Depression In Catcher In The Rye

Teenage years are difficult. Time tells this story of struggle again and again. The Catcher in the Rye is a classic novel showing the struggles a teenager goes through while transitioning into adulthood. The main character, Holden Caulfield, is a judgmental and temperamental boy who struggles to see the positivity in life. Throughout the story, Holden searches to find himself, as he feels forced to grow up. He holds onto aspects of his childhood and isolates himself so much that it is even harder for him to transition. J.D. Salinger uses the red hunting hat, the museum and cigarettes as important symbols in the story to convey the themes of transitioning from childhood to adulthood, loneliness, and isolation.

Throughout the novel Catcher and the Rye, the author J.D Salinger presents Holden Caulfield as someone who is battling with growing up and who is putting up barriers. Holden’s brother died when he was eleven years old, meaning he lost his innocence at a young age. Holden keeps this in the inside and lets out his anger by calling everybody “phonies”.He does find comfort in a red hunting hat and his dead brother Allie. Holden's comfort in materialistic hat shows how he doesn’t appreciate the people close to him.

Holden never understands how such an innocent child could be cursed with cancer, and this makes him extremely critical of people and of life, which he views as unfair. Holden’s underlying depression throughout the novel directly relates back to his brother’s death and ultimately stops him from enjoying the simple things in life. For instance, once his mom sends him skates in the mail as a present. Even though they were not the racing skates that he wants, he made a general statement saying: “Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad” (58). He feels like he is not worthy enough to be given a gift to, as if he did nothing to be rewarded for. Nothing eases his pain from the death of his innocent brother and gifts

In J. D Salinger 's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden, goes through many hardships in his journey to self-knowledge. In the beginning, Holden has to deal with being kicked out of school and not having any place to call home. He is also struggling with the unfortunate tragedy of the death of his beloved younger brother Allie. At the same time, Holden is trying to deal with growing up and accepting the adult world. Throughout the novel Salinger addresses the conflicts faced by a young man struggling with the trials and tribulations of growing up while also confronting personal loss and loneliness along the way.

Depression, a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration. This mental illness demonstrates to affect teens as much as it affects adults. Studies show that 20 percent of teens will experience teen depression before they reach adulthood. When you deal with depression, you often find it difficult to live an everyday normal life. The “Catcher in the Rye” written by J.D Salinger, narrates on the main character Holden Caulfield, a hostile and negative person, who suffers from severe depression.

            Holden is quite skilled at citing exactly what is wrong with other people.  However he never acknowledges his own faults.  He was sure the entire world was out of step with him.  As Alan Stewart explains, ?Holden seemed to divide the world into two groups.  He was in one group, along with a few other people such as his little sister, Phoebe, and

Being a teenager is hard. There are even many struggles that a person has to face throughout their adolescent years such as dating, getting good grades, and keeping a good relationship with friends and family. For Holden, the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye, going through the traditional high school’s struggles wasn’t easy. In addition to all the ‘normal’ challenges that every teenager has, Holden also had depression. Depression cast a dark shadow that followed Holden all throughout the story. Despite all of this, Holden made his life difficult for himself by doing things such as unfairly judging people, telling numerous lies and having a pessimistic attitude. Holden’s life, and the lives of the people around him could have been much simpler if he tried using these traits in a positive way. Instead Holden’s life was unnecessarily complicated, as he forced challenges onto himself from the way he behaved.

J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, examines the evolution of protagonist Holden Caulfield, from a disturbed and self-isolated sixteen-year-old, unwilling to face impending adulthood, to a teen recognizing the inevitability of that destination and finding a semblance of peace in that understanding. Holden’s red hunting hat, a prevalent symbol throughout the novel, serves to protect him from constant loneliness and alienation, shields him from a world of phoniness and adulthood and peers and ultimately serves as a symbol of his willingness to grow up.

According to psychcentral.com, 10-15 percent of teen are going through some form of depression. For as long people have know, teens have been going through a struggle from the transition from childhood to adulthood and they need someone to ‘catch’ them; Holden is no different, he is struggling with growing up and doesn’t know what his place in the world is. This type of thinking is what results in depression which can be treated with the right help. No teen wants to go through a mental illness like depression but it naturally occurs as a teen must go through the gruesome process of growing up and leaving their childhood behind and taking the responsibilities of being an adult. Any teen could get depression as they grow and Holden is just one

Throughout Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield, a young boy who has recently been expelled from Pencey Prep, shows severe signs of depression that progress throughout the book. Although one may argue that the chapter in which Holden describes the suicide of James Castle is the peak of his depression, chapter 20 best exemplifies Holden’s severe depression by drowning his thoughts in alcohol, fantasizing his own death, funeral, and how his family would be affected if he died. During chapter 20 Holden’s drinking becomes excessive and is a coping mechanism for his depression. Holden starts to drown his thoughts in alcohol and use it as a coping mechanism for his depression. “I sat in that goddamn bar till around one o’clock or so getting drunk as a basard. I could

Feeling detached from other people is another major symptom related to Holden's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. From the very beginning of the book, we could tell that Holden is used to spending a lot of time by himself. Everyone was at the school football game while he was standing by himself way up on top of Thomsen Hill (Salinger, 5). Holden's loneliness and detachment from others is also present many times later in the novel. Being alone made Holden very depressed.

“That's the whole trouble. When you're feeling very depressed, you can't even think.” During the 1940’s, author, J.D. Salinger was in World War II. The war traumatized him and many others tremendously, he became extremely scared and depressed. Salinger had PTSD and breakdowns from the war and ended up in a mental hospital.

In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger discusses the ideas of alienation and isolation. He notes that if one is unable to keep up with society they lose touch. Salinger portrays alienation and isolation through literary devices such as symbolism. Some of the symbolic features use in the novel is Holden’s red hunting hat which shows Holden’s uncommon desire compared to society’s desires. Another significant symbolic feature is the catcher in the rye; this represents Holden’s idea of protecting children from maturing as adults and facing reality. Another literary device is tone, although Holden seems preoccupied, he constantly tries to seek companionship throughout the book. J.D. Salinger also portrays irony, it is ironic that Holden calls the people around him loners and phonies when he, himself is a loner and a phony that refuses to accept taking on responsibilities and growing up. The literary devices used in this novel, further support Salinger’s recurring theme of alienation and isolation.

In comparison, Salinger’s “The Catcher in The Rye”, uses the Character of Holden to illustrate how being given too much freedom leads to the uncertainty of one’s identity. Salinger’s use of symbolism presents Holden’s quest to find his identity; conspicuous through the representation of the protagonist’s “red hunting hat”, which has an unusual appearance allowing Holden to express his individuality and identity. One can also suggest that he wears the hat to feel safe by using its unusualness to exclude himself from those around him and avoid making human connections in case it results in suffering and pain. This eventually leads to his mental instability due to his inability to share his opinions and worries with those around him. Moreover,

In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger uses many symbols and themes as a way to protect Holden from adulthood, his individuality, and childhood. While in high school, Holden seems to struggle with his school work and with his outlook on life. As many obstacles come his way, his main self battle would be having to grow up, become mature, and enter adulthood with excitement and confidence. Holden often uses his red hunting hat as a way to alienate himself and protect his own uniqueness and individuality from others, maybe even from himself, the ducks represent his loss of innocence and insurance as he is forced to enter adulthood, and finally the