The Catcher in the Rye (3)

Guess who's back (back back) back again!  Will the real Holden Caulfield please stand up?

Where last we left our intrepid hero, he had two older women hanging on to his every word (or so he wished).  This was in a dive bar.  Flip forward to Holden inside a cab.  He has an utterly ridiculous discussion with the cabbie regarding the survival of fish in the nearby often-frozen duck ponds.
Holden: "All right.  What do they do, the fish and all, when the whole little lake's a solid block of ice, people skating on it and all?"
Cabbie: "What the hellaya mean what do they do?  They stay right where they are, for Chrissake."
(Salinger 82)
...and so on
After a decidedly unpleasant cab ride, Holden arrives at Ernie's (another lame bar), where he proceeds to lamely pick up on chicks.  It doesn't go well.  After a protracted, even herculean effort, Holden concedes defeat and heads to a hotel.  While Holden rides up the elevator to his room, the bellman Maurice starkly asks him
"Innarested in a little tail t'night?"
Shocked, the surprised Holden eventually says he is indeed innarested.  In about 45 minutes, in bursts a hooker into Holden's hotel room.  She attempts to initiate "relations", but Holden just wants to have an innocent chat (this kid is actually pretty sensitive).  Upon discovering this, the girl leaves.  Holden believes all is well, until some time later the girl and Maurice return to his hotel room, demanding an exorbitant price for the encounter.  Some arguing occurs, and Holden is roughed up a bit.  He goes to bed with injured face and pride.

After this episode, Holden schedules himself a date with an old friend, Sally.  They go to see a "show" (movie?) and confess their love for one another.  After that, they go skating and have a fight about their future together.  Holden says something mean and Sally starts crying.  Poor Holden.

Holden is a terrible ladies' man, but he doesn't seem to understand this.  Holden also doesn't understand that he's too young to be acting like this, drinking and flirting and smoking and whatnot.  Holden definitely ought to be a little more wary of people like Maurice.  He, like Willy in Death of a Salesman, is unable to confront the truth about himself.  Holden is clearly a sensitive guy, so if he just reflected on his process and really thought about it, he would get the girls.  Holden needs to take a step back and get a reality check on himself, just like Willy.

I think we all delude ourselves into thinking we are more mature than we really are.  I know I'm guilty of this.  I always feel so grown up at my current age, but I know I will feel even more adult-like a few years into the future.  At fifth grade, I thought I was on top of the world.  I'm sure you know what I mean.  To truly understand myself, I need to take a step back and view my maturity and development objectively, just like Holden.