Commonly, everyone thinks that the age that kids start to show personality traits that corresponds with an adult is between 14-20. Growing up and becoming an adult is a hard thing to do, but it is also one of the hardest things in life. Many authors use this concept as a main idea in their novels. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author expresses the responsibilities of being an adult and maturity, by the way the main characters develop throughout the story.
What does it mean to be an adult? Being an adult can come with many responsibilities and an abundance of stress. In the book, The First Part Last by Angela Johnson, Bobby has to learn what it means to become an adult. He goes through many challenges and struggles on his adventure to become of age. Bobby has to take on the role of an adult even though he is still a kid himself. The author creates many trials for Bobby, such as learning how to deal with his lost childhood. Angela Johnson displays Bobby coming of age by using symbolism to help show him maturing.
Maturity is the feeling of needing to prove that one is sophisticated and old enough to do certain things. In the short story “Growing Up,” Maria’s family went on a vacation while she stayed at home, but when she heard there was a car crash that happened near where her family was staying, she gets worried and thinks it is all her fault for trying to act mature and angering her father. Society wants to prove how mature they are and they do so by trying to do things that older people do and the symbols, conflict, and metaphors in the text support this theme.
In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the narrator and protagonist Holden Caulfield a sixteen year old junior undergoes a series of changes. Holden learns multiple life changing lessons; one of them is you must grow up. In the beginning of the novel, Holden starts out as “that kid”; the one with the parents who expect him to get into an ivy league school, and end up with a kid with no intentions of doing so. At the beginning of the book it is very apparent that Holden lacks motivation; he also has hit rock bottom. Although Holden is a very intelligent character he finds the hypocrisy and ugliness in the world around him and quickly associates it with the adult world.
Throughout a child 's life, sooner or later they get thrown into the teenage experience which starts their transition from childhood to adulthood. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden Caulfield is stuck in his childhood and does not want to grow up. He is a very complex character and has an odd way of dealing with his emotions; he doesn 't. When Holden is faced with a problem, instead of facing it and slowly working his way through it, he tries to get rid of it entirely. He does not want to be thrown into the real world and will do anything to not be put in those “adult like situations”. I believe that Holden’s issues arose about the time when his younger brother Allie passed away due to leukemia when he was only eleven. Holden has the choice to either act like an adult or play like a child when he comes across a problem. But not surprisingly, he can’t choose which path to follow, so he stays stuck in the middle. This middle grey area of transitioning from childhood to adulthood for Holden is what is causing his problems and what is making his choices and decisions a lot harder.
In The Catcher in the Rye, the author J.D. Salinger, introduces the protagonist; Holden Caulfield. Holden feels the sense that he cannot choose between the two worlds. For example, he makes it seem as both of them are complete opposites from each other. In the book, Holden wants to keep his innocence, but he also wants to grow up and toss that innocence away. He still keeps his childhood personality by constantly obsessing over things that shouldn’t matter. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden demonstrates the struggle of transitioning between childhood and adulthood by revealing his hassle to grow up.
Maturity is the feeling of needing to prove that one is sophisticated and old enough to do certain things. In the short story “Growing Up,” Maria’s family went on a vacation while she stayed at home, but when she heard there was a car crash that happened near where her family was staying, she gets worried and thinks it is all her fault for trying to act mature and angering her father. Society wants to prove how mature they are and they do so by trying to do things that older people do and the symbols, conflict, and metaphors in the text support this theme.
Adulthood is when we mature into a person that continues to live life in reality as we let our childhood and adolescence become a faint memory. The memories, however, taught us lessons of acceptance as we cannot always shape the future. Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye takes a journey through the rite of passage by experiencing the innocence of youth and the phoniness of adulthood.
“They outgrow us so much faster than we outgrow them. If growing up is the process of creating ideas and dreams about what life should be, then maturity is letting go again. If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!” As displayed in this quote growing up is controversial in many kids’ minds as on one hand, it means maturity and a perspective on life, but on the other hand, it means letting go of that perfect world that comes with a simple mind. Authors often explore this aspect of growing up and write about both the difficulties and experiences that come with age. The passages “Bangs” by Jodi Balfe, “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins and experts from To Kill
In America, we grow up in a society that grooms us to become a successful and happy adult. A society in which people are able to say and do what they want. This freedom that comes with growing up can be too much to handle. As we grow up we start to realize the flaws in our society and the flaws within ourselves. This pressure to remain happy can have various effects. In The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, Esther struggles with the pressures of society while witnessing her own downfall and seeks medical help for the sake of her physical and mental health. Similarly, in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden deals with depression after flunking out of school. Although their situations are quite different, both characters change as a result of their experiences and find ways to cope with life.
Can people be fully mature? Many teeangers and adults think they are mature and can control many things. Here are two literary works that show how people are not fully mature as they thought. A short story “Crystal Stars Have Begun to Shine” by Martha Brooks and a poem “12 years old” by Kim Stockwood deal with the maturity of people. Each has written about the speaker’s experiences of growing up to become adults. Although they share similar theme, which is about the coming of age, each has portrayed the theme in different ways. Both “Crystal Stars Have Begun to Shine” and “12 years old” support the same theme, “coming of age” by struggles and expriences during relationships. However, each has different tone and way of showing the theme.
The Catcher in the Rye and The Breakfast Club both show that the loss of innocence is inevitable in children when they are prematurely exposed to the realities of adulthood. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden loses his innocence when he witnesses actions that were more mature than what he was exposed to as a child. Holden checks into a run-down hotel and looks out his window only to view a sight which was very odd and strange to him. He could see a couple in another room taking turns spitting mouthfuls of their drinks on each other. Holden describes the scene, “The trouble was, that kind of junk is sort of fascinating to watch, even if you don’t want it to be… I don’t like the idea. It stinks, if you analyze it” (Salinger 62). Holden had never
Many people struggle to grow up and, being adults, but many do grow up. Phoebe and Stradlater teach about coming of age to Holden. They teach him things like not being childish and growing up, and how it 's okay to grow up. In the book Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Stradlater, and Phoebe help develop the theme of coming of age by teaching Holden that he should himself and not be childish, accordingly how it 's okay to grow up. Holden struggles to grow up so Phoebe and Stradlater teach him some things about maturity and the coming of age. So, that 's something about how Phoebe and Stradlater teach Holden about the coming of age.
Maturity is the “full development” of an individual, but what does this mean? People have often thought that it just comes naturally over time. Maturity is the ability of a person to act responsible, making the most out of their current circumstances. Some people never reach the state of maturity, while other obtain it at a very young age. In this sense, maturity cannot be given to someone, but must be earned by themselves.
An important part of a person’s life is when they finally learn how to be more mature and have basically come of age. When a character achieves this quest in a story it is called the Bildungsroman. In this genre of literature, the story displays and demonstrates how the character grows up and becomes an adult. They learn how to be mature in important situations and most importantly they are able to leave behind their ties to their childhood. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is very immature throughout most of the story. He refuses to give up his childhood and he is anxious to see what the future hold for him. Towards the end of the book, the reader is able to catch glimpses of Holden’s new found maturity. He is starting to understand that growing up is a big responsibility and is finally ready to take on that challenge. Although he has not completely matured, one distinct moment at the end of the book lets the reader know he will reach complete maturity in the near future. In J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, the author