What does The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one mean?

Answer 1

The original source for this quote comes from an Austrian psychiatrist, Wilhelm Stekel (1868-1940), see related links below. It was later popularized by J.D. Salinger in his novel, The Catcher in the Rye, which ironically has become a mainstay among serial killers, many of whom end up dead themselves shortly after gaining infamy by carrying out their assasination plot against a highly public figure, deceived no doubt by their twisted minds.

According to the quote, the difference between the mature man and the immature man is that the mature man looks humbly for a solution and faces the problem in a desire to serve and benefit others while the immature man looks for a way to make himself look good, or find a way to benefit himself, which may include giving up or running away, or even by dreaming of a quick, grandiose sacrifice which would give them the ego-feeding dying satisfaction of imagining their name become immortalized for their sacrifice, and that they would live on as poets and bards will sing their praises.

In The Catcher In The Rye, the main character and narrator, Holden Caulfield, teaches the readers life lessons vicariously through his experiences. Throughout this sixteen year old's weekend alone in New York City he goes through many struggles that lead to his plummet to the ground. Holden has lived a very hard life which has built the character that he is. On the outside Holden appears to be an odd, sarcastic, and stubborn young man, but on a deeper level he is very damaged psychologically from his life experiences. This is why he never finishes anything he starts. Also when a challenge comes his way instead of being strong and trying to face it, Holden gives up or runs away. Even when a chance or hope comes along he does not act but rather bury's himself deeper in his hole. All of the problems however build up inside of him leaving him severely depressed. Slowly but surely this way of life along with the depression, is killing Holden. Mr. Antolini, a teacher from his old school tries to tell him that he is going down the wrong path in life and tries to set him on the right path. In attempts to do this he writes down a quotation from Wilhelm Stekel, hoping that it will give meaning and guidance to Holden. The quotation states, "'The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause while the mark of the mature man is that wants to live humbly for one'"(p. 188).

Mr. Antolini tells Holden this and while Holden is wanting to spend his life saving children on a cliff from the adult world, this reveals an immaturity--his death would do nothing for the children, who are losing their innocence, but a mature man would fight for a cause like saving the children from the negative aspects of our society. The message is clear that Holden could be a mature man and live humbly, but also a warning and a wake up call that as of now he is an immature man that is slowing dying.

Running away from problems instead of facing them is the reoccurring theme of Holden's life thus far. First Holden's brother, Allie, whom he loves and admires immensely, dies from leukemia at a very young age. Though it is certainly true that everyone deals with death in a different way, it is fair to say that to move on after a death one has to grieve in some way and have some sort of conclusion or goodbye. For many people a funeral and/or a wake is where the family and friends of the deceased are able to go and say goodbye to their loved one. The night of his brother's death Holden punches his garage windows with his bare fist sending him to the hospital. While he is in the hospital to heal his hand, he misses Allie's funeral. Because of this, he is not fully able to accept, deal with, nor move on from Allie's death. Later in the book Holden is walking down a street in New York talking aloud to Allie, and realizes that he does it a lot. This further shows how Holden has not accepted or fully grieved Allie's death, but rather stuck it inside of him and jumped from one thing to another to distract himself. After the death Holden basically gives up, though he is very intelligent, he does not apply himself in anyway whether it be to school, to sports, or even to people. He flunks out of and switches from one school to another, thinking that he is getting away from his problems, when really he is running closer and closer to his own death. To cover up his feelings he tries to do many things like drink a lot, smoke, go to bars, and even hire a prostitute, but almost every time something catches up to him and he ends up crying alone. Being the 'immature man', Holden does not look for a solution of any sort to move on and live his life, but rather gives up, pushes it aside, and covers up his true depression, only to further hurt and even kill the life inside of him.

As Mr. Antolini is trying to point out, Holden does have the intelligence and passion inside of him to potentially be a 'mature man'. The intentions and ideas in his head are very admirable, however his actions give him the image of being an immature man because they contradict his thoughts. Holden tells Phoebe that his dream job would be to be a catcher in the rye to save children from falling off a cliff. The falling off a cliff aspect represents when children loose their innocence and enter the adult world. Clearly, Holden has been knocked down and hurt in many ways in the adult world, and wants to spare innocent children from going through the hardships that he went through. Though he says that it is his dream to save those children his actions say otherwise. Throughout the book Holden jumps from points where he plans to run away to wanting nothing more than to be dead. These foolish attempts to run away reflect the immature man that Holden is. If he ran away or killed himself, not a thing would be done to help a child in the world on his account. His cause is to save children, and though he can't literally save children from entering adulthood, he could make efforts and contributions to make the adult world a more positive and less 'evil' place. The mature man would fight 'humbly' for his dream and goal by finding solutions and answers, but instead of taking action Holden only dreams in his mind and then gives up. If more people in this world had the courage to fight 'humbly' for their dreams, instead of just quietly wishing for change, many aspects of society would greatly improve.

In adherence to society, the comparison of the mature and immature man represents the difference between many men and women in contemporary society. For example, many say that soldiers, men and women, fighting for our country are so courageous and strong because they are willing to die for their country and a cause, but this is not the whole truth. Though the men and women indeed are taking a chance with their lives, their greatest triumph and strength is that they are making the choice to fight for something they believe in to make a difference no matter how small. This is why people should be envious and grateful of our soldiers. To connect this on a more personal level to myself and other teenagers, this quotation and theme of one man giving up while the other fights through relates to the many struggles of growing up. Suicide, sadly is a topic that is brought up a lot when dealing with high school and so on. To some it is an easy way out, when it seems like the only option, but no matter how big the problems are taking one's life is not the solution. Though the hardships seem unconquerable and overwhelming the real strength comes from facing and overcoming the problems instead of giving up.

Answer 2

This quote suggests that immature individuals are willing to die for a cause in a grandiose manner, seeking recognition and glory, while mature individuals focus on living with humility for a meaningful purpose. It highlights the shift from a desire for dramatic sacrifice to a commitment to a more modest and sustained contribution to a cause. The emphasis is on the difference in motivations and perspectives between those who seek external validation and those who prioritize genuine impact and service.

Answer 3

A Full-Fledged editor needs to make this the main form of the question:

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