ipl-logo

Holden's Struggle Of Depression In Catcher In The Rye

587 Words3 Pages

Struggle of Depression
The novel Catcher in the Rye exemplifies the motif of depression through the eyes of the main character, Holden Caulfield. Holden constantly struggles with depression throughout the novel. His depression is directly linked with the death of his younger brother Allie as, the loss of a loved one has that effect on many. The conformity of the society that Holden lives in allows for no grief causing Holden to spiral downwards into a state of depression. Holden’s desire for individualism coupled with the loss of the only true individual he knew created a breach of loneliness in Holden's life that was unable to be filled. Overall, chapter 20 best displays Holden’s struggle with depression as his thoughts of his own death, funeral, and afterlife become more frequent.
Throughout the chapter Holden constantly voices his ideas of what his funeral would be like. Holden is even happy that “[his mother] wouldn't let old Phoebe come to [his] funeral because she was only a little kid” (171) implying Holden feels it would be ok to die since, Phoebe would be shielded some of the pain she may face with his death. Holden's assumptions …show more content…

Holden believes it's his“body and all that’s in the cemetery, and his soul’s in Heaven” (172) suggesting Holden believes there might be a better place for his soul after death. Holden seems to be content with the idea that his soul may rest after death allowing Holden a chance to breathe after being suffocated by conformity. On the other hand the one thing Holden seems to fear is that when it rains his body would get all wet. Since his body would be buried, and he would be dead, Holden would have no way to escape the rain. All in all, the fact that Holden would be trapped in the cemetery scares him just as much as how he is afraid of the suffocation of his society which is why he considers

Show More
Related

Examples Of Dialectical Journal For The Catcher In The Rye

1722 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout the book holden gives off a vibe of being depressed, which might have started when his brother passed away. It’s seems like after that happened he lost all enthusiasm and energy to really try and also to really plan out his future. Most

Read More

Catcher In The Rye Holden's Journey Analysis

656 Words | 3 Pages

The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” was about the journey of a adolescent boy finding his way to adulthood. In the book Holden Caulfield was unsuccessful in finding his way to adulthood. Holden’s attitude in the novel throughout his journey was very immature. He also can't accept the fact that innocence can’t be forever protected. Lastly, Holden calls everyone a phony when in reality he is the real phony.

Read More

Holden Caulfield Mental Illness

926 Words | 4 Pages

Holden’s younger brother, Allie, died of leukemia when he was eleven years old and Holden was thirteen years old. Another tragic thing that Holden had to face was the suicide of one of his classmates by jumping out of a window. This impacted Holden’s character in a major way, from not being able to trust people because they were “phonies'' to having a mental breakdown in the park. Major events that lead me to believe that he was not okay mentally are when he punched all the windows out of the garage, he imagines he sees Allie, he fantasizes about committing suicide, made a rash decision to go live in the west as a deaf/mute, and gets drunk many, many times. All of these instances show Holden has a lot of grief in his life.

Read More

What Are The Causes Of Holden's Mental Breakdown

2021 Words | 9 Pages

The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger in 1951, is the story of an angst-ridden sixteen year old Holden Caulfield as he learns to deal with growing up. The story follows Holden through his three day experience through New York as he learns about the truth about innocence, sex, and mortality, making The Catcher in the Rye one of America’s most notable coming-of-age stories. One of the largest influences on Holden’s life was his younger brother Allie who died from leukemia at age eleven when Holden was thirteen. The death of Holden’s brother had a profound effect on Holden emotional state, which eventually caused his complete mental breakdown by the end of the novel.

Read More

Examples Of Thematic Essay On The Catcher In The Rye

1107 Words | 5 Pages

The Catcher in the Rye Thematic Essay Imagine living a lonesome life, full of fear and little hope of better days to come. Imagine the toll this would take on a person’s life and how they develop as a person. For Holden Caulfield, the main character of J.D Salinger’s classic The Catcher in the Rye this, is his reality. Holden is a sixteen year old troubled boy suffering through major mental issues and living a rather a depressing life for a teenager. Throughout the novel he goes through many hardships that only worsen his depression making him feel hatred towards his seemingly hellish world.

Read More

Teenage Depression In Catcher In The Rye

999 Words | 4 Pages

Teen depression is a real clinical issue that affects the emotions and behavior of a teen. This mental struggle has many serious symptoms to it. This problem is usually not temporary and needs long term treatment by medication and psychotherapy. In the novel Catcher In The Rye, we follow the story of a teenager named Holden and his two day adventure after failing school again. Throughout the story he displays many of the symptoms associated with teen depression.

Read More

Catcher In The Rye Grief Analysis

656 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the book, Holden is struggling to get by. The death of his brother Allie has left him in a tough spot. Holden doesn’t exactly know how to deal with this. The different stages of grief are represented through Holden. Holden shows denial and anger when he flashbacks to one of his memories after his brother’s death.

Read More

The Theme Of Isolation In Catcher In The Rye

1615 Words | 7 Pages

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

Read More

Holden Caulfield Lies In Catcher In The Rye

1378 Words | 6 Pages

The only motivator that Holden has to continue living is his younger sister, Phoebe, who is extraordinarily intelligent for her age. After he gets kicked out of Pencey, Holden is lost in life. He speaks to many people, seeking advice and comfort, but they are not able to help him find a human connection. Holden’s depression increases throughout the novel, almost to the point of suicide. He criticizes many people and ideas, labeling them as ‘phony’.

Read More

Theme Of Death In Catcher In The Rye

1120 Words | 5 Pages

The motif of death in The Catcher in the Rye The most prominent theme in The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger is death and the loss of innocence. Death is the vehicle that drives the story, offering an explanation to Holden’s views and punctuating his feelings towards the world. This essay will explore the various instances where the motif of death occurs and possible explanations of these instances. For the purpose of this essay, “motif” is defined as “something (such as an important idea or subject) that is repeated” (Merriam Webster Dictionary).

Read More

Holden Caulfield Touchy

1757 Words | 8 Pages

To the reader Holden may come across (at first) as a very perfectionistic, whiny, and pessimistic guy. When getting to know him, the reader gets the idea that he does not care about life and is not necessarily excited about living his life. “Boy, when you're dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a G-ddam cemetery.

Read More

What Are Holden's Struggles In Catcher In The Rye

858 Words | 4 Pages

The idea of having a character that struggles to find themselves is quite a common idea in many books. This is seen in the Catcher in the Rye where JD Salinger puts Holden the main character through different struggles throughout the book to finally realise what his purpose is and what he aims to be. There are many different situations that Holden is put through but they all aim to the same purpose, being a catcher in the rye. Two of the main struggles are his journey into adulthood and to retain his innocence. The second is how he is almost alienating himself from others and very rarely opens up to anybody, and his relationships with people are not great because he thinks of many of the people he meets are phony.

Read More

Theme Of Maturity In Catcher In The Rye

837 Words | 4 Pages

Holden struggles with growing up and facing reality. There are many examples of Holden’s immaturity that are displayed in many forms such as facing responsibilities, his speech, his actions, and etc. Holden’s outlook on adult life is that it is superficial and brimming with phonies, but childhood was all about looking pleasing and innocent. He wants everything to stay the same and for time to stop. As Holden progresses in age, he will discover more about becoming mature in the

Read More

Examples Of Holden Being Depressed In Catcher In The Rye

728 Words | 3 Pages

He talks to his brother as if he 's there searching for help from him. This novel is about him moving through New York and witnessing this and not wanting to be a part of it, yet knowing he has to fit in there somewhere. Holden grows a very dangerous drinking problem. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, Holden is a lost and depressed boy looking for a purpose in life. Holden believes that growing up is going to cause him to lose all innocence in himself.

Read More

Holden's Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

1230 Words | 5 Pages

A. Allie’s death causes Holden to become obsessed with death and this obsession makes him believe that growing up and becoming a “phonie” is like dying; this belief that is planted inside Holden’s head when Allie died is what sends him on a quest to preserve children’s innocence and save them from the “death” of growing up. B. Salinger includes the traumatic story of Allies death that happened years in advance to provide an explanation for Holden’s obsession with death and how he sees loss of innocence as equivalent to dying. Allie died with his innocence still intact, so Holden does not want other children to grow up and have their innocence “die”. C. Holden even admits to being mentally unstable after his brother’s traumatic death when he says, “I was only 13, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all

Read More

More about Holden's Struggle Of Depression In Catcher In The Rye

Related Topics

Open Document