The catcher in the rye tells the story of Holden Caufield, a teenage boy who recently got kicked out from his fourth school. Holden decides to leave the school before he is scheduled to and wanders around New York. Holden shows many symptoms of depression throughout the novel such as, disengaging from activities, not doing his school work and having no interests or hobbies. Holden shows little to no change throughout the novel and does not develop as a character. Holden’s flight reaction is something that stays with him throughout the book.
The novel Catcher in the Rye is pessimistic because the main character Holden Caulfield always thinks negatively about any situation that he faces. In chapter 2, when Holden is with Mr. Spencer and they are talking, Mr. Spencer wishes him “good luck”. Holden hopes that he didn’t say “good luck” because it sounds terrible. Holden becomes depressed by the fact Mr. Spencer wished him “good luck”. In chapter 7, Holden is packing up his things and says the he becomes sad when he packs up his belongings.
Grief is something that most humans may encounter sometime in their lives however contrary to general consensus, grieving is not a short process. In fact on average the grieving process takes 5-8 years. According to Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross there are 5 phases of the grieving process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. This process is extremely relevant with the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caufield, since Holden’s younger brother Allie’s died 6 years before the start of the novel therefore leaving Holden in said grieving process. Holden bounces in between the phases, specifically anger, bargaining and depression.
Maddie Poulin Mrs. Morgan EN100 29 January, 2018 In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, his incomplete stages of grief leads to Holden’s emotional paralysis as demonstrated through Holden’s hand. When Holden was thirteen, his brother, Allie, had been diagnosed with leukemia and past away. The night Allie died, Holden slept in the garage and broke all of the windows in there with his fist.
There are many causes for depression. Some causes are death or a loss of someone close to a person can cause serious grief or sadness. A band named Daughter wrote “Youth” which is a song about getting hurt by or losing someone or something that she had loved in her past. People she has loved often leave which hurts her because she loved them. In the book, Catcher in the Rye, Holden is in the same situation as the writer of the song and people he is often close with leave him.
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden never seems to be happy. To quantify this: the word depressed and its variations appear 50 times in the novel. Happy appears just seven times. It is safe to say that sadness is a major theme in The Catcher in the
In Holden’s mind becoming “the catcher in the rye “means that he can still catch Allie from falling off the cliff. This is relevant to Holden’s depression because everything around him is telling him to grow up but instead he runs away from it in fear that is will pull him farther apart from his relationship with his brother Allie. Holden is on the edge of becoming an adult which creates more pressure and leads him to
Gretchen Rubin once said, “Negative emotions like loneliness, envy, and guilt have an important role to play in a happy life; they're big, flashing signs that something needs to change.” However, in The Catcher in the Rye there is no one who understands Holden’s loneliness, and Holden does not quite know how to express it. In his novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger develops the theme of loneliness through Holden’s need for human contact, suicidal thoughts, and his separation from others around him. One way J.D. Salinger expresses Holden’s loneliness is through his need for human contact.
“Having anxiety and depression is like being scared and tired at the same time. It 's the fear of failure but no urge to be productive. It 's wanting friends but not socializing. It 's wanting to be alone but not wanting to be lonely. It 's caring about everything then caring about nothing.
In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the character Holden frequently expresses how sad he is. The cause of his depression varies, starting from Allie’s death to phony classmates to restrictive administration, but all these events and people contribute in Holden feeling worthless. He does, however, have one goal which is to become the catcher in the rye. Although this isn’t an official job title, Holden hopes that he can become a safe haven for children in need of catching. This is a very vulnerable ambition for Holden, because not only is he depressed himself needing aid from others, but connecting a person’s entire purpose of happiness on another person can be very difficult.
In the novel The Catcher In The Rye written by J. D. Salinger shows that Holden goes through his journey and is depressed because of his isolation from
Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual”. In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield’s lies become habitual throughout the book. Holden is a sixteen-year-old boy, who has been kicked out of several schools including, most recently, Pencey Prep. Holden’s younger brother, Allie, died when Holden was only thirteen and his older brother is too busy working for Hollywood to care about Holden. Although his mother cares immensely for him, Holden saddens her by failing academically.
Boy gone crazy or depressed? Holden is in a deep depression but, does he stay depressed or go crazy? After Holden’s brother (Allie) dies he gets very depressed. Holden wasn 't even able to attend the funeral.
Holden’s Struggle To Find Himself: Throughout the novel, The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden struggles to find himself and who he truly is in order to be happy. His struggles relate to many things that he does or say in particular. Holden lacks with a social status with women and his family, whether it’s a relationship or being antisocial. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield experiences the complexities and struggles involved with both physical and emotional relationships.
Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has abnormal tendencies. Although he could just be a typical teenager, dealing with difficult situations, after analyzing his behavior it is believed that he is suffering from a mental ailment of some sort. Events from Holden’s past are still currently haunting him and it is evident that he is struggling. He needs the guidance of those around him in order to help himself through these tough time.