How Is Catcher In The Rye Depressed

The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, is a novel about a teen named Holden. He struggles with feelings of depression, not fitting in, and loneliness. He is kicked out of his prep school, Pencey. He spends a few days wandering around New York City avoiding confrontation with his parents. Over these few days he is on a downward spiral. 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). The death of his brother may play a role in the cause of his depression.“ I broke all the windows in the garage. I don’t blame them. I really don’t. I slept in the garage

Holden often feels lonely, but doesn’t seek out anyone who actually cares about him. He tries to interact more with strangers which can be weird sometimes. Like the time he asked his cab driver to have drinks with him or when he kept taking and giving money to the nuns. Holden says “I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome”(Salinger 169). He is experiencing normal things, most teens go through. A lot of teens feel like they have no friends and nobody cares about them. This isn’t true more often than not those teens are seeking out people who don’t genuinely care about them, like what Holden is doing. Rather than calling his younger sister Phoebe, his friends, or even Jane, he calls Sally, an old girlfriend who doesn’t care for him as much. Holden also struggles with fitting in. He wants to stand out and be unique, but not too much. This is symbolized by his red hunting hat. When he wears it Holden is just being who he is, even if it's a little different. But when he takes off the hat it shows he doesn’t want to stand out too much or look “foolish”. Like any other teen he just wants to be accepted and not too