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Mental Illness In Catcher In The Rye

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Many people in our society refuse to think that mental illness is something real or that it affects many people. Mental illness is something that is looked over and never gets any real attention. Many people are not able to get help because they don’t have the resources or it is considered to feminine. “The C-Word in the Hallways” by Anna Quindlen and the book, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger and the movie Dead Poets Society, explore society’s attitude towards teenage mental health. Anna Quindlen explained that if people aren’t able to get proper mental health care, then they could possibly do something harmful to themselves or others. In Catcher in the Rye, if Holden had not been institutionalized, then he would have likely committed …show more content…

Holden had a very good reason to stay alive and that reason was his little sister because he loved and admired her very much. For example, “You should see her. You never saw a little kid so pretty and smart in your whole life… I mean she’s had all A’s ever since she started school… You’d like her. I mean if you tell old Phoebe something she knows exactly what the hell you’re talking about” (105). Holden loves his sister very much and has never said that she was a phony. She always gave him some hope in the world and he was most likely hanging onto his life using that hope. On one hand, I agree that Holden would have used Phoebe as a reason to live. But, on the other hand, I still insist that what he was going through would have become too much for him to handle. After Holden found James Castle’s body when he committed suicide, Mr. Antolini warned Holden not to die nobly for an unworthy cause, but Holden might think otherwise. For instance, “ Holden emphasizes that the guy is week and little, he has no chance of physically standing up to the bullies. Rather than be ‘phony’ by taking back the insult, he jumps. To Holden this might sound a lot more like a noble cause...” (Shmoop). Holden might disagree with his teacher because he believes that James Castle is the one brave enough to end it

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