Mark of Maturity

“The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one” said Wilhelm Stekel.

J.D.Salinger, the legendary author of Catcher in The Rye, had quoted the psycho-analyst Stekel in his book.

The book is considered to be one of the all-time greats. What is so great about it? When I read it many years back the underlying meaning had escaped me. In fact I found the language a little unusual. Not one of those slick writings. When I read it again this time the book hit me like a swift strong punch. I was jolted as I grasped what the author wanted to convey.

It tells a story of a teenager, written in first person in the teenager’s language, who flunks his class and is expelled from the school. He moves around in a daze and seems to be heading towards self-destruction. A well-meaning teacher tries to save the boy but is unable to win his trust. Ultimately his kid sister saves him.

This book was published in 1945. It became famous because it touches a chord somewhere deep inside. Many of us have passed through this stage. As a young immature man many of us have wanted to die for a cause. At some point in our life we cross the fine line and become mature. Then we no longer want to die. We simply want to live for a cause. And live humbly.

It’s a pity Salinger never wrote another book in his life. For the next 50 years he became a recluse and shunned the world. When he died recently there was a renewed interest in his book.

I am curious to know how the other readers felt about the book. Did they also feel the same way as I did?

I liked the way the kid sister empathized with her brother. She never tells him how he should behave. When the brother decides to run away from home to go somewhere far away out into the west, the kid sister packs a bag to go away with him.

It’s brilliant. All of a sudden the guy realizes the futility of running away. He realizes he doesn’t want to endanger his little sister and for that matter his own life. He matures, so to say, and decides to live for something. And thus dig himself out of the hole of his own creation.

For the moment the story ends right there.

It will be interesting if someone writes the part II of this book - how the boy redeemed himself.