Holden Caulfield's Depression

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A broken home. A troubled mind. A Miserable child. Young children rely on their family for advice as well as comfort when something unfortunate happens. In the book, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger analyzes the topic of mental health. He implies that Holden Caulfield, the narrator as well as the main character has immense issues with his mental state. In addition, Salinger uses Holden Caulfield’s adventure leaving school as a guide for others to understand Holden’s mind as well as thoughts being held within. Ultimately, what Salinger explains is that Holden is not in the right state of mind. When, reading The Catcher in the Rye one can make an honest inference that Holden Caulfield is someone with severe symptoms of depression. Depression is a serious mood disorder that can impact how one feels and thinks severely as well …show more content…

As a matter of fact, Holden’s brother Allie Caulfield had died of leukemia when Holden was thirteen. Holden’s bond with his brother was strong and he talks highly of him saying he was smart, laidback and friendly. As a result, Allie’s death impacted Holden making him severely wounded emotionally (Litchart) “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it“ (Salinger 22). When, Holden punched the windows it was an outcome of his rage and sorrow when he thought of his brother. Unfortunately, instead of being there for him, Holden’s parents attempted to psychoanalyze him along with sending him away to another school after his brother’s death. “I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage” (Salinger 22). The idea of his parents wanting him to be psychoanalyzed is a feeling of betrayal. Most definitely, Holden’s depression is caused by the heartbroken event in his family as well as his parents lack of

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