Holden's Maturity In Catcher In The Rye

From the start of his story to the end, Holden Caulfield frequently acknowledged his lack of mental maturity. However, because of this immaturity, events he experienced developed him greatly. The most pivotal moment took place when Holden was talking to his little sister about what he’d like to be: “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around--nobody big, I mean--except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff--I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day.” (Salinger
He often referred to his younger brother Allie and his sister Phoebe, specifically mentioning the hospitality with which they treated Holden. Phoebe’s kindness, in part, is why Holden made such an effort to visit their apartment after getting kicked out of school. He might have seen children as a safe haven from his perceived harshness of the world, which would explain why Holden was at ease whenever he spent time with them. On the contrary, he was tense and anxious whenever he was with adults. As expected from the strong relationship he had with his younger brother, Holden experienced a large amount of loss after Allie died: “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it.” (Salinger 44). The experience was likely the start to Holden’s disconnection with reality, as it was decimating for him; it is plausible that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder because of this. His parents likely worsened his issue was by sending him off to a boarding school instead of dealing with his emotions at home. Holden’s extensive idealization of children was because of his belief that all kids are pure, mostly due to his past experiences with his younger siblings. Holden wants to take on the unrealistic profession of being the ‘Catcher in the Rye’, because he wants to preserve the purity he sees. The circumstances
In many instances, the interaction he had with adults was largely negative. This may have partly been Holden’s fault, as he was uncooperative at times. For example, after the prostitute left his hotel room, the girl and the elevator man came back to collect an extra five dollars. Beforehand, the elevator man had informed Holden that the fee was only five dollars; to avoid losing money, Holden refused the request for the additional five dollars. The girl eventually took the due cash out of Holden’s wallet, and the elevator man took out his anger on Holden: “Then he smacked me. I didn't even try to get out of the way or duck or anything. All I felt was this terrific punch in my stomach.” (Salinger 115). In a separate instance, Holden spotted and hung out with a group of women, one of which he found attractive. Hoping to woo the lady, he convinced her to dance, and decided by the end of the dancing that he was “half in love with her,” just from watching her. Perhaps Holden thought of the woman in this way because of his lack of extensive, or even basic, human connection. His parents hardly spoke to him, many of his conversations were short-lived, and he did not have many, if any, real friends. Additionally, he no longer attended school, and consequently did not have any peers or a roommate to talk to. The group of four smoked and drank, as Holden tried to act mature despite an obvious age