The Catcher In The Rye 2 Essay, Research Paper
Do you often feel depressed or isolate yourself from others? If you do, you are like Holden Caufield, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye. In this book, Holden is a teenage boy of about 16, who just got expelled from his school, Pency Prep. The story takes place over the course of three days in Holden’s life. In J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, it would be a good idea for Holden to be put in a “rest home” because of his depression, crazy outbursts, and because of the way he isolates himself from teenagers of his own age and adults.
Throughout the book, Holden shows many signs of depression. For example, After being beat up by a pimp Holden says, “What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide.” Feelings such as this are obvious signs of depression, especially in Holden’s case. This not only shows that he is depressed, but it also shows the extent of his depression. When someone feels like committing suicide, they are not just suffering from a slight case of hopelessness but a deep-rooted depression. Furthermore, Holden also says, “As a matter of fact, I am the only dumb one in the family.” Saying something like that about oneself is not healthy, it is a sign of depression. It is obvious that Holden does not believe in himself, and feels that he can never compare to his siblings, which can really make someone feel bad about themselves. Basically, Holden is a depressed boy with a lack of self-esteem who doesn’t feel the need to live anymore, which are obvious signs that he needs to be helped.
Holden’s different episodes of crazy outbursts support the idea that he should be placed in a “rest home.” For example, Holden goes crazy and tries to beat up his roommate, Stradlater, because Stradlater wasn’t a gentleman on a date with an old friend of Holdens. Stradlater did not even say that he did anything with Jane (Holden’s friend), but just the little things like that set Holden off. This violent outburst is evidence of his unstable mental state. Furthermore, Holden first asks his friend Sally Hayes to marry him, then toward the end of their date he tells her that she gives him “a royal pain in the ass,” and makes her cry. At this point, Holden is in an unstable emotional state. He is in such a state of confusion that he first wants to marry the girl and then he can’t stand her! Basically, some major signs of Holden’s mental unstableness are his crazy outbursts, which are not only violent but totally random also.
Throughout the book, it can be seen that Holden isolates himself from boys (and girls) of his own age and adults, and can identify with younger, more innocent children. For example, when Holden gets expelled from his school, he decides to leave school early and go to New York (without saying goodbye to his friends!) instead of spending his last couple of days with his friends before going home. This shows that he is a loner and that he would rather be by himself than with his friends. Most boys his age would want to spend time with their friends, especially since they would probably never see each other again. Furthermore, Holden talks about how he, his brother Allie, and his sister Phoebe used to go sailing together. Most boys would do something like that with their buddies, not with younger siblings. This is an example of how Holden isolates himself from boys his own age for the company of children. Basically, Holden likes the innocence of younger children, which older people don’t have.
It can be suggested that Holden get help soon. His fits, bouts of depression, and isolation from boys of his own age are not normal. Everyone throws a fit sometimes, but never as crazy, violent, or random as Holdens. Also, many people have periods of depression at least once in their life. Nevertheless, they get over it and it is not as severe as Holden’s. His depression is abnormal. He frequently has mood swings, going from being depressed to being normal. Finally, many teenagers have a hard time relating to adults, which is normal, but Holden doesn’t even try. Holden can’t even identify with boys of his own age! That is very abnormal. At this stage in a teenagers life, friends are one of the most important things in life. Teenagers identify best with other teenagers, not younger children/siblings. Adolescence is a tough stage of life but, Holden can work out all his problems and grow up to be a normal adult if he is helped at a “rest home.”