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How Does Holden Develop

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Change is hard to come by. It comes in different forms, and therefore, people deal with it in different ways. Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, 16 year old Holden Caulfield does not undergo emotional development throughout the course of the book, suggesting that he does not deal with change in a healthy way. Holden finds it hard to express his emotions and get help for his mental health. After getting kicked out of Pencey Prep due to bad behavior and failing grades, Holden moves back home without his parents knowing. Prior to Pencey Prep, he was expelled multiple times from each boarding school he attended for the same reasons. Back home, Holden is feeling lost and confused since he does not feel as if he has a sense …show more content…

Holden's constant feeling of being depressed is established early on in the book. For example, when Holden says goodbye to one of his professors before leaving Pencey, he finds himself overwhelmed with sadness over the normal act of a sendoff: “Then we shook hands. And all that crap is. It made me feel sad as hell, though” (15). This is demonstrating that when Holden is in social interaction, he tends to feel down. Holden's admittance that he is "sad" at his parting with his professor also serves to show his emotional struggles. Another example is when Holden is asked by his friend Straudlater to write a paper for him. Holden decides to write about an object that was his younger brother’s, Allie, who passed away when Holden was 13. Holden was very distraught when he found out about his brother's death. He states, “I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage” (38-9). Starting at a young age, Holden has always struggled with his mental

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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

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796 Words | 4 Pages

Another way that Holden is a typical teen is that he feels all these emotions that he can't hide because he’s a kid. Holden has felt depressed, hopeless, and stressed by having to grow up too fast, like most teens. Holden desires good connections with his siblings, proving that he feels love and compassion, even a bit of romance; he is just a teen that has grown up too fast. " About all I know is that I sort of miss everybody" (214). Holden in the book shows emotions and can't hold them back because he is like everyone else.

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553 Words | 3 Pages

These problems he is having are not normal and should be addressed immediately. I think that this advanced stage of depressions may have been worsened by his parents. Holden undoubtedly believes that he was abandoned by his parents by them sending him to boarding schools instead of bringing him home to confront his actually problems. Also the separation of him form the rest of his family for the most part has made him miss his brother more which has worsened his

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579 Words | 3 Pages

One of the most important parts of life is growing up. Everyone has to grow one day, and it’s a process nobody can avoid. In the book, Catcher in the Rye, the author J.D. Salinger, presents that exact process through the book’s protagonist, Holden Caulfield. He goes through three stages. First, Holden makes a lot of mistakes and hurts others due to his selfish acts.

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649 Words | 3 Pages

He always felt that people were being phoneys and not understanding what his struggles were. From losing his brother to being confused as to what he wanted relationship wise it was a long hard struggle that even the person reading the book could understand how hard it was for Holden. He has peculiar behavioral tendencies, his emotions that are building up inside of him prevents him from interacting with the world and the people around him. The way that holden speaks throughout the novel one can tell that holden shows signs of depression. He relay a deep feeling of sadness that i do not believe he knows he is showing.

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587 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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656 Words | 3 Pages

Although others may say that Holden was successful on his journey, saying that he grew up he. Holden showed lots of immaturity throughout the novel and was the biggest phony of all.. Holden’s attitude throughout the novel was very immature and made constant poor decisions. While he was still at Pencey he put in no effort and had the attitude that nothing mattered. As he moves on from Pencey and goes to New York, he shows no care for anything as he blows lots of his money and doesn’t even take care of himself. He doesn’t clean himself up or get any sleep because of his attitude towards life.

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1022 Words | 5 Pages

People do not expect the death of a loved one to occur at such a young age, and so abruptly like Allie 's death. The smashing of the windows shows the huge impact that he had on Holden, and how upset he was that he no longer had his brother by his side. Holden was uncertain in how to deal with this upsetting change in his life, resulted in aggressive behavior. Holden was also exposed to another traumatic event in his life during his time at Pencey. After being introduced to one of Holden 's classmates Castle he states, ¨Finally, what he did, instead of

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1095 Words | 5 Pages

The novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is a novel about a 16-year-old kid named Holden Caulfield. A recently suspended student running around New York City trying to hold onto his childhood before he has to grow up. He puts off growing up as much as he can because he sees it as an abusive environment. Through his travels Holden is confronted with moments that help him learn. By the end of the book Holden shows that he has evolved from the beginning of the story.

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1065 Words | 5 Pages

Depressed and all, I almost wished I was dead” (118). At this point in the book, the reader can predict that Holden often feels depressed and doesn't know how to express this feeling of depression. Furthermore, Holden frequently mentions suicide and fantasizes about being dead. Like most people, depression and suicidal thoughts correlate. When Holden gets depressed, he starts to have thoughts of dying.

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904 Words | 4 Pages

In many cases throughout the novel, Holden tells the reader of his feeling of deep sadness, and even admitting his depression. However, in most of these cases, his sadness is triggered by little events or situations. For example, when he explains his feelings about the phony Elkton Hills headmaster talking with his well-dressed parents, he says, “It makes me so depressed I go crazy” (Salinger 14). His feelings about the headmaster are interesting, because it shows that he overreacts and has depressive thoughts for little, unreasonable things which most teenagers at his age typically don’t experience. Also, Holden even considers committing suicide multiple times throughout the novel.

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1090 Words | 5 Pages

Teenagers often experience internal battles and struggle with taking action. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger uses supporting characters to demonstrate the negative effects of Holden's inability to take action. J.D. Salinger uses the variety of characters to signify the effects of Holden's inability to take action and display the importance of this theme throughout the novel. J.D. Salinger demonstrates the concept of inaction through the interactions between Holden and his family, friends and strangers. While many teenagers struggle with internal issues, Holden Caulfied struggles with the inability to take action.

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1432 Words | 6 Pages

It is evident that Holden faces depression when he has a lack in interest in school and decides to leave Pencey Prep before being expelled. He thinks the students attending Pencey Prep are phonies, making Holden dislike his school even more. This is evident when he tells his sister Phoebe “It was one of the worst schools I ever went to. It was full of phonies. And mean guys.”

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656 Words | 3 Pages

Holden has a very different way of showing his depression in the novel. His depression is present when he tries to keep his innocence and stray away from adult hood all while trying to keep his relationship with his brother Allie. Holden wants to be the “catcher in the rye “. He wants to be that person who catches those kids who are falling off the cliff into adulthood. Holden wants to protect those who are close to him and those that he loves.

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606 Words | 3 Pages

Holden is a normal, very relatable teenager. Many teens feel sad or depressed like Holden. Over the course of the book Holden repeatedly expresses his strong feelings of depression. Holden says “ I was feeling so depressed I didn’t even think”(Salinger 102).

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