Holden's Depression In Catcher In The Rye

672 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The catcher in the rye summary essay

Sacha Gessie Mme Marie-Claude Bédard English 30 of April 2014 ISU of catcher in the rye J.D Salinger as born in New York City on January 1, 1919, he didn’t wright many novels in which he was renowned for. But one day, he did write one novel that brought him instant fame. In J.D. Salinger’s, Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy on the brink of adulthood, and he is trying to make sense of his existents and where he belongs. He also refuses to lose his innocence even though he knows is inevitable. One of the most impactful events in Holden’s past is the death of his brother. Jos death definitely took a big piece of Holden’s innocence. One of the main causes of his depression is the death of Allie’s and it had a tremendous impact on his life. Allie inset rarely mentioned, his passing had a great impact on Holden. Leukemia took is younger brothers innocents and this deeply saddened him and he promise himself to that he would do whatever he could not to let that happen to other innocent kids. “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. 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” An example of Holden’s changes is when he realizes that he can’t stop even half of the “f**k you’s” in society. You may think it is not important, but it is a vary symbolic point because he realizes that he cannot be the protector or catcher in the rye. Holden dreams of shielding all of the innocent kids from mean words or hurtful comments were shattered by this single declaration. An example of this is when Holden sees the "f**k you" for the first time on the wal... ... middle of paper ... ...e simplistic, idealistic and perfect vision of life that Holden wishes he could live. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move. . . . Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you.” To conclude, Holden try’s desperately on holding on to his innocents. Triggered by the loss of his brother, Holden makes it his mission to protect kids from there inevitable maturity, sealing them from phony’s and. When he realised that he could not achieve the qoel of saving all children from growing up Holden has a nervous breakdown. He dosint understand the proses of life ad he can’t pick to stay a child for ever when in reality growing up is inevitable. ‘’We've let the blade of our innocence dull over time, and it's only in innocence that you find any kind of magic, any kind of courage.”

Show More
Related

  • Free Essays - Catcher in the Rye

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    This view is portrayed though two main aspects of the novel.  Firstly theme - you must live in a world as it is, not as you would like it to be.  Holden can’t seem to accept the world as it is and finds New York extremely “phoney”.  Holden has a great disliking for the movies, he finds them the phoniest of them all “I hate the movies like poison” and he cant believe that people actually make time to go to the there.

    Read More

  • Holden's Depression in Catcher in the Rye

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Holden's Depression in The Catcher in the Rye

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Free Catcher in the Rye Essays: Holden as the Typical Teenager

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.

    Read More

  • Holden's Resistance To Change

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite Holden's resistance to change, he starts to change. "Catcher in the Rye," reminds us that changing is not easy to process mentally. Going through the true process of change, it requires us to let go of the past and move on which is hard. The novel represents the hardship of changing. It reminds us how great the value of finding something special and precious is as well as a valid reason although it requires us to let go and move on with our lives. All it requires is to simply let

    Read More

  • Examples Of An Immature Man In Catcher In The Rye

    658 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Catcher in the Rye, Holden is an immature boy. Holden’s immaturity cause him many problem throughout the book. He is physically mature but not emotionally mature. He acts like a child. “All of a sudden I started to cry. I’d give anything if I hadn’t, but I did” (p. 103). Holden shows his emotional unstableness.

    Read More

  • Holden Caulfield: Dynamic or Static?

    659 Words  | 2 Pages

    We see during the novel that Holden wants to be able to protect innocence in the world, however by the end of the story he lets go of that desire. This is a point of growth for Holden. He finds that it is impossible and unnecessary to keep all the innocence in the world. While with Phoebe Holden says, “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye...I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff...That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye” (173). In this moment Holden wants to be able to preserve all the youth and innocence in the world. He doesn’t accept that kids have to grow and change and that they can’t stay innocent forever. Later on in the story when Holden is with Phoebe at a carousel again he thinks, “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the golden ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” At the end of the novel Holden realizes and comes to terms with the fact that kids grow and lose their innocence. He moves from his want to be the “catcher in the rye” to...

    Read More

  • Holden's Influenced

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Catcher in the Rye Holden Gets Influenced Everyone gets influenced by someone, even heroes do. The Catcher in the Rye, a novel written by J. D. Salinger, talks about Holden Caulfield, a 16 year old boy that is trying to live through his problems. Holden tries to learn from his experiences as well as from the ones of others. He goes through many hard times, but he always takes them as a chance to imagine how it could have ended if he had done something about them or what cold had happened if he was not so “yellow”.

    Read More

  • How Does Holden Present Depression In Catcher In The Rye

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the United States, 8% of the population has depression. However, only 35% of these people have been diagnosed and seek help. The number of people seeking treatment in the 1950s, when Holden was roaming the streets of New York City, was lower. Common symptoms of depression include sadness, angry outbursts, reduced appetite, and feeling guilty. In The Catcher and the Rye, Holden Caulfield constantly experiences mood swings and loneliness. The emotions expressed by Holden in the novel directly relate the common symptoms of depression.

    Read More

  • Catcher In The Rye Depression Analysis

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    Holden wished that Allie did not die. Melinda Smith and Jeanne Segal said that some of the signs and symptoms of depression are “Sadness or Hopelessness, poor school performance, and feelings of worthlessness and guilt” (2). Holden had to deal with guilt when he couldn't come to Allie’s funeral since, he was in the hospital. Holden feels guilty for not going and he mourns Allie everyday since his death. According to the article Depression, “Depression differs from grief, bereavement or mourning, which are appropriate emotional responses to the loss of loved persons or objects” (1). In conclusion, Allie’s death played a huge part in Holden’s

    Read More

  • The Catcher In The Rye

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    Holden cannot accept the loss of innocence as a step into the growing up process. The ones that he loves most, are those who are younger to him, they are innocent, and untouched by society’s truths. Holden says, “…I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around-nobody big. I mean – except me.

    Read More

  • The Innocence of Childhood in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

    1249 Words  | 3 Pages

    To begin with, Holden’s love for the innocence and purity of childhood makes him very hesitant to transition into an adult life. Generally, he finds children to be straightforward, easygoing, and simply pure in every way. This is because they always say what they mean, and never try to set a false façade for...

    Read More

  • Holden's Lonliness Catcher In the Rye

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many young people often find themselves struggling to find their own identity and place in society. This search for self worth often leaves these young people feeling lonely and isolated because they are unsure of themselves. Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger's main character in the book The Catcher In the Rye, is young man on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. One contributor to this breakdown, is the loneliness that Holden experiences. His loneliness is apparent through many ways including: his lack of friends, his longing for his dead brother, and the way he attempts to gain acceptance from others.

    Read More

  • Holden's Pessimistic View of the World in The Catcher in the Rye

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lies, failure, depression, and loneliness are only some of the aspects that Holden Caulfield goes through in the novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger. Salinger reflects Holden’s character through his own childhood experiences. Salinger admitted in a 1953 interview that "My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book.… [I]t was a great relief telling people about it” (Wikipedia). Thus, the book is somewhat the life story of J.D. Salinger as a reckless seventeen-year-old who lives in New York City and goes through awful hardships after his expulsion and departure from an elite prep school. Holden, the protagonist in this novel, is created as a depressed, cynical, and isolated character and he expresses this attitude through his dialogue, tone, and diction.

    Read More

  • Holden's Depression in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye

    1532 Words  | 4 Pages

    Everybody feels depressed at some time or another in their lives.  However, it becomes a problem when depression is so much a part of a person's life that he or she can no longer experience happiness.  This happens to the young boy, Holden Caulfield in J.D Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye.  Mr. Antolini accurately views the cause of Holden's depression as his lack of personal motivation, his inability to self-reflect and his stubbornness to overlook the obvious which collectively results in him giving up on life before he ever really has a chance to get it started.

    Read More

More about Holden's Depression In Catcher In The Rye

Open Document