Young and Childish Every story has a hero, whether it's a classic like Hamlet and Macbeth, or a more modern film like Lord of the Rings . However, not all heroes succeed in their journey and end up as tragic heroes. Thanks to The Catcher in the Rye, Holden faces failure. After failing school for the fourth time, Holden returns to New York to begin his journey and figure out what to do with his life. Holden then goes through life, acting childish and being unable to progress in his adventure into the future. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a great example of a tragic hero, as the reader follows Holden Caulfield as he tells his story, which illustrates his immaturity through his inability to interact with people. He tries to make excuses, calling everyone "fake" or "fake", saying that everyone only cares about themselves and is therefore not real to others. a defense mechanism, which makes it harder for him to communicate with people, which frustrates him. An example of these failed interactions can be seen with his Pencey Prep roommate, Stradlater wondering if Stradlater met his date this. that evening, Jane Gallagher, who was a childhood friend of Holden's When Stradlater is questionable in his response, saying "It's a professional secret, mate", it angers Holden to the point of hurting him. physically (Salinger 43) This shows immaturity because a mature person would understand that Stradlater does not want to talk about it and would not turn to violence to try to solve his problems Besides his lack of ability to handle certain situations maturely. , Holden also communicates immaturely with others. This can be seen when he meets Carl Luce, one of his advisors from Whooton. While dating Whooton, Holden knew that Luce often talked to boys about sex and tried to incorporate that into the conversation, asking her several questions about her sex life. Luce, who has since matured, shoots Holden down and says, "...typical Caulfield questions... When the hell are you going to grow up?" (Salinger 146). This is first seen when Holden gets angry with Stradlater and leaves his school early and takes the train back to New York, his hometown. Back in town, he stays in a hotel, reluctant to return home and face his parents after being kicked out of another school. This can be seen as immature because he runs away from his problems at school and then becomes afraid of facing problems at home. Another example is when he asks Sally to run away with him to Vermont. He claims he will empty her bank account and they will be able to live in a cabin and will get married one day. Sally immediately rejects the idea. Trying to make sense of it, she said, “First of all, we're both practically children. And have you ever thought about what you would do if you couldn't find a job when your money ran out? We would starve” (Salinger 132). Holden's idea illustrates his immaturity in suggesting something so irrational. Any mature, rational sixteen year old would never suggest leaving home to start their own life. However, Holden once again decides that he wants to leave home by moving west and working at a gas station until he has the money to build himself a cabin. By once again wanting to go through with it, it shows his lack of maturity, even after Sally says everything that could go wrong with the plan. Holden's sporadic decision to move west can also be seen