The Catcher And The Rye

Catcher in the Rye

In the book "Catcher in the Rye", Holden (the narrator) doesn't seem to be much different since last Christmas. Last Christmas Holden was very superficial. He thought that he was independent but in reality he always needed someone through everything. It was almost as if he was afraid to be alone, and just made it seem like he was independent. When he was younger he did everything he wanted to do and thought that if anyone were to stand in his way they were phony. According to the younger Holden everyone was either phone, fake, or stupid. I thought he was very immature and needed to learn some life lessons. Supposedly, Holden isn't a smart boy in school because he doesn't get good grades. That may be true but he's probably extremely intelligent, because he reads a lot and knows so much about the books he reads and the authors. He has interests in writing and literature. He tries to be social everywhere he goes but that doesn't shop him from talking negatively about the person when they aren't around. For example, he tries to talk to Ackley and tries being nice to him even though he's already clearly stated that he thinks Ackley is annoying. Same with Mrs. Marlow on the train, he liked her more that he liked her son, but it seemed like he wanted to get off the train so badly, partly because of her. He thought she was odd. I'm sure that Holden thinks he is wiser, more mature, and has grown as a man but I don't think so. He learned certain life lessons through out the book. Also, Holden did listen to the people he met in the book. I do think that from the time he left Pencey he was matured but not by a lot.