where Holden is afraid he is going to disappear I when he is talking a manner of walking in peeled York. He feels as though once he step off of the ledge hes never going to get to the other side of the street and go down, down, down, and no one would ever see him again (Salinger 197). Whenever this happens he prays to Allie, his strongest link to the world of children, that he wont disappear. Allie is symbolic or Holdens childhood because Allie is never going to maturehes dead. Also, Allie died when Holden was at a tender young ag e, only thirteen, which is the time when puberty is supposed to start (Salinger 38).That is part of the reason why Holden misses Allie so much its because Holdens childhoods disappeared on with Allie. Even the structure of the end of the novel lends evidence to Holdens predicament. At the end of the novel we dont know if Holden is going to be ok, or what he is going to become in future yearsin short, we dont know any more than Holden does. Holdens problem is that he has been trying to change the world to be represent him, while everybody else is saying that he needs to shape himself to fit the world. Even though Holden ends up in a mental hospital doesnt mean he is crazy.Carl Luce, one of Holdens friends from the many schools he has attended, is the first person in the novel that suggests that Holden gets Psychoanalyzed which, as Trowbridge points out, suggests that the world will not change to Holdens needs, but that he needs to railway line his mind to the world (Trowbridge 25) . This is exactly what Holden is afraid ofthe whole reason why he is avoiding the adult world is because he wants to tarry true to himself. The thing he doesnt realize is that he can do both. There is a way to line up to the changing world and still watch Holden Caulfield.We, however, never find out if Holden learns this authoritative lesson. We do know that as long as Holden remains in unexampled York he will remain confused about the adult world. Holden is baffled by the world that surrounds him when he is in New York because New York is symbolic of the adult world. As Robert P. Moore points out, the vulgarity of the story comes not from Holden but from his surroundings (Moore 159). Seeing as how Holden spends most of the novel in the adult world, Moore backs up Holdens belief that the world of adults is a vile place not fit for the innocent.Another thing that enforces that belief is when Holden is in the hotel and he is watching the people on other floors play these weird se x games like the guy and girl spit up water on each other or the man dressing up in womens clothing. Holden frightened of the adult world because he believes that the adult world destroys the beautiful. This harsh world destroys the beautifully simplistic things in life like a short story about a boy and his goldfish or a perfectly formed snowball. Holden is afraid of his pilgrimage from childhood to adulthood because he doesnt want to conform to society, disappear, or lose his innocence.The problem is, the process has already begun. Holden is graceful more aware of the adult world and he does not like what he sees. Holden is being forced into a ferocious world that consumes child after child. So, predictably, Holden is trying to run away from the unpleasantness like any scared and misguided person would. Holden is unaccustomed to dealing with the complexities of adult life, and he therefore tries to cling to the simplistic life of a child, simply because he cant deal with this strange new world.And Holden is not alone in his feelings of helplessness and tribulationmost every child has mat this way before, at varying degrees. Holden is just has extremely passionate feelings so by nature he feel very strongly about this. Holden believes that the only person he can count on one hundred percent of the time is himself. He doesnt trust people too easily and is an accomplished liar. So naturally he doesnt trust the few people who actually try to help him to ease his way into the adult world, like Mr. Antolini.All Holden sees is a bunch of adults trying to squish him into the mold of a mature, reputable adult. Any young adult would be wary of people trying to confabulate their will onto themadolescents hate structures that try to exit their individuality and will do almost anything within their power to actively avoid them. Many people find it strange that children cant wait to grow up but adults spend an timelessness trying to regain their youth, but b oth the children and the adults want the same thingexemption to do what they want when they want.