The Catcher In The Rye: The Sound Of Silence By Paul Simon

The book, “The Catcher in the Rye” was a book with a very intriguing character named Holden Caulfield. Holden was set to be someone who didn’t like many people nor did he get along well in society. Holden also wasn’t the smartest person nor the was he the most interesting guy but he did go through many things that put him through stress. Many people say that Holden can be described as having angst, anguish, and depression. Holden Caulfield mental problem could be that he have post traumatic stress. Holden shows many signs of having depression and brings back memories of the traumatic things that happened in his life. Holden is a kid who goes through many rough patches in his life that put him in the state of mind that

In the beginning of Catcher in the Rye, Holden was extremely selfish and didn’t ever consider other people’s opinions and how they might feel. As the story has gone he has continued to move along he has failed to realize that not all people are phony and mean. He goes on the date and as they are going in to a cab he thinks, “I sort of hated old Sally by the time we got into the cab, after listening to phony Andover bastard for about ten hours” (140). Holden is trying to be friends with Sally, but realizes that it’s not going over well. Holden is beginning to realize that the people he is trying to be friends with are not working out for him because he does not allow himself to blend with people. He is getting himself deeper into isolation and

Nineteen million American adults suffer from a major case of depression (Web MD). That is a staggering one in every fifteen people (2 in our classroom alone). Holden Caulfield is clearly one of those people. Depression is a disease that leads to death but is also preventable. Psychology, stressful events, and prescription drugs are causes of depression. Stressful events brought on Holden’s depression. Holden has been trying to withstand losing a brother, living with careless parents, and not having many friends. The Catcher in the Rye is a book that takes us through the frazzled life of Holden Caulfield, who appears to be just a regular teen. But by hearing his thoughts and through heart-wrenching events in the book, the reader learns that

In the scope of things, Holden’s actions to alienate himself perpetuated his depression and triggered his downward spiral and mental decline. There was a clear internal conflict between his need to protect himself from the pain others cause and, his intrinsic need for companionship. A self-destructive cycle was born out of this conflict. Holden would alienate himself for protection, this resulted in him feeling lonely and depressed, this resulted in his reaching out to others, the interactions lead him to believe that people are destructive which ultimately leads to him alienating

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

Holden seems to struggle with depression. In many places throughout the novel, Holden describes to us his deep sadness. A lot of times his depression is unpredictable and triggered by tense situations. In one situation while he was explaining his feelings about the Elkton Hills headmaster’s phony and rather boring conversations with well-built and

We all have obstacles within ourselves that are hard to overcome. But, in the end, you grow and become a better person. Every human being, like Holden, must go through this obstacle. In the novel, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden struggles to maintain friendships and relationships. Due to his lack of vulnerability and fear of connection, Holden has had quite a traumatic life.

In the novel The Catcher In The Rye, the main character Holden experiences a massive amount of struggle. One major struggle he experiences is depression. Many teenagers can relate to Holden because throughout the novel he shows some of the struggles that anyone could be going through. While I was reading I felt sympathy for Holden and wanted to reach out and help him get through his struggles. There are many red flags repeatedly showing Holden being depressed. These red flags are not only found in Holden but can be noticed in other people who are depressed.

1 in 6 people experience depression at some stage in their life. Depression is caused by hormonal changes, Holden is slowly making his way into adulthood and is going through those changes. Depression is something that a lot of people go through at one point or another. Holden commits many actions throughout the book that show he is depressed.

Depression is paralyzing, but mostly it is terrifying. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is displayed as a deeply sad person. He cannot handle the emotions that are plaguing him and thus projects them on everyone else. Holden is so terrified of his sadness he blames others for it, throughout the novel he constantly says phrases along the lines of, “they depress me”. His actions can be explained as a type of projection. Projection is defined as “ascribing our fear, problem... to someone else and then condemning him… in order to deny we have it ourselves,”(Tyson 14). His emotions have left him in a sanitarium where he is talking to a psychoanalysis, which is where his flashback begins.

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

Furthermore, Holden starts daydreaming and thinking about his ideal future. He thinks, “I got excited as hell thinking about it. I really did. I knew the part about pretending I was a deaf-mute really decided to go out West and all” (Salinger, 199). As seen before, Holden is running away from his problems like a child and displays symptoms of helplessness because of his existential anxiety. Instead of facing the problem head on, Holden acts as if he is unable to live his idea self. Ultimately, Holden shows that he is in the path of self hate due to his childish and immature behavior.

Holden puts himself in isolation after Allie’s death. And he just kept isolating and isolating each time somebody else rejected his request to talk, for him to seek help. He shares at the end of the book that: "If you want to know the truth, I don't know what I think about it. I'm sorry I told so many people about it. About all I know is, I sort of miss everybody I told about. Even old Stradlater and Ackley, for instance. I think I even miss that goddam Maurice. It's funny. Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody” (234). Holden is damaged. He isolated himself so much he started to miss the people he was alienated from. But that’s the thing, Holden lives in 1951, feelings weren’t something you really talked about back then. Holden was forced to oppress himself, something he’ll later develop as his hatred for phony people because to Holden, all the phony people are the people shutting him and others up. One sign of Holden’s depression isolating himself is in chapter 20, "When I finally got down off the radiator and went out to the hat-check room, I was crying and all. I don't know why, but I was. I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome. Then, when I went out to the checkroom... the hat-check girl was very nice... I sort of tried to make a date with her… She said she was old enough to be my mother and all” (169). Every time Holden makes an effort to reach out, he gets

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

Holden’s depression about his brother’s death, affects his personal life. This matters because it explains why Holden always acts so negative in the book. These feelings are more remorse than the “normal” person. The book also goes heavily detail in these emotions, which could persuade the reader to feel these same emotions about others. Holden gets so wrapped up in all of his emotions, that he begins to critique others around him, even the people who are trying to help