Examples Of Grief In Catcher In The Rye

In the stage known as shock, I believe Holden’s experience in shock occurs when Holden gets kicked out of school and doesn't care. This proves that he is so overwhelmed by the death of his brother, that he doesn't care about school anymore. School just reminds him about what he lost. I think that this is an important element in the story because it shows just how strong his emotions are. I believe that Holden was not good at school before his brother’s passing. At one point

Holden is unable to accept realities of life because of his negative personality. He claims that many people are phony and that they try to do things to make them look better than they are. Holden also thinks of many things as depressing. “It was really nice sightseeing, if you know what I mean. In a way, it was sort of depressing, too, because you kept wondering what the hell would happen to all of them” (p. 123). Holden always finds a down side to a situation. He fails to recognize the good sides of life, and this prevents him from seeing advantages in adulthood that are not present in his life.

Almost every person will have to say goodbye to a person they love who has died. When an adolescent goes through this experience it could traumatize them. John Green once said “Grief does not change you. It reveals you.” In other words, the loss of a loved one doesn’t change who you are but reveals your character. A novel that explores the effect of grief on a young person is The Catcher In The Rye by J.D Salinger. The Catcher In The Rye is a novel about a teenager, Holden Caulfield, who is confused and makes life changing mistakes because of his inability to accept his brother Allie’s death. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross made up the five stages of grief. The stages are denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and acceptance. Holden goes through these five stages throughout the novel. Salinger uses the baseball mitt, the red hunting hat, and the carousel to explore the protagonist struggle to resolve his grief.

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.

The Catcher in the Rye is about a young boy named Holden Caulfield who is going

Holden shows how much he needs someone to talk to such as a psychologist, because he is suffering from depression and no one can tell. “Allie, don’t let me disappear. Allie don't let me disappear. Please, Allie. And then when I’d thank him”(Salinger 218).The only person he trust is his older brother but, he is dead and makes him seem crazy. With this it shows how Holden hasn’t been social in the longest time, which affects him now because he is going through a phase where he needs some to guide him to the right path. He

Holden’s story takes place in the 1950s. Because of this, it is necessary that the reader reads the story from multiple points of views. As Foster puts it, “don’t read with your eyes” (Foster 228) meaning that it is sometimes necessary to read from a perspective that will let you relate to and sympathize with the characters. The time period is shown many times such as when Holden goes dancing and asks a girl if she feels like “jitterbugging a little bit” (Salinger 72) referencing an iconic dance from that era. What people said and how they said it were very different in the past, and it is important to keep that in mind while reading.

One of the main symptoms that Holden suffers from are thoughts of suicide. “I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead,” (Salinger 48). It is clear that Holden feels alone, but only because no one cares enough to understand. Everyone is always telling Holden to grow up, but not how. Holden is forced into this isolation where he feels as if no one is there, and no one would miss him if he’s gone. Insomnia or lack of sleep is another symptom Holden suffers from. “I wasn’t sleepy or anything, but I was feeling sort of lousy. Depressed and all,” (Salinger 90). Insomnia affects Holden is a big way. Holden ends up wandering to bars or other places because he has nothing to do and nowhere to be. Insomnia destroys the desire for sex, and even impairs thought processes. Holden’s lack of sleep explains why he hired the prostitute but never had sex; because of his sleep loss. Not only is Holden losing sleep, but insomnia contributes to depression as well. Over time, sleep loss gives you depression, and that’s most likely why Holden has contracted the disorder. In the novel, Holden has a massive drinking problem. “Boy, I sat at that goddam bar till around one o’clock or so, getting drunk as a bastard,” (Salinger 150). Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden goes to multiple bars and offers drinks to multiple people. Even though he is underage,

It is evident that the protagonist, Holden Caulfield suffers from depression due to the death of his younger brother, Allie in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Due to Allie’s death, Holden’s actions elicit his own views of the world and the “phonies” around him.  Holden has tunnel-vision to living a simple, happy life and isolates himself from those around him who understand the concept of growing up. Salinger uses a hat, a museum, and a merry-go-round to illuminate Holden’s emotion, the notion of adulthood, and the reality of growing up. Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and the studies of Ego, Superego, and Id are used to show the significance of Holden’s behavior in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

Holden shows that a lot of things depress him through out the book. He doesn't like being around sick people because they depress him. " It was very depressing. I'm not too crazy about sick people anyway. " What was another sign that Holden was dealing with depression was his unwanted feeling of growing up and joining the adult world.

In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, undergoes an immense psychological change where he transforms from youth to maturity. The major conflict in the novel which held Holden back from progressing into adulthood had to do with the death of his younger brother, Allie. The way Holden expresses himself and all of the decisions he has made can all be related back to that experience which he has never been able to cope with. As a result, Holden spends the majority of his time alone which only further hinders his ability to find comfort. Finally, his unprovoked animosity towards adults and extreme uncontrollable emotions are a testament to his immaturity. It is not until Holden is watching Phoebe at

The Catcher in the Rye is a Bildungsroman novel written by J.D. Salinger in the point of view of a self-destructive and angsty protagonist named Holden Caulfield. Throughout this story, Holden gives readers a glimpse of his life and explains how he struggles with issues such as sexuality, loneliness, and individuality. Although Holden never admits the severity of his depression, readers are able to recognize that his constant gloomy mood and pessimistic outlook is unusual for his age. Holden’s depression is often triggered when trivial events occur because of his clouded judgement and short fuse. Holden’s depression is evident throughout the novel because of his substandard performance in school, his detachment from the rest if society, and

Depression negatively affects how someone feels, the way they think and how they act. Depression causes feelings of sadness or a loss of interest in activities or people. Holden’s negative thoughts indicate he has a personal struggle with depression, which strongly influences him, and shapes the way he acts. For example, after Maurice, the elevator operator, picks a fight with Holden over a deal that they made, Holden starts to cry spontaneously, this is alone a sign of depression. After Maurice leaves, Holden shows his desire to die when he says, “What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide” (Salinger 136). He seriously considers killing himself, but he doubted that he would be covered up and he did not want people passing by to

“I felt so lonesome, all of the sudden. I almost wished I was dead” (Salinger 48). This familiar statement expresses the grief Holden, the main character, feels in J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye. In the book Holden shows little to no prosperity.

In Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s fantasy of being “the catcher in the rye” is a direct reflection of his unstable emotional state: he wants to shield other children from the horrors adulthood, subconsciously because he feels vulnerable and alone in the world, and does not want others to experience that type of pain, as evidenced through Holden’s thoughts during different periods of time in the novel.