Holden Caulfield and Carl Luce: The Catcher in the Rye
In my opinion, neither Holden nor Luce is more mature than the other. They both do more or less the same things that cause them to be immature in comparison to one another, and therefore, the things that they do that prove their maturity are overruled. Luce, in comparison to Holden, merely has a more 'posh' or educated way of speaking and therefore could cause the illusion that he is more educated and more mature than Holden, when in reality their underlying purpose and maturity level is the same. The two merely want to get something out of their conversations, and do not care much about the other person's feelings as long as they get something of value. For example, Holden doesn't mind talking about his personal/sex life, but really doesn't care about most people's lives when they try to talk to him in return, while Luce is the complete opposite – he will go off on a tangent about his own sex life and boast about it, but as soon as he's done, he abandons the people he was talking to and doesn't want to hear another word out of their mouth.
Holden's immaturity is shown when Luce and Holden are talking in the bar, and Luce asks if it is going to be another typical Caulfield conversation, which suggests that Holden has always been like this and will most likely never change. Holden also is rather immature while talking about sex, and jokes around with the topic no matter how much how uncomfortable or comfortable the other person is.
Luce's immaturity is shown when he rejects Holden's attempt to be civil and talk about something serious or give advice, which supports the fact that Luce doesn't care one single bit about anyone else's state of being, and merely wants his story to be listened to because it seems that he believes that he is superior than everyone else because of how he wants them to listen to him obediently and expect to not be listened to in return. Luce also leaves Holden alone as soon as he seems to feel uncomfortable, instead of guiding Holden in