Holden Caulfield Research Paper

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Ethan Jordan Mrs. Metviner English 9 12 February, 2024. Holden Caulfield: The Ways to Cope In the novel The Catcher and the Rye, the author J.D. Salinger shows us the life of Holden Caulfield, who goes through a difficult time during his teenage years. He repeatedly brings up his feelings of depression and because of this, he struggles and uses various coping methods. This includes alcohol abuse, the use of cigarettes, and trying to reach his dead younger brother Allie. Despite repeatedly stating that he has depression, he refuses to tell people about it and seek assistance. Holden decides to confide his pain and suffering into coping methods that affect his emotional well-being. Holden's various coping methods to deal with his depression …show more content…

When Allie died he was distraught: “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. I even tried to break all the windows on the station wagon we had that summer, but my hand was already broken and everything was in place by that time, and I couldn't do it. It was a very stupid thing to do, I'll admit, but I hardly didn't even know I was doing it, and you didn't know Allie,” (25). Holden's reaction when his younger brother Allie passed away demonstrates how strong of a bond they had. Holden clearly shows that he loves Allie very much and can’t bear the feeling of him not being there, so he lashes out with anger. It was a detrimental event in his life. Throughout the book, Holden enlightens the reader on how spectacular he thought Allie was. This connection was so strong that later on in the book Holden attempts to reach Allie during the peak of his depression. “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, …show more content…

Imagining Allie being there for Holden gave him comfort, almost giving him light in the darkness of his depression. Holden also struggles with addictions to alcohol and smoking to try and suppress some of his feelings of depression. In multiple instances, Holden has gone to cigarettes to try and numb some of his pain. “After Old Sunny was gone, I sat in the chair for a while and smoked a couple of cigarettes. It was getting daylight outside. Boy, I felt miserable. I felt so depressed, you can't imagine”(98). Holden seemingly decided to light a cigarette in the hopes that it would make him feel less alone. In a way, the cigarette could represent Holden's loneliness, since the cigarettes seem to give Holden a sense of familiarity from when he was in a better state. Cigarettes aren't the only substance he uses to cope with. Holden also uses alcohol on multiple occasions to try and numb his depression. “When I was really drunk, I started that stupid business with the bullet in my gut again. I was the only guy at the bar with a bullet in their guts. I kept putting my hand under my jacket, on my stomach and all, to keep the blood from dripping all over

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