Catcher In The Rye Depression

J.D. Salinger 's "The Catcher in the Rye" portrays a troubled teen in New York City. Over the few days the novel depicts, the boy displays his critical and unhealthy mindset. Eventually he has a mental breakdown. Through psychoanalysis of Holden Caulfield, one may suggest that Allie 's death, social development, and an identity crisis are large contributing factors in Holden 's mental breakdown.

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J.D. Salinger. It is narrated by Holden Caulfield, a cynical teenager who recently got expelled from his fourth school. Though Holden is the narrator and main character of the story, the focus of Salinger’s tale is not on Caulfield, but of the world in which we live. The Catcher in the Rye is an insatiable account of the realities we face daily seen through the eyes of a bright young man whose visions of the world are painfully truthful, if not a bit jaded. Salinger’s book is a must-read because its relatable symbolism draws on the reader’s emotions and can easily keep the attention of anyone.

Likewise, Holden is also consistently rejected when he seeks help from others. On Saturday night, Holden rides the cab to Ernie’s. During the ride, Holden “sort of [strikes] up a conversation” with Horwitz, the cab driver, about the ducks in Central Park (Salinger 81). Holden does not know where to go and feels lost, relating himself to the ducks during winter. However, Horwitz blatantly shows no interest in the ducks and diverts the conversation to the fish in the pond instead, thinking that winter is “tougher for the fish” (Salinger 82). Despite his curiosity, Holden quickly drops the conversation after seeing that Horwitz is getting frustrated with him. In addition, Horwitz also rejects Holden’s invitation to have a drink. Later on, Holden hires Sunny, a prostitute. Although Holden claims to be a sex maniac, he is still a virgin. Thus, as Sunny begins to take off her clothes, Holden feels peculiar and embarrassed. He notices Sunny’s childish habits, such as her “teeny little wheeny-whiny voice” and lack of use of vulgar language (Salinger 94). In addition, Sunny starts “jiggling her

The four moments Holden considers the ducks at Central Park- the two taxi rides, when he goes to Central Park, and at Mr. Spencer’s exhibit the specific stages and development of Holden towards maturity.

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.

The ducks are first brought to the reader’s attention while Holden is visiting his teacher, Mr. Spencer, regarding his removal from Pencey. While conversing with Mr. Spencer, however, Holden’s mind drifts elsewhere. His mind drifts back to New York as he wonders to himself if the lagoon in Central Park is frozen over, and if so, where do the ducks go? A direct parallel can be drawn from the ducks in the lagoon to Holden’s present situation. He is mandated to leave Pencey, but has no idea where he belongs after leaving. Just like the ducks in the lagoon, “Holden is essentially homeless, frozen out” (Trowbridge par. 1). Holden’s life has not been filled with an abundance of stability and now what little he had is gone, albeit due to faults of his own, and he sees an unsure and hazy future. Holden inquires about the state of the ducks to the driver of the first cab he catches in New York, and the driver believes that he is kidding. Later on, he asks another cab driver if somebody came around “in a truck or something to take them away” or if they flew away “by themselves” (Salinger 81-82). Knowing what happens to these ducks, knowing that they are safe and secure even though the lagoon is frozen would provide Holden with a sense of comfort about his current state of affairs. What seems to be a ridiculous and meaningless question to the

Where do the ducks go during the Winter when the water is frozen? In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the character, Holden Caulfield, has an underlying mental condition. He failed out of four schools; he saw his friend commit suicide; and his younger brother died of cancer. These life-changing experiences paved the way for Holden’s insecure and unstable life. By his narration, Holden hints at his disorder throughout the book without fully explaining his condition. Holden’s many insecurities, his teetering on the edge of childhood and adulthood, and his irrational ideas help the reader realize that Holden has a mental problem.

Holden is very inquisitive about where the ducks in Central Park go in the winter. His questioning the cab drivers of this shows a youthful willingness in him to discover what he is curious about. “You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance?” (60) The cab drivers give mostly thoughtless

After riding in a cab for a while, Holden and Horwitz the cab driver begin talking. Horwitz being a cab driver and all, Holden assumed that he knew about the ducks. So Holden decides to ask him if he ever passed the lagoon in Central Park, where the ducks were. When Horwitz says he knows about the lake, Holden questioned further if he knew where the ducks goes during the winter. Horwitz response was harsh and he was becoming irritated by Holden’s tedious and silly questions. Holden decided to drop it and then Horwitz spoke up. He notifies to Holden that the fish stays in the lake, but Holden tells him that they are different from the ducks, but Horwitz tells him that there is no difference, which causes Holden to hesitate. Holden, “...didn’t

The ducks represents how Holden deals with maturity throughout his journey. The ducks also represent running away. and this is why Holden have questions whether stay at the pond meaning stay with his parents or fly to the neverland meaning escaping. Holden wonders where do the ducks go when the pond freezes, even though Holden wants to escape from his family he wants to see his little sister, Phoebe. Just like the ducks Holden runs away when problems get harder, in case of the ducks the freezing lagoon is the problem and when there is no problems he does not bother to do anything just like the ducks. Holden runs ways when things get difficult; therefore, he does not want to run away when everything is fine.

When Holden arrives New York, he tried to call several people but for various reasons he decided against it. Holden doesn’t seem to know what to do in New York since he is three days earlier as expected by his parents. So he rode a cab and he asked the cab driver where the ducks in Central Park go when the lagoon freezes, but his question annoys the driver.

The ducks and fishes find themselves in two separate worlds, incapable of finding a way to bridge the gap, or lagoon. Discovering himself to be in a similar plight, Holden ventures to find an answer that would help him see a path for better or for worse. One such example occurs as Holden arrives in Manhattan. He strikes up a conversation with his cab driver, Horwitz, asking him, “Do you happen to know where [the

In The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger uses Holden’s recurring moments of the ducks in central park to reveal the curiosity and genuine side of Holden. During his first taxi rides in the city, Holden was intrigued by the thought of where the ducks could possibly go during the winter. Do they end up being frozen in a lake? Do they migrate? Holden himself says he isn’t the average person so his perspective of ducks in Central Park, can be quite different than the average New Yorker.

This is seen as Holden asks cab drivers of New York where ducks live in the winter, this moment being symbolic of him wondering where he goes once his life as an adolescent has ended. Holden's tendency to view childhood as pure and adulthood as gritty and tired, evidenced with his disgust for the vandalism around the elementary school supports this idea further. This idea is found in Dead Poets as Neil faced conflict with his parents because of his wish to pursue acting rather than medical school which eventually lead him to commit

They cannot escape Change, try as they might, but must endure it. Holden is our narrator, though slightly delusional we often forget to not take his word, or so readily trust him. His constant and repeated usage of “crazy” and “depressed” seem to be for effect only; yet after Holden’s near fall in the pond and his unvarying brooding on death, Holden does seem to be on the edge of sanity’s precipice. Subsequent to searching for hints and turn of phrase in Holden’s narrative can one realise that Salinger foreshadows an abysmal event, such as an attempted suicide by