How Does Holden Present Depression In Catcher In The Rye

In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield recounts his experience in New York City after his expulsion from his third school. Holden, the central character of the novel, describes all characters he meets descriptively, yet he never provides an explanation of his motives. Luckily, Holden’s personality is reflected through the various symbols throughout the novel. J.D Salinger uses symbolism to create an intimate connection to Holden’s unique emotions in an ever changing society. To begin, we first gain insight of Holden’s character through his odd taste in choice.

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger tells the story of Holden Caulfield and his three day journey through the streets of New York after getting expelled from Pencey Prep. Holden experiences a vast variety of emotions and experiences that past events have lead up to. One of the few positive experiences Holden has would be talking to his younger sister, Phoebe, about his dreams of being “the catcher in the rye.” Holden’s dream of being “the catcher in the rye” has Holden standing guard on the edge of a rye field, located on a cliff, watching children play and being there to catch the children before they fall off the

Holden Caulfield is the main character and narrator, in the novel Catcher in the Rye by Jerome David Salinger. He is a teenager (16/17) who refuses to grow up, and is continuously struggling with the fact that life goes on. The novel portrays him as a struggling teen that is stuck right in between the world of innocence, childhood, and the tricky world of adulthood. Holden’s’ two younger siblings Allie, who is no longer alive, and Pheobe are the main interest for him because he sees them as 2 people that are able to be saved from the adulthood and be kept innocent from the adult world. Holden despises the adult world due to the amount of responsibility an adult usually has because he is simply afraid of it.

In J.D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye the character Holden is shown to have many different psychological issues and personality traits. Holden seems to be very emotionally unstable and his exhibits of feelings. As the novel progresses, we observe all of Holden’s memories of his emotions and psychological breakdowns. Holden is unable to cope with his psychological and mental issues causing him to have spikes of emotion always leading him to another emotional collapse. Holden’s initial issue is that he is emotionally unstable.

In the book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden was molded into someone with a more hopeful future. He went from a life of sloth and indifference to fighting for children and generously helping save their innocence. Holden first displays the sin of sloth through all aspects of his life, especially in his schooling. He is failing four out of five of his classes. Holden is a high school student and has been expelled of four schools already for academic failure.

When I was younger, I can remember one of my friends telling me during recess that every single person in this world besides ourselves were fake. She told me that everyone was a robot and we were the only two people with actual emotions and real feelings whereas everybody else was merely just a fake being and pre-programed. For a couple of days, I really did believe in what she was telling me. In youth, people are much more susceptible to believing in false realities and not truly understanding all that is around them as well as all the people around them. In the novel "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caufield too, falls into the falsities that coincide with youth.

At one point or another, many people wish to live in a nicer society than their current situation. Similarly, in the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist and narrator Holden Caulfield expresses similar desires. Remaining unhappy until the final pages of the story, Holden expresses his desire to live in a carefree, innocent world that never changed. Luckily for him, the town of Pleasantville in the identically titled feature film fulfills many of these requirements that he presents. The utopian society depicted in the movie Pleasantville is a perfect representation of the type of world Holden Caulfield wants to live in.

The Catcher in the Rye, written by JD Salinger, is narrated by a young man named Holden Caulfield. Undergone with mental treatment in a sanatorium at age 16, the story initiate a plot twist at Pency Prep, Pennsylvania. Failing four subjects, except English depicts how unconcerned and reluctant he is for a new change. After his exit from Pency Prep, he encounters a society beyond innocence, making it an interesting aspect to analyze and scrutinize the book into depth. Throughout the early chapters, the prevalence of a significant theme was ‘Individual alienation’.

The Catcher And The Rye by J.D. Salinger is an epic novel where our main character Holden Caulfield faces many challenges that challenge him as a young man such as growing up, rebellion, and love. Holden like most teenagers is rebellious but to an extreme nature. After flunking out of his fourth school the last one being Pencey Prep he refuses to tell his mother and father. In wanting to avoid this confrontation he leaves three days earlier taking a train back to Manhattan. Where he goes on adventure that turns him into a young man.

In J.D Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield portrays the role of a teenage boy that struggles to come in terms with the reality of growing up. As he goes around New York searching for the answers to his problems, he encounters various people that either add to his struggles or help him. It is seen, though, that most of those he encounters add to his complexity with the adult world. This aids him in alienating himself to protect what childhood innocence he has left. Out of those he meets, the ones that had him distance himself most are Sally Hayes, a girl that Holden dates from time to time, and Mr. Antolini, one of Holden’s former teachers.