Some people are like trees; they take forever to grow up, including Holden Caulfield, the sixteen year old protagonist of the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. Throughout the novel, Holden skirmishes through teenage life because he cannot take on the responsibilities that are a part of growing up. Holden is infatuated with childhood and he chooses to be trapped between two worlds; one of innocence and the other of adulthood. On the contrary, maturity comes easily to certain children like Jeannette Walls, the main character and author of the memoir “A Glass Castle”. Jeannette is a four year old innocent, fun-loving girl who thinks she comes from a remarkable family. Progressively throughout the book, more-so when she is in
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Antolini. Mr. Antolini gives Holden great advice about his future and how to proceed with his life. He writes down a quote on a piece of paper and hands it to Holden; it reads: “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die for a cause while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one” (Salinger 188). There is much meaning embedded within this quote. After discussing with Holden his plans for his future, Mr. Antolini gets the feeling that Holden may be contemplating suicide. He hopes that if Holden really is thinking about committing suicide, he may change his mind after their conversation. Beyond this, the quote refers to the fact that after a person’s demise, they can no longer nobly fight for what they believe in. Likewise, if Holden has a cause worth fighting for, in this case yearning to become the “catcher in the rye”, it would be completely immature and irrational to die for that cause. Mr. Antolini wants Holden to live for his cause because he feels that when a person lives for a cause, they are more apt to get the ball rolling and support their cause. Essentially, Mr. Antolini is anticipating that Holden will learn to see the difference between dying for a cause and living for a cause. However, Holden loses any trust he has ever placed in Mr. Antolini when he wakes up to him petting his head. He suspects that any interest Mr. Antolini ever expressed towards his future is all a hoax to seduce him, and therefore any sort of inspiration Holden may feel from Mr. Antolini is negated by his disgraceful actions. Although Mr. Antolini made a mistake and forces Holden to lose faith in him, he is still a source of hope for Holden’s future and he helps Holden
Antolini. Mr. Antolini gives Holden great advice about his future and how to proceed with his life. He writes down a quote on a piece of paper and hands it to Holden; it reads: “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die for a cause while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one” (Salinger 188). There is much meaning embedded within this quote. After discussing with Holden his plans for his future, Mr. Antolini gets the feeling that Holden may be contemplating suicide. He hopes that if Holden really is thinking about committing suicide, he may change his mind after their conversation. Beyond this, the quote refers to the fact that after a person’s demise, they can no longer nobly fight for what they believe in. Likewise, if Holden has a cause worth fighting for, in this case yearning to become the “catcher in the rye”, it would be completely immature and irrational to die for that cause. Mr. Antolini wants Holden to live for his cause because he feels that when a person lives for a cause, they are more apt to get the ball rolling and support their cause. Essentially, Mr. Antolini is anticipating that Holden will learn to see the difference between dying for a cause and living for a cause. However, Holden loses any trust he has ever placed in Mr. Antolini when he wakes up to him petting his head. He suspects that any interest Mr. Antolini ever expressed towards his future is all a hoax to seduce him, and therefore any sort of inspiration Holden may feel from Mr. Antolini is negated by his disgraceful actions. Although Mr. Antolini made a mistake and forces Holden to lose faith in him, he is still a source of hope for Holden’s future and he helps Holden