Catcher In The Rye Analysis

In the novel The Catcher In The Rye, the main character Holden experiences a massive amount of struggle. One major struggle he experiences is depression. Many teenagers can relate to Holden because throughout the novel he shows some of the struggles that anyone could be going through. While I was reading I felt sympathy for Holden and wanted to reach out and help him get through his struggles. There are many red flags repeatedly showing Holden being depressed. These red flags are not only found in Holden but can be noticed in other people who are depressed.

Many students and adults do not like the novel,”The catcher in the rye”. The writer of this paper is one of those people. Most of the time the problem is the main charachter, 16 yaer old Holden Caulfeild’s tendencies an language. “ the catcher in the rye”, has been banned from many schools for these reasons, but when one takes a closer look at this seemingly spoiled teenager, one may notice that Holden has a mental illness. Holden Caulfeild has symptoms relating to post traumatic stress disorder, depression, and bipolar disorder. He should be admitted to the State Sanitariom for specialized treatment, thus resulting in better and more stable mental healt in the future for him.

Holden reveals to the reader that he, “almost wished he was dead” how is the plight of his mental health shown?

The coming of age phase in a young person’s life is a transitional phase which prompts the idea of individualism, decision making, acceptance, moral challenges, disappointment, and individual needs. These years are essential for the overall learning and growing-up part of someone’s life. Coming of age characteristics transpired in the novel The Catcher in the Rye and The Absolutely True Diary of a part-time Indian pertain to, but do not exclude, the acceptance of the complexities and “grayness” of the world, confrontation with the adult world, and the individual needs and desires vs. external pressures/expectations/norms. In both novels, young boys are faced with tough choices that will later help them in the overall transition from

Holden has shown many signs of having post traumatic stress. Some of the signs Holden had was as stated “triggers that can bring back memories of the trauma accompanied by intense emotional and physical reactions.” Holden always bring up Allie his brother, even when he wrote compositions for Stradlater, “So what I did, I wrote about my brother Allie’s baseball mitt,”(Salinger,38) Holden always tends to bring up the past. This is one of the many signs that Holden shows as the book progress. In the text, “All of a sudden, on my way out to the lobby, I got old Jane Gallagher on the brain again,” (Salinger, 76). Holden continuously brings up many people that has made him feel this way about people. Holden also demonstrates a lack of control when it comes to talking to people. When Holden brother Allie died when Holden was just 13, he punched out all the windows out of the garage saying, “It was just for the hell of it,” (Salinger, 39). This indicates that Holden is not a healthy psychologically adolescent, as he can’t articulate the thoughts of his actions. Holden’s lack of control and ability not to let go of the past shows how Holden is not mentally

The patient, Holden Caulfield, as he told in his story The Catcher in the Rye, written by J. D. Salinger, shows many signs of mental illness. Holden is a confused teenage boy that lives in the heart of New York City. He attended Pencey Prep until recently when he was kicked out because he was unable to apply himself to school. Holden often seems to struggle in his social life and with his emotions. He has trouble fitting in with other people his age and fights with himself over how he should act and think. These struggles are heightened by a traumatic past and highlight many signs of mental illness. All of Holden Caulfield’s symptoms point to more than just typical teenage struggles but to a mix of Post Traumatic Stress

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger that occurs around the 1950s. The story’s protagonist and narrator is Holden Caulfield, a seventeen year old white male, who journeys to various places as he mourns over the death of his little brother, Allie. As a white male in a capitalist society, he has tremendous amounts of privileges that allow him to get. However, as the novel progresses, Holden describes his society as a place where honored human qualities are suppressed and capitalist ideals are embraced. Throughout the novel, we see that capitalism, “the social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned”, destroys the overall society for Holden and his generation (Rand).

entails an emotional stigma which has overbearing feelings of despair and dejection. SigmundFreud encloses the similarities between the roots of depression with the grief experienced bythose who lost a loved one. (Comer, 2005). The author, J.D Salinger, highlights the destructiveimpacts of depression in his book, The Catcher in the Rye about the depression experienced bythe protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield has endured the emotional pain of hisyounger brother, Allie

One of the best known novels in English-speaking countries, J.D Salinger’s Catcher In The Rye deals with Holden Caulfield’s past trauma which is the triggering factor in his depression, anxiety and alienation. Holden tells an unnamed person what has happened in the three days prior to his mental breakdown. Through Holden’s relatable characteristics and Salinger’s narrative treatment, the book continues to engage audiences across generations.

Throughout the times of adolescence many teens often develop the feelings of having depression. The combination of unrealistic social, academic, and even family ideals has often lead to major disappointment and even makes teens feel helpless. Nowadays, teens often feel stressed out due to school and social situations which also helps lead them down the path of depression due to feelings of rejection and things never going their way. In the novel, The Catcher in The Rye, Holden Caulfield shows strong symptoms of having depression including substance abuse, sadness and hopelessness, and lack of enthusiasm.

In books, characters emotions often change the way they interact with the world around them. Negative emotions from characters tend to push other characters away. In J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye Holden is alienated from his peers due to his depression, Salinger uses this to illustrate how society leaves behind anyone who can’t keep up.

The transition from adolescence to adulthood is full of emotional hurdles. These emotional hurdles can be crippling without proper guidance. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist from J. D. Salinger’s Coming of Age Novel The Catcher in the Rye, deals with emotional immaturity through his promiscuity, identity crisis, and social withdrawal, which are commonly mistaken as indicators of clinical depression.

Depression is a real clinical illness but it can also be a matter of opinion or perspective. It affects a wide range in age in both men and women. In J.D. Salinger’s Bildungsroman novel, The Catcher in the Rye, we read about the experiences and thoughts of a young boy living in the late 1940’s. The protagonist of this novel, Holden Caulfield, has a very bitter and cynical tone throughout the novel. From the way he describes how he views society, one can deduce the fact Holden Caulfield is suffering from depression.

Young Catcher Songs can connect to lives of characters in books. There are similarities in between the song Young Forever by Jay Z feat Mr. Hudson and the main character Holden Caulfield in the novel Catcher in the Rye. Although there are similarities there are differences too. Many desire to stay young forever so they can avoid responsibilities and just enjoy life . This is one similarity between the song Young Forever and the character Holden Caulfield is that both talk about wanting to stay young.

Though Holden focuses on his depression, he represents a large part of the United States’ population. On several occasions, he describes his desolation. Mentally lost and lonely in New York City, Holden finds himself with a headache and the inability to sleep, saying, “I think I was more depressed than I ever was in my whole life” (Salinger 214). Relatively, the highest rate of depression occurs from ages 12-17 (Pratt)