Examples Of Maturation In Catcher In The Rye

In J.D. Salinger's A Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield battles with growing up and maturing from a boy into a man. Holden struggles with the idea of children growing up and whether or not they should be sheltered. He also struggles with facing his problem of depression, rather than running from it. Holden matures when he realizes children cannot be protected, and he cannot keep running from his problems.
Holden shows signs of maturation when he realizes that kids cannot be protected from growing up and the possibility of failure. When Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to be when he is older, Holden responds: "I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye… I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What