Catcher In The Rye Holden's Depression

J.D. Salinger, an author of the book the Catcher in the Rye. The Catcher in the Rye is a novel that spells out the problems and causes of teenage and adulthood depression. Holden, the main character, is a teenage that suffers from depression and lack of interest in human society. Holden's depression was not stated clearly at the beginning of the book. His actions and use of words later in the book clearly showed that Holden suffered from a mental illness. Holden was a cold boy at the beginning of the book and the reader understands that he is a failure. The reasons of his deep depression and failures were stated later in the book. Holden gave details about how much he hated humans and he often described them as phony. His lack of interest

in human society explains why Holden's depression was developed. Holden did not want to believe that his depression could be gone. He kept repeating actions that made him feel depressed and lonely. Holden always gave too many details about every person he saw and he refused to connect to people in the right way.

"He's so good he's almost corny, in fact. I don't know exactly what I mean by that, but I mean it," (Salinger, 90). Holden did not want to state that some humans are actually good people. Holden always wanted to create and see the bad in every good. He did not want to believe that some humans are not innocent but nice at the same time. He wanted to believe that human beings are phony actors that try to fit in the society. Also, Holden was stuck between wanting to stay innocent and dealing with the outer society. Holden's inability to deal with people in his age isolated him from the society. He could not enjoy activities and things people at his age do. He always wanted to proof that he could be mature and wise. Holden was connecting himself to things that often made him more depressed than he is. "The trouble was, I just didn't want to do it. I felt more depressed than sexy, if you want to know the truth," (Salinger, 107). He was convincing himself that he was obsessed with girls but later he admitted that this made him feel more lonely than happy. Holden tried to connect himself to human beings but he failed at

it. He was trying to escape from his own thoughts and he did not want to believe that he was actually acting younger than his age. The way Holden thought and act were the things that actually made him depressed. His negative thoughts toward humans and life were controlling his actions. Holden's depression appealed when his younger brother died. He could have made his depression lessen but he made it worse. He kept convincing himself that no matter what happened he would have never been able to fit in completely. His depression would have lessened if he let himself enjoy the things around him.