We all grow up and for some it is more tumultuous than others. JDSalinger is known for encapsulating in literary form the difficulties of transitioning from a young adolescent to the experience of living in the adult world and for highlighting what is important to a teenager during his or her journey to maturity. Salinger discusses some important themes for the average teenager such as protecting innocence, sexual frustration, and refusing to let go of the world they leave behind as they enter adulthood with diction, narrative, and symbols. The main purpose of The Catcher in The Rye is to glorify and show the importance of innocence and why it should be protected. This means that Holden must choose between the adult life he will undertake or continue to lead a childhood life. Bryan sums up the plot of this novel beautifully here: “Holden is caught between two worlds, one he cannot return to and another he is afraid to enter.” (Bryan 4) Holden's main problem is that he is "oversensitive to exploitations and insensitivity." of the post-pubescent world and the fragility of children” (Bryan 4) Throughout the novel he struggles to understand other characters such as Ackley and Stradlater, both extremes of the personality spectrum. On this spectrum, Ackley is the “Nerd” and Stradlater is the “jock,” both are characters Holden doesn't want to be. He also doesn't want to become a sex machine, as demonstrated by his experience with Sunny, a young prostitute he hires but only talks to before being extorted and betrayed by her and her pimp. (Salinger 90) another sign that Holden does not want to become a sexual being is that Holden is disgusted more by the act of the word "fuck" than the word itself. (Bryan 15)....... half of the paper... of that particular image. But the images of himself that have been tested so far were false, and we were relieved rather than disappointed that he did not act in accordance with them. (Trowbridge 16) Although Trowbridge makes a great generalization, this is not true of another symbol, Light. Carl Luce is the son of a psychiatrist and is seen as a knowledgeable source of information for Holden. Trowbridge describes this exception here. “In many ways Carl Luce represents the ideal city man that Holden still vaguely wants to become. He is several years older than Holden and has all the appearances of suave and sophisticated. He has a Chinese mistress and Holden seems coolly in control of his life” (trowbridge 10). As the conversation between Holden and Luce progresses, Holden loses respect for LuceWorks Citedjstor.com