What do others say about Holden?

Holden has numerous social interactions with others in the story, which typically reveal his immaturity and result in him being criticized for behaving inappropriately. Many of Holden's social interactions go terribly wrong and he rarely engages in positive conversations. When Stradlater returns from his date with Jane Gallagher, he reads Holden's composition and says,

You always do everything backasswards . . . You don't do one damn thing the way you're supposed to. I mean it. Not one damn thing (Salinger, 22).

Stradlater's comment is significant and labels Holden a failure, which contributes to his low self-esteem and lack of confidence. Later in the novel, Holden meets up to have a drink with an old classmate, Carl Luce, who is in a relationship with a much older woman and is depicted as an experienced young man. When Holden laments about his sex life, Luce tells him,

"Your mind is immature" (Salinger, 79).

Carl Luce's comment accurately describes Holden's personality and is not a faltering statement. During a conversation with Mr. Antolini, Holden's former teacher expresses his concern for Holden and believes that he is heading for a serious psychological breakdown. Mr. Antolini tells Holden,

This fall I think you're riding for--it's a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn't permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling (Salinger, 101).

Holden's former history teacher, Mr. Spencer, tells Holden, "I'd like to put some sense in that head of yours, boy." He tells Holden that he has failed Spencer because he knew absolutely nothing about history. He also tells Holden that he is trying to help him, though Spencer doesn't offer any advice other than agreeing with Dr. Thurmer that "life is a game."
When Holden suggests to Sally Hayes that they should leave New York together and move to the country in Vermont or Massachusetts, Sally rejects Holden, protesting, "in the first place, we're both practically children. And did you ever stop to think what you'd do if you didn't get a job when your money ran out?" She is essentially telling Holden that he is unrealistic about what he wants to do with his life.
Carl Luce, who had been Holden's student adviser at the Whooton School, asks Holden, "When are you going to grow up?" His contention is that Holden's "mind is immature." He also has suggested in the past that Holden see a psychoanalyst, but in their last meeting he claims not to care what Holden will do. He is simply eager to leave his company.
Holden's younger sister Phoebe tells Holden, "You don't like anything that's happening." She is upset about his expulsion from Pencey Prep and fears their father's reaction to the news that Holden has been asked to leave another school.
And finally, Mr. Antolini, Holden's former English teacher and tennis partner, tells Holden, "I have a feeling that you're riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall. But I don't honestly know what kind."
All of the characters that Holden encounters observe that there are distortions in his thinking and that his behavior is troubling, but they vary in their level of concern for him.