Holden's Immature In Catcher In The Rye
Christopher Lee 1/6/16
In the first few opening chapters of, Catcher In The Rye, we can conclude that Holden is a very immature character through his actions and the expression of his thoughts. We can see immaturity in him because he usually lies and calls other people phonies when he himself is a phony as well. Through the use of diction and detail, Salinger is able to delineate and hint at the immature personality in Holden. Salinger is able to portray Holden as an immature character by using diction in the book Catcher In The Rye. “Goddam” is an informal word Holden chooses to use in a few situations of the book. For example, on pg 1 Holden says that, “I’m not going to tell you my whole goddam biography or anything” …show more content…
Holden shows his immaturity in many ways. His attempts to do things that a boy his age should not be doing, such as hiring prostitutes, lying to Ernest’s mother and other people, cursing and using informal language, and walking in the streets of manhattan alone, shows both his immaturity and how he does not think before he acts or says stuff. In addition Holden describes people he hates as phonies when actually Holden is the one who isn’t genuine and sincere to others. For example, when he talks with Ernest’s mother he lies about his name and says his name is Rudolf and when he calls the prostitute and assures the women he is old enough to drink and “do it” just because he has gray hair. The fact that he is not sincere in these situations, but criticizes others for being phonies shows he is too immature to notice that he is a phony himself. Another reason why Holden can be considered immature is that Holden always has a negative perspective of life which only makes things worse than they really are and the fact that Holden can’t accept his brother’s death. This shows that Holden’s immaturity, negative mentality, and inability to face reality prevents Holden from moving into adulthood. Overall, Salinger uses detail to portray an immature voice into Holden by the actions and thoughts of Holden throughout the
In the first few opening chapters of, Catcher In The Rye, we can conclude that Holden is a very immature character through his actions and the expression of his thoughts. We can see immaturity in him because he usually lies and calls other people phonies when he himself is a phony as well. Through the use of diction and detail, Salinger is able to delineate and hint at the immature personality in Holden. Salinger is able to portray Holden as an immature character by using diction in the book Catcher In The Rye. “Goddam” is an informal word Holden chooses to use in a few situations of the book. For example, on pg 1 Holden says that, “I’m not going to tell you my whole goddam biography or anything” …show more content…
Holden shows his immaturity in many ways. His attempts to do things that a boy his age should not be doing, such as hiring prostitutes, lying to Ernest’s mother and other people, cursing and using informal language, and walking in the streets of manhattan alone, shows both his immaturity and how he does not think before he acts or says stuff. In addition Holden describes people he hates as phonies when actually Holden is the one who isn’t genuine and sincere to others. For example, when he talks with Ernest’s mother he lies about his name and says his name is Rudolf and when he calls the prostitute and assures the women he is old enough to drink and “do it” just because he has gray hair. The fact that he is not sincere in these situations, but criticizes others for being phonies shows he is too immature to notice that he is a phony himself. Another reason why Holden can be considered immature is that Holden always has a negative perspective of life which only makes things worse than they really are and the fact that Holden can’t accept his brother’s death. This shows that Holden’s immaturity, negative mentality, and inability to face reality prevents Holden from moving into adulthood. Overall, Salinger uses detail to portray an immature voice into Holden by the actions and thoughts of Holden throughout the