Similarities Between Catcher In The Rye And Into The Wild

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and the movie Into the Wild are very similar in the way that both main characters, Holden and Chris are undergoing a coming of age. Holden is a boy who lives in New York and went to Pencey Prep before getting kicked out for falling most of his classes. Chris is a college graduate who abandoned both his mother and sister who have to suffer with living with their abusive father. However, both of these characters are afraid of being apart of the social norm because they try to expunge their problems, expecting that to resolve it. These two characters have made some controversial decisions in their lives that they probably shouldn’t have. ”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,” this quote is crucial because it covers the lifestyles that the two main characters chose to live. This intriguing quote applies to these
Holden doesn’t try very hard in school at all which got him kicked out of pencey and instead of going back home and facing the consequences, instead he went to a hotel and avoided the consequences at all costs. “Then, on Wednesday, I'd go home all rested up and feeling swell. I figured my parents probably wouldn't get old Thurmer's letter saying I'd been given the ax till maybe Tuesday or Wednesday,”(Salinger 28). This is a prime example of Holden avoiding what he should be doing which plays into the fact that he’s an irresponsible person because he’s frightened to do what’s right. In the film, Chris abruptly abandoned his family, leaving his mother and sister to then have to deal with their abusive father. This is an inconsiderate move which shows that he was frightened to adapt to an adult like life. Therefore the quote means that these two characters are immature men because they didn’t die in a courageous