Holden Caulfield Loneliness

Holden feels alone and depressed after a few hours out of his room. He feels as if he is by himself in the big world. As Holden said on page 56, " It was depressing out in the street. You couldn't even hear any cars anymore. I got a feeling so lonesome and rotten, I even

A prominent cause of Holden Caulfield’s depression is his detachment from society. To begin with, Holden isolates himself from the people around him as he refrains from developing social bonds. For instance, Holden refrains from meeting Jane Gallagher while she waits for Stradlater, despite desperately wanting to meet her. This is revealed through Holden’s comment, “I oughta go down and say hello to her [Jane]…[but] I’m not in the mood right now.” (32). This quote shows that Holden is incapable to form relationships with people around him,which reveals his insecurities. Holden is hesitant towards developing relationships, possibly due to fear of neglect. Holden’s fear of being neglected is the root of his inability to develop bonds which ultimately

The Catcher in the Rye In J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the narrator's statements and actions contribute to an understanding of the themes through many different ways. Holden goes through a lot in the novel and gives off many messages about life and people. Three themes where about isolation, phoniness, and innocence. Isolation is one of the themes that get shown through Holden’s actions in the novel. For example he says "People never notice anything".

Teen depression is a serious mental health problem that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in activities. It affects how a teenager thinks, feels and behaves. It can cause emotional, functional and physical problems. Holden Caulfield lost his younger brother Allie to leukemia when Holden was thirteen years old. Following the death of Allie, Holden broke his hand punching the windows out of the garage of their summer home. Holden’s mindset reveals depression is the cause of his struggles. Depression was actively present in Holden’s behavior. The source of his depression was the death of his brother Allie. Holden was aware the entire time of his impending punishment.

For instance, Holden can be seen isolating himself when he distances himself from the rest of the school at a football game, the quote “I remember around three o’clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill, right next to this crazy cannon that was in the Revolutionary War and all” (Salinger 2). The depression which is causing him to isolate himself is very evident throughout the novel because of the main ideals circling around these two defense mechanisms. The depression may also derive from the relationship with Holden and his mother. Freud would argue that Holden’s lack of any meaningful attachment to his mother leaves him feeling inadequate and depressed thus making Holden isolate himself. In an article by Neil Farber M.D the main idea was on mother and child relationships and how it affects the child’s development and psychoanalysis. Farber acknowledges that “parent-child relationships influences child and family functioning as well as and has the used longitudinal studies to look at the association between parenting styles and children’s emotions and behaviors that may contribute to early mental health issues in children” (Farber ). And this can be one direct reason on why Holden behaves the way he does because when Holden’s family went through the loss of a son/ brother the mother began to not focus as much on Holden thus driving Holden into a depressed state of mind and those furthermore caused the isolationism.

Holden went to a prep school, and from what I observed I could tell he didn’t like it very much. Holden thought he was going to be kicked out of Pencey Prep because of his bad grades, He was only passing English. Before the school could kick him out he decided to leave. Other reasons included his leave as well. For example, He didn’t want to be around Stradlater anymore after their major blow out fight. Holden did not have many friends at Pencey either, He was somewhat friends with Ackley, but he always made fun of his acne, that’s not being a true friend. Another reason he wanted to

It is tough being a lonely misanthrope. Hating society and being lonely are two traits that definitely do not go together and are hard to deal with. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield has just those problems. Holden is not a hugely happy guy, as he makes it clear many times throughout the novel. All he wants to do is connect with someone, but he has particularly high standards. Most of the time, he is the cause for his miserable attitude. Holden runs into a great deal of different problems which causes him to be the way he is.

Holden’s loneliness was a more concrete manifestation of his alienation. It is both a source of great pain and a source if his security.

Yet another issue Holden endures throughout this novel is loneliness . There are many reasons that he is very lonely all throughout the novel. The biggest reason he doesn't talk to anybody is because he is afraid he is going to get hurt emotionally. For example he is scared to call Jane and is scared to let her in his heart because he doesn't want to loose another person he loves, like his deceased brother Allie. Another example of his loneliness is when he meets the prostitute in the hotel. Holden knows that he can have the comfort of another human for a little while, but he doesn't want to do anything with her because he knows she will just leave after they are done having sex. In a way he is looking for something that will last longer, like a relationship, but he is too scared of being hurt . Although, “loneliness is difficult to fess up

Holden continuously isolates himself from people, hence he refrains from forming social bonds. For instance, Holden is constantly conflicted on whether he should go visit Jane Gallagher, a childhood friend. This is evident as Holden states “I oughta go down and say hello to her [Jane]…[but] I’m not in the mood right now.” (Salinger 32-33). This quote evidently reveals that Holden is unable to form social bonds with individuals. Holden’s inability to form social relationships has transpired from his relationship with Allie. Moreover, Allie’s passing has changed Holden’s approach on forming social bonds with others, as he is not in the mood to talk to anyone, as he states “You have to be in the mood for those things” (Salinger 42). Holden’s inability ultimately leads him to fear from forming social relationships. Another key thing to remember is Holden is not receiving emotional support from his parents, as they are continually sending him away to several different boarding schools. Attending different schools, and not being close to his parents has led to his inability to form social bonds evolve into a fear. Therefore, Holden fears have led him to become incapable of trusting those whom he loves. For instance, Holden has lost trust in Mr. Antolini, his teacher at Elkton Hills. This is evident as he stated “But what did worry me was the part about how I’d woke up and found him patting me…the more I

Holden like many people with Borderline Personality Disorder are afraid of being alone, so the desperately try to avoid feeling lonely (“National Institute of Mental Health”). Holden in attempts to have some form of company

Throughout the novel Holden is rejected and exploited by the society around him. As he is conflicted with himself to find a purpose in life he constantly tries to connect with a superficial society. The ongoing failure and fake personas he meets adds to his depression and cynicism. But instead of facing the problems by growing up and to move on Holden uses this negativity and isolation to protect him. Holden tries show that he is better than everybody else as this is the little stability he has left. When in reality Holden is just scared of the interaction of people because they just submerge him with complications he doesn 't know not yet how to deal with. Holden not being be able to cope with the idea of growing up adds to his loneliness which is the core of his pain. When his encounters first interaction in the novel, Holden Caulfield is an uncaring outcast who sees no motivation in life. As he says to Mr. Spencer, he feels trapped on “the other side of life” (Salinger). Holden constant attempt to fit into society is hidden because of his detachment to people. His only stability right now is to search for his own individuality and to face adulthood himself. That is why

Holden recognizes and perceives to be alienated from the adult world thus causing himself to believe he is depressed. Holden believes he is depressed from viewing the adult world and thinking that it is phony. He believes that the world is phony, superficial, hypocritical, and shallow. He views this world everyday and realizes that one day he will have to step into it, but every time he thinks about the world surrounding him it causes him to become depressed. Holden becomes depressed because he desires to remain a child were innocence is preserved and not drastically taken away. In Holden?s scenario, he feels that his innocence was taken away by witnessing the suicide of his close friend and the death of dear brother. Holden sees the world that he has to become a part of and desires more to not be a part of it. This hatred of stepping into the adult world causes Holden believe he is depressed and

In the beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger brings up the motif of loneliness and depression which Holden reveals to the reader while at Pencey Prep. For example while writing a essay for Stradlater, he reflects on how after Allie, Holden's brother died, Holden "slept in the garage, the night he died and [he] broke all the god damn window." (39). This reaction to inflict pain on himself is evidence that the loss triggered severe emotional disturbances. Holden isolates himself after a tragic event proving Allie's death is the cause for his loneliness. Also, while alone in his dorm at Pencey writing a composition for Stradlater his roommate, Holden " couldn't think of a room or a house to describe… [he] wrote about [his] brother Allie's

J.D. Salinger uses the motif of loneliness to show how Holden’s struggles affected him negatively and demonstrate what made Holden lonely in this book. For example, the motif of loneliness describes Holden because after his brother Allie died he kept having flashbacks about him he couldn’t believe his brother is dead, for example he says, “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist” (pg.39). This shows how when Holden feels lonely or sad or upset he gets really triggered which causes him to have a negative reaction to the world. Another example of Holden demonstrating the motif of loneliness in the book is when he was thinking about Jane Gallagher, he says “Jane Gallagher. Jesus ... I couldn't get her off my mind. I really couldn't” (pg.32). This shows us that just like Holden’s case with Allie he feels like he misses most of the people he hasn’t seen for a long time and that once he gets flashbacks of the important people in his life it is hard for him to move on. He does not feel safe alone. For instance, at the end of the book, Holden says “Don't ever tell anybody