The Catcher in the Rye

how does the incident at ernies determine holden's immaturity and his effort to behave like an adult? what does this bsuggest about Holden's personal struggles?

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Salinger continues to establish Holden's great dissatisfaction for those around him in this chapter. He continues to show a latent hostility toward everyone he meets, whether Lillian Simmons or Horwitz. In most of these encounters, Holden expresses a false sense of cordiality toward the people he encounters, yet describes only their most negative traits. As he expresses his own false exterior, he becomes fixated on phoniness in others, finding only cynical interpretations of their behavior, such as when he suspects that the "Joe Yale" guy is telling the girl about the suicide attempt while trying to feel her up. What boils up, then, is a primal rage towards others who can find pleasure in the everyday - something Holden is completely incapable of. He is not only dumb, but deep down toxically angry about the impenetrability of his own defenses.

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