How Does Age Affect The Catcher In The Rye

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Age can affect the opportunities that people have by imposing restrictions, taking more risks, and the perspective people have of life.
For starters, age can affect opportunities by imposing restrictions. In “ The Catcher In The Rye” Holden states “ I ordered a Scotch and soda, and told him not to mix it—I said it fast as hell, because if you hem and haw, they think you're under twenty-one and won't sell you any intoxicating liquor.” This means that because he is not twenty-one he is not able to drink. The law restricts people below twenty-one years of age to buy alcoholic beverages which leads him to lie about his age. Eventually, the bartender refuses to sell him liquor because of Holden’s inability to prove his age.
In addition to imposing restrictions, age can also cause younger people to take more risks. In “Once More to the Lake” White’s son and the rest of the kids in the lake take the risk of swimming in the lake while it was raining to which White states, “... and the children screaming with delight at the new sensation of bathing in the rain, and the joke about getting drenched linking the generations in a strong indestructible chain.” This quote represents how the children in the lake during White’s …show more content…
“The Catcher In The Rye” Holden’s teacher asks him if he feels any concern for his future. Holden replies by saying he feels some concern. He later changes his answer to “But not too much, I guess. Not too much, I guess.” Which his former teacher responds with, “You will.You will, boy. You will when it's too late." This shows that Holden doesn't really care much for his future right now and is acting naive. Holden's teacher on the other hand knows what it feels to wake up one day and not have any idea of what he's done with his life and therefore has more experience and warns Holden that he will realize that he won't have much opportunities when he's
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