Optional Growth Walt Disney once said “Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.” This quote represents that growing up can be only chosen, not given. Also, it shows that maturation is the journey from childhood to adulthood. The main character in J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, relates to this quote, because Holden has a body of a sixteen-year-old, but a mind of a ten-year-old. Growing up was the last thing Holden ever wanted to do. Though Holden tries utmost to fit in the adult world, but he can’t find the right path to follow to. He sees the world in with a different view of the people and society. The number of people he enjoys being with are as many as how many fingers in a human’s hand. Everywhere he seems to go, he has some bad things to say about it. Holden acts like a kid, but loves the luxury of the adult world. He soons to understand how the world functions and communicate, until he realizes that everything has an outcome. Holden is just some typical fussy, annoying student who likes to get out the easy way. He got kicked out of school many times for grade absences and breaking the rules. Coming of age is an experience that is step by step. One of the steps he …show more content…
They became close as time came across, as soon Holden began to be attracted, he calls Sally phony and stupid. During all the time he spends with Sally, he met up with a friend that is a girl named Jane Gallagher. This is the person he really wanted to be with, but for some reasons he couldn't even explain to himself why he dearly like this girl. At some point he decides to call her on the telephone, but in the end he can't bring himself to talk. Holden wonders why and this is when he begins, for the first time, to think properly of his change of mind. This was a crucial moment, because he was thoroughly thinking about the mistakes and problems of his