The Catcher In The Rye Theme Analysis

In a study done by Doctor Robert Needlman, he displays how it is normal for teenagers to not want to share their feelings with others. He states that this only becomes a problems when the teenager has no one to share their feelings with the teenager has no one to share their feelings with at all. Then novel Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger elaborates on this idea with its main character. Holden is a teenager who has been dealing with the death of his brother and deep depression. After getting kicked out of school for the 4th time, we follow his lonely journey through New York City. This novel displays many themes throughout regarding teen depression and loneliness. JD Salinger shows how loneliness leads to a buildup of unhappy emotions. Salinger also shows how teens with depression tend to alienate themselves from the rest of the world. This feeling of loneliness and alienating themselves from the world leads teens down a depressed life.

One of the most prevalent themes in the novel The Catcher in the Rye is how loneliness affects teenagers and leads them to a buildup of unhappy emotions. Salinger shows Holden’s loneliness when he tries to think of someone to talk to when he first gets to New York. Instead Holden gets to the phone booth and “ends up not calling anybody” (59). Holden really wants to talk to someone, but as soon as he thinks of whom he might walk to call, he either comes up with a reason for why they would not want to talk to him, or a reason why he would not want to talk to them. Later on, it’s noticeable that Holden would rather talk to someone else who doesn’t know him, than someone from his life. When riding in a cab, asks the cab driver if he “would care to stop on the way and join [him] for a cocktail”. ...

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...en after his brother died, he is afraid of any sort of emotional connection with anyone.

When looking at the big picture of novel Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, the reader can see how Salinger explores many aspects of teenage life, specifically focusing on depression. We can see how Holden's journey through New York City is an extremely lonely one, which at times is Holden's own doing, and at other times Holden actually wants to interact with someone, but they will not acknowledge him. JD Salinger says a lot about how teenagers with more severe cases of depression will act like the way Holden does, where they will close themselves off from nearly everyone in their personal life. He shows how teenagers who experience traumatic events in the early stages of adolescence, like the death of Holden's little brother, are more likely to go down this path of depression.