”I Know It's Over” Holden's nihilistic view of the world becomes apparent almost immediately in the book. This continues throughout the book and even worsens when he even contemplates killing himself more than once. Holden lives his life like he is already dead, which perfectly reflects the song “I know its over” by the Smiths. Both the song and the book mention loneliness and desperation along with feeling like one is already dead or that one is close to death. The song also reflects Holdens story by the repeated mention of “Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head” (The Smiths) which is reminiscent of somebody being buried after they die. The beckoning of the mother in the song is very intentional as it feels almost childlike, like someone who wants to die but is …show more content…
He has allowed the fable that “nobody understands him” to strain the relationship between him and his parents. He pushes everyone away but gets scared when he is alone, as he does not have anyone to talk to. Not only is Holden alone, but his mind is working against him, as stated in the book: “What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would've done it, too” He can not get suicide out of his mind, which can also be reminiscent of the lyric: “See, the sea wants to take me The knife wants to slit me Do you think you can help me?”(The Smiths) The speaker is admitting that something like the sea or a knife is enough to tempt them to take their own life, much like Holden, they are constantly one step away from ending it all. If it were not for his sister, Holden would have ended his life a long time before he came to Pency. It is apparent that Holden cares very deeply about his sister. He cares for her in a way that a parent or guardian would for their child. Many times, he goes out of his way to protect his sister’s
Holden isolates himself from his family and friends. This might be because of how he was triggered by the death of his younger brother, Allie, which could be the cause of his pain and loneliness. Holden
Holden Caulfield encounters himself facing issues of acceptance of death, growing up, and parental neglecting that prevents him from completely understanding why it is that he is severely depressed. One of the hardships Holden must cope with is his inability to come to terms with death, of his younger brother, Allie. We often discover
Although Holden “hardly even know[s]” James, he sees him as someone who is real and not phony, admiring his resistance to lie (Salinger 171. The deaths of Allie and James cause Holden to contemplate suicide in order to escape the world of phoniness he lives in. Consequently, Holden’s constant thoughts about suicide lead to his own loss of innocence and advancement toward adulthood.
This quote depicts the dual internal conflicts Holden faces, which ultimately leads to his depression. The notion spawned from his denial is telling him to isolate himself in order to reach closure, while his lonesome self is also trying to seek companionship, which explains why he always wants to make phone calls. These two rationales are mentally and internally ripping him apart, which explains why he frequently fantasizes his own
Holden is a victim of depression and repetitively mentions having suicidal thoughts. The author of The Catcher and Rye, J. D. Salinger, illustrates throughout the book that Holden is trying to run away from
Throughout the novel Holden is mostly alone. His surroundings are mostly him alone in Manhattan, although Holden chooses to be alone he recalls people he knows all throughout the novel; he even calls some of his friends: Sally Hayes and Carl Luce throughout the story to meet up but, he still remains alone. At the end of the novel Holden states “ Don't ever tell anybody anything, If you do, you start to miss everybody.” Holden’s cynical personality turns him into the lonely person he is. The loneliness he’s surrounded by is the atmosphere that affects him in such a way that he becomes sick and becomes irritable to almost
He does not want to deal with his parents having to pick him up from one more school. He feels trapped and depressed at Pencey. As Holden travels New York City, he finds himself thinking of his brother, Allie, quite often. He thinks about the night Allie passed away. Holden still does not have closure over Allie’s death.
However, on the inside he’s breaking down and he’s so lonely he isolates himself so he has no one to talk to about those feelings. At the end of the book holden“Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do you start missing everybody” (Slinger,
Leading to this quote, Holden has just been drunk and depressed about life and thought he was going to die from pneumonia. Consequently, Holden wanted to visit his sister Phoebe in case he died from pneumonia. Holden goes home and strikes up a conversation with Phoebe. Phoebe realizes that Holden has been expelled from Pencey and she is very upset about it. Phoebe then asks him what Holden wants to become in life if he perpetually is being expelled since does not like school.
Throughout the book, he feels that he will disappear or fall into an abyss when he steps off a curb to cross a street. At these moments, he seeks refuge by reaching out to his deceased brother, Allie, for support. Holden's fears and desires are understandable, but his idea of a solution, avoiding reality, is impossible. His feelings are typically adolescent, feelings shared by everyone who is or ever has been his age.
Additionally, Holden's vision of children playing in a field of rye, where he imagines himself as the sole guardian protecting them from the harsh realities of adulthood, aligns with the song's theme of navigating a broken world. Ultimately, the combining of the song's lyrics and Holden's internal struggles offers a profound insight into the character's complex journey of self-discovery and longing for genuine human connection.
Holden's loneliness and Isolation are partly ways of self protection and the preservation of his detachment from the “phony” adult world. He is deliberately removing himself from the endless chances of making normal friends, friends he would already have like Sally or Jane. Just to make his situation even more complicated he actually wants people in his life and is desperate to have someone to talk to and spend time with, like at the time when he asked the cab driver to come to drink with him and even offered to pay. "Well – take me to the Edmont then," I said. "Would you care to stop on
The death of his brother, Ally, flipped his world upside down. The author creates the image of Ally being the most intelligent person that Holden has ever met, but he “got Leukemia and died when we were up in Maine…”(Salinger 43). Although this imagery paints a picture of sorrow in his life, Holden confronts death throughout the book. Holden blames this as one of his many factors of depression. Holden becomes subject to a routine and soon events in his life appear and it wrecks his world. Instead of having strength in himself he loses all confidence because he can’t find purpose or strength anywhere in the world. If he had a relationship with his parents, he could rely on them, but sadly, he would rather venture alone in his depressing personal hell. Holden’s forgetful demeanor and mindset results in multiple careless actions. On his way home from a fencing tournament he projects, “I left all the goddam foils and stuff on the subway”(Salinger 24). Holden creates a vivid picture of his forgetful life which ultimately leads to a destructive life. He becomes responsible for having no life because he will not explore any life. This is fitting because it all ties into the main cause of his self-conflict and confidence. He projects the word “left,” implying leaving all his stuff everywhere, creating an image of disorganization. Holden has many opportunities in his life to turn his
Despite Holden’s inherent flaws (impulsiveness, lack of academic motivation, and excessive drinking and smoking), his story serves as an excellent learning opportunity. Holden represents the struggles that so many adolescents are facing: trauma, absentee parents, inability to relate, and most of all, the feeling of being invisible. The underlying grief over the death of his brother, Allie, serves as “the thread that links all of Holden's good and bad choices together”, the motivating factor behind all of Holden’s actions (Kahane). Therefore, Holden’s story should not be banned as a negative influence, but celebrated as a learning opportunity. Holden exhibits typical signs of depression after losing a loved one, eventually culminating in his admittance to a psychiatric hospital. However, Phoebe serves as an exemplification of how to help those who are struggling. Phoebe understands “that to rescue someone, you don't hand them a pamphlet, you take their hand” (Kahane). Throughout the novel, Holden exhibits warning signs of depression in his day to day interactions with his classmates and personal reflections. While walking through the hallway one weekend night, Holden complains, “It was very, very quiet and depressing in the corridor... I just didn't want to hang around any more. It made me too sad and lonesome” (Salinger 57). Instead of going out like all
Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child. “All of a sudden I