Growing Up- Ch. 10

In ch. 10, we see a new glimpse of Holden's disgust of growing up. "The one ugly one, Laverne, kept kidding me because I was only drinking cokes. She had a sterling sense of humor. She and old Marty were drinking Tom Collinses-in the middle of December, for God's sake. They didn't know any better." The phrase, "They didn't know any better" sticks. This really brings new light to Holden's belief that the adult world is full of phonies. Apart from that, he is acting as a critic, judging them based upon their choice of drink during December, even though he probably knows very little about it.

A Tom Collins is an alcoholic drink consisting gin, lemon juice, sugar and carbonated water. Typically, it is garnished with a maraschino cherrie or a lemon slice and is served over ice in a collins glass. It originated in New York and by 1878 it was con
sidered a favorite drink of everyone.

Why Holden decides to go on a limb and tell us about his thoughts about people drinking Tom Collinses in December is beyond my judgement. His reservations about growing up dont really correlate with his uncanny will to critique every single adult in a way that only someone with experience would. He already drinks and smokes, yet he seems to be hesitant do delve any further into adult hood.