A major theme throughout The Catcher in the Rye is the feeling of sadness. The amount of times that Holden uses the words “depressed” or “depressing” is innumerable compared to the amount of times he says “happy.” No matter what he’s doing or who he’s talking to, Holden always finds a way to feel sad and depressed. Today, this would be called Clinical Depression. It goes along with his many psychological problems that are obvious in the book. Because of his depression and various problems, throughout the story there are many examples of Holden being depressed for no apparent reason and very few of him being happy. There are a few really traumatic incidents and many little things that contribute to Holden’s depression and mental issues. Holden was molested as a child many times, his little brother died when he was only 10 and he was also abandoned by his family by being sent away to different boarding schools. This took …show more content…
Not many things make him joyful, except for Phoebe and innocence. Holden always relies on Phoebe to make him feel better since she seems to be the only one he can connect with. Thinking of her makes his day better and puts him at ease. In chapter 12 he says “New York's terrible when somebody laughs on the street very late at night… It makes you feel so lonesome and depressed. I kept wishing I could go home and shoot the bull for a while with old Phoebe” (Salinger 81). Holden views his little sister as pure and innocent which makes him happy knowing that not everyone has become corrupted or a phony. I think the author is trying to show the connection between Holden and innocence throughout the book because Phoebe is mentioned many times before Holden finally comes out and says he wants to protect children and their innocence. Phoebe is just a representation of innocence and purity, one of the very few things that do not make Holden
Nineteen million American adults suffer from a major case of depression (Web MD). That is a staggering one in every fifteen people (2 in our classroom alone). Holden Caulfield is clearly one of those people. Depression is a disease that leads to death but is also preventable. Psychology, stressful events, and prescription drugs are causes of depression. Stressful events brought on Holden’s depression. Holden has been trying to withstand losing a brother, living with careless parents, and not having many friends. The Catcher in the Rye is a book that takes us through the frazzled life of Holden Caulfield, who appears to be just a regular teen. But by hearing his thoughts and through heart-wrenching events in the book, the reader learns that Holden is not the innocent boy that he once appeared. In his book, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger shows that Holden’s depression is not only affecting him, but also the people around him through Sally, Phoebe, and Sunny.
To begin with, many of Holden’s physical and mental symptoms can be linked to events occurring during manic and depressive phases. According to Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance(DBSA), “Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a treatable illness involving extreme changes in mood, thought, energy, and behavior”. DBSA states that manic phases can include a decrease in sleep, reckless behavior or speech, flamboyant actions
I think that his trauma was ultimately the cause of Holden’s emotional breakdown, along with his evident depression.
Holden Caulfield is a typical depressive teenager that exhibits negative views about growing up. Depression is made up of many categories of symptoms, such as emotional, physical, behavioral, and how one perceives life. These symptoms, take over Holden, due to his lack of knowledge on how to control his feelings.
However, his feelings suggest that the true reason for his depression is his loss of Innocence. When he was 13 years old, he lost his little brother Allie to leukemia. Allie meant a lot to Holden. He even becomes a symbol in the book. Allie is the one who keeps Holden from falling of the cliff, he’s the reason that he hasn’t lost his innocence yet. “Every time I came to the end of a block and stepped off the goddam curb, I had this feeling that I'd never get to the other side of the street. I thought I'd just go down, down, down, and nobody'd ever see me again. Boy, did it scare me. You can't imagine. I started sweating like a bastard—my whole shirt and underwear and everything. Then I started doing something else. Every time I'd get to the end of a block I'd make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I'd say to him, "Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Please, Allie." And then when I'd reach the other side of the street without disappearing, I'd thank him.” (Sallinger) In this part, Allie plays the role as the Catcher in the Rye and keeps Holden from falling of the cliff. This is why i believe that Holden wants to become a “ Catcher in the Rye”. He wants to help people like Allie has helped him. He feels that it's what he’d meant to do with his
The type of depression that Holden faces, is extreme sadness. Sadness is the showing of sorrow, unhappiness. Depression from losing someone, “It is the appropriate response to a great loss. We withdraw from life, left in a fog of intense sadness, wondering, perhaps, if there is any point in going on alone? Why go on at all? Depression after a loss is too often seen as unnatural: a state to be fixed, something to snap out of” (Ross). Sadness in grieving is a common response after losing someone, it may seem like that’s all you feel and what is the point. Holden goes through depression, as many things depress him, or sadden him. When Holden talks to Sunny it depresses him because she is around his age, and she is a prostitute. “I think it was because she was young as hell. She was around my age.” “ Sexy was about the last thing I was feeling. I felt more depressed than anything” (Salinger 123) Holden realises that Sunny is around his age and she is selling herself, and it makes him feel depressed because she is so young. Holden thinks about when Sunny purchased the dress, “I took her dress over to the closet and hung it up for her. It was funny. It made me feel sort of sad when I hung it up. I thought of her going in a store and buying it, and nobody in the store knowing she was a prostitute and all. The salesman probably just thought she was a regular girl when she bought it. It made me feel sad as hell I don’t know why exactly” (Salinger 125). He realises that she stills has the innocence by the way she is nervous and how she talks. Holden doesn’t want to do anything because the whole situation and how young she is, and that depresses him. While Holden was in the process of packing he came across some ice skates his mother gave him and thought, “One thing about packing depressed me a little. I had to pack these brand-new ice skates my mother had practically just sent me a couple of days before. That
And that’s hardly a complete list. What do these all have in common? Loss. Sadness is a reaction we have automatically and outside any direct control when we realize we’ve lost something that matters. Depressed or depression appeared 41 times in the book. Holden was happy about five times at the max. Sadness is a major theme of The catcher in the rye. Chapter one, What i was really hanging round for, I was trying to feel some kind of goodbye. I mean i have left schools and places i did not even know i was leaving them i hate that. i do not care if it is a sad goodbye, but when i leave a place i like to know i am leaving it. if you don 't you feel even worse. In chapter 2 he also talks very depressing. After i shut the door and started back to the living room he yelled something at me , but i couldn 't exactly hear him. i am pretty sure he yelled good luck at me i hope not. I hope to hell not. id never yell good luck at anybody. it sounds terrible; when you think about it. Its obvious that he is very depressed and sadness has over taken
Holden Caulfield conveys his melancholy, sarcasm, and seclusion greatly through his dialogue; his vocabulary constantly consists of depression and loneliness. He expresses such agony all throughout the dialogue of the book. An example of this would be when Holden quotes, “When I finally got down off the radiator and went out to the hat-check room, I was crying and all. I don’t know why, but I was. I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome” (153). In this quote, Holden is expressing his confusion and unhappiness but mostly is just confused to why he is unhappy. He feels a severe amount of misery that devours him, all of which is shown greatly in all of his dialogue. He, at one point in the novel, feels like committing suicide because he cannot handle the pressure. He says that “I stayed in the bathroom for about an hour, taking a bath and all. Then I got back in bed. It took me quite a while to get to sleep- I...
The catcher in the rye by J.D. Salinger is about a boy named Holden Caulfield and his struggles in one part of his life. Holden seem very normal to people around him and those he interacts with. However, Holden is showing many sighs of depression. A couple of those signs that are shown are: trouble sleeping, drinking, smoking, not eating right, and he talk about committing suicide a couple times during the book. On top of that Holden feel alienated plus the death of Holden’s brother Allie left Holden thinking he and no where to go in life.
The 1940's were a time of nationalism. Men had to have an appearance of a tough attitude. They were never allowed to let their real feelings show. One of the major reasons Holden becomes depressed is the death of his brother Allie. He described is brother as being nothing but perfect. He keeps this guilt locked up inside him because he blames his death on himself. A memory that haunts him is when he excluded his brother from a b-b gun game. Another memory that he held on to and was never able to forgive himself for was when Allie asked Holden to go bike riding and he didn't go. Holden did not have a good relationship with his Mother or Father. He needed them the most right after the death of Allie. However, we see Holden crying out help and attention when he threw a baseball through the window and broke it and still nobody talked to him. His older brother went off to Hollywood. The only one he adores is his younger sister Phoebe. He is able to talk to her and he thought she understood him.
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, portrays Holden Cawfield a New York City teenager in the 1950's as a manic-depressive. Holden's depression starts with the death of his brother, Allie . Holden is expelled from numerous schools due to his poor academics which are brought on by his depression. Manic depression, compulsive lying, and immaturity throughout the novel characterize Holden.
Mr. Antolini?s theory as to what is wrong with Holden is right on, it?s just too bad he was unable to get through to Holden. Due to the fact that Holden has already given up on himself and is unwilling to apply the valuable advice he has been given. He has lost the substantial ability to find happiness in life and therefore can?t find the energy to motivate himself in anything he does. It?s a tragedy that someone as bright as Holden Caulfield is unable to find the strength within himself to persevere in a world of insanity.
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, portrays Holden Caulfield as a manic-depressive. Holden uses three techniques throughout the novel to cope with his depression. He smokes, drinks, and talks to Allie. Although they may not be positive, Holden finds comfort in these three things.
Holden Caulfield suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder throughout the course of the novel. In fact, the root of all his problems come from Allie’s passing; he died from leukemia. Holden used to be extremely close with him and his imminent death changed his entire life and psyche. Holden seems to relive the event of his beloved little brother Allie’s death over and over. “What is clear, however, is that many of the symptoms Holden displays in the course of the novel mirror the classic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The death of his younger brother, Allie was a traumatic event in Holden Caulfield’s life and is perhaps at the root of the depression he battles in the novel. The death of a sibling can trigger post-traumati...
J.D. Salinger, in his novel The Catcher in the Rye, shows that often times when an individual faces problems in their life they will try to find a means to escape, instead of solving them. Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be excluded from any group. He feels alienated from the rest of society, but I believe that Holden stays bitter on purpose. He keeps a cynical, sarcastic outlook on life so as to escape his true feelings. This is not uncommon for people who have trouble accepting their problems.