When Holden leaves Pencey Prep, he has a series of experiences that reveal his conflicted feelings about growing up. He lies about knowing another student well to try to make friends, showing he wants relationships but finds it difficult. He also meets girls at a bar and on the train, attempting to understand sexuality and adulthood but lacking experience. Alone, his thoughts often return to Jane, highlighting how the innocent people in his life influence him. While Holden desires adulthood, he remains reluctant to fully grow up and leave behind his view of purity and innocence in others.

1. Holden has moved from school to school and is not able to relate to his parents. What effect has this had on him? Make sure you provide evidence from the novel to justify your answer.Having moved from school to school and not being able to relate to his parents are the key factors that affected Holden’s personality. <br />Firstly, he has adapted to the idea of changing schools so often, and wouldn’t be able to form deep relationships with any of the children around him. Therefore, Holden only has deep relationships with Phoebe, Jane and Allie, whom are his childhood friends and family members. Having few people that he is able to trust and open up to, results in him being lonely and distrustful. This brings about the feeling of distance with his schoolmates, this decreases the chances that Holden have to makes friends, as already he changes schools so often. Another point is that Holden is so use to the idea of moving from school to school so often that he has given up on studying hard, thus slacking in all subjects except for English. This again brings about the problem of the time spent around kids his age, and the less time he has spent around the other students, the less he actually makes friends and opens up to, or forms deep relationships with.<br />Secondly, not being able to relate to his parents, bring about him being confused about growing up. Being unable to understand adulthood and how to grow up, it puts Holden in a place of feeling alienated and having his reluctance to grow up. The friends that he has are all growing up and changing, while he is stuck unable to grow up, therefore being left behind. Example would be D.B, Holden’s brother, “It killed me. Now he is out in Holly wood, D.B being a prostitute.” D.B use to be a ‘regular writer’ until he started selling his work in Hollywood, then Holden realized that D.B has grown up and moved on to other things. The fact that Holden called D.B a ‘prostitute’ shows that Holden doesn’t want to face the fact that D.B has gown up and move on to succeeding in his writing. <br />Lastly, not being able to relate to his parents prevents Holden to truly understand adulthood, the factors that adulthood holds, and how to grow up. This is evident in his outlook on adulthood; Holden thinks that adulthood is about money and sexuality, when adulthood is more about responsibility and a different take on life. Also when Holden runs away to New York, he samples his view of adulthood, he meets the opposite sex and also he handles money. On the way to trying out adulthood, Holden encounters memories when he was young, this is evident in his trip to the museum, which is a big turning point in the book as it contrasts his past with his present, and how he has changed. It can be seen that he has changed from when he was young. <br />Altogether, both having moved from school to school and not being able to relate to his parents, has immense effect on his personality and his outlooks on life. <br />Explain why Holden’s brother Allie, his sister Phoebe and his friend Jane Gallagher are so important to him. How does his connection to them help to reveal his reluctance to grow up?

2. Allie, Phoebe and Jane all symbolize the picture of innocents and purity. To Holden, once you grow up and start to deal with money and sexuality, that is when one becomes immoral and not innocent anymore. This shows that he is confused about the many aspects of growing up, and becoming mature