Psychological Battle in JD Salinger´s A Catcher in the Rye

The psychological battle of Holden Caulfield in the Catcher in the Rye, serves as the basis for the entire novel. Salinger's portrayal of Holden, which includes incidents of depression, a nervous breakdown, impulsive spending, sexual exploration, vulgarity, and other erratic behavior, attributes to the genuine nature of the novel. Salinger creates a real, relatable story by focusing on Holden´s thoughts and impressions of the events described in the novel, rather than the events themselves. The novel shows that the plot of the story isn’t that important in terms of importance, the Catcher in the Rye focuses more on what Holden thinks and how he thinks, creating an interesting, relevant story based on the psyche of a single character.
Holden’s thoughts indicate a personal struggle with depression, which strongly influences him. In many instances throughout the novel, Holden relays to the reader a feeling of deep sadness; this depression is often unreasonable and triggered by minor events and situations. When he explains his feelings about a prior headmaster’s “phony” and “long-winded” discussions with well-built and well-dressed parents, it makes him “so depressed [he] go[es] crazy” (19). His feelings about the headmaster reveal that he is prone to emotional overreaction and depressive thoughts. Holden even contemplates committing suicide several times. After a night where he did not have any particular luck in socializing, he feels so depressed that he wishes he were dead. This is pivotal because it is evident that his depression and emotions influence his thoughts. This becomes interesting and relevant to the reader because they can relate to the influential power their emotions have, and they can watch throughout the novel Ho...

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...ge and psychological problems relating to intimacy.
Through the use of flashbacks and digressions into diverse topics, the reader learns a lot about Holden without the presence of many important events in the novel. This along with Holden’s internal monologues and constantly expressed thoughts make The Catcher in the Rye a memorable novel. Everything that happens within Holden’s head in the novel adds to the story as a whole. His many psychological problems help to reveal the theme and purpose of the story. The Catcher in the Rye doesn’t exist without Holden’s depression, erratic behavior, and cynicism. The first person narrative allows each reader into the life of Holden, with so much detail that the reader can picture some aspects of Holden’s life as theirs. The novel is based around his thoughts rather than his actions which produces a story relatable to anyone.