Grow Up

One theme of The Catcher in the Rye is that everyone needs to grow up. Holden Caulfield is a very immature person and often acts like a child. For example, he drops out of Pencey Prep because of his failing grades. Holden shows no signs of a mental disability but a very child like attitude. Holden doesn't take the responsibility necessary to become successful. He just avoids every challenge he is faced with by running away from them. If Holden was mature he would take challenges head on and fix his problems, but instead he just runs away from them. Another example of why Holden is immature is because he calls almost everyone he knows a phony. Holden jumps to conclusions way too fast and judges everyone he disagrees with.

I believe that Holden Caulfield is very similar to the other main characters in the previous books that we have read. Holden, Charlie, and Lennie fail to connect with society. They are often singled out and they all have no real connections with their parents. Lennie's parents aren't mentioned, Charlie's parents are not supportive of him, and Holden dislikes his parents for many reasons. All three characters live with numerous challenges and they all face them in a different way.