How Does Holden Caulfield Mature

The world of childhood is sheltered from the corrupt adult world and maturation is a sometimes difficult pathway between the two. The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, is a fictional novel seen through the eyes of sixteen year old Holden Caulfield after he is expelled from Pencey Prep. Holden leaves Pencey two days early to explore New York City before he has to return home. On his excursion, he meets prostitutes, nuns, his old girlfriend, and his sister Phoebe, while traveling around the city contemplating life and his future. Through the varying behaviors of Holden Caulfield, his maturity is shown to be stuck in a limbo between his imminent departure from the childhood world and his fear to move into the world of adults. Holden finds sexual activity intriguing in some situations, but also perverse and immoral. When Holden comes home,
Leaving home and living on his own is an aspiration of Holden’s, but this is made into a child-like fantasy world in his mind. Holden dreams of being a protector over children, a “catcher in the rye”, from the danger of becoming an adult.

Sexual relations appeal to Holden’s maturing mindset, yet he also finds these actions indecent. When Holden first arrives at the Edmont hotel, he looks out his window and watches the people on the other side of the building. He sees people partaking in odd activities such as cross dressing and couple squirting water on each other. Watching these people makes Holden think about his own sexual opinions and desires: “The thing is though, I