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Holden Caulfield 's The Catcher Of The Rye

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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.
The unconventional hat that is in Holden’s possession symbolizes his wish to hold onto the simplicity of childhood and separate himself from the “phonies” that surround him. The hat also comforts Holden in the aspect that it holds onto his brother’s childhood that was lost due to his premature death. Holden is terrified of growing up due to the fact that it leads to the “phoniness” of adulthood. It is justified throughout the novel that Holden believes no one acts how they truly feel; and it is hard to trust and be trusted. The hat offers Holden “quite a lot of protection” (213). However, he is not so fond of wearing the hat because he doesn’t want to stand out and draw unwanted attention to himself; causing conflicting thoughts in Holden’s mind that leads
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