Holden Caulfield, the main character of The Catcher in The Rye struggles with several realms throughout the novel- from alcohol and drug use to his dropping out of school, he cannot seem to find a way to make sense of the world around him. Events in the novel lead one to believe that apart from all these struggles, one of the biggest challenges Holden cannot seem to overcome is time. He is unsuccessful in his adolescence- as he acts more so like a child, however also finds it hard to begin transitioning into the life of an adult. He is haunted by the idea of everything and everyone in the world around him changing with time, whereas Holden is stuck in a state of discomfort and reluctance to grow up. He is stuck on the threshold between the two, and seems to struggle with the concept of 'moving on'. In order to overcome the barrier of time, which Holden fails to do in The Catcher in the Rye, one must have the ability to learn from their mistakes, rather than dwelling on the past.