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Holden's Struggle Of Depression In Catcher In The Rye

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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

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