Summary:
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger takes place in New York City and is about a boy named Holden. Holden is constantly depressed and views himself as a failure.
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger takes place in New York City during the peaceful 1950's. However, the 16 year-old boy, and main character, Holden Caulfield, does not have the ideal 1950's life that everyone else has. Holden goes to Penecy Prep, a very good school, but only for a short time because he flunks out. Instead of going home after he is expelled, he stays in a hotel in New York City. Holden does this in hopes that his parents will cool off for a bit because they are going to be extremely upset when they hear that he got kicked out of another school. In his adventure around New York City, Holden finds out how lost and depressed he really is. He is depressed for many reasons, which are understandable. One reason is that he is a failure in life and school and cannot do anything right. Holden also feels depressed because he is lonely. He does not have anyone to call or hang out with; therefore, Holden does not have any fun. Lastly, and mainly, Holden is depressed by the death of his brother Allie. Generally, Holden is depressed by three different things: he is a failure, he is lonely, and he still mourns his brother's death.
Holden is depressed because he learns that he is a failure after leaving Penecy. One reason he is depressed by failure is that has flunked out of every single school that he has gone to. For example, Holden gets kicked out of Penecy because he is failing every subject except for one, English. Sally Hayes also depresses Holden because he does
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not understand why she would not want to run away with him. He says to Sally out of no where, "Look...here's my idea, how would you like to get the hell out of here"" (132; ch. 17). This describes how he fails with girls: he either scares them or he is too immature in the way he talks to them. It makes him depressed that Sally would not want to go with him because he thinks there is nothing more to do in life so why not just get away from it. Lastly, Holden is depressed due to failure because he feels that he cannot do anything right. One of the many examples of this is when he breaks Phoebe's record and it shatters on the ground. When the record breaks, it also shows that Holden is shattering mentally as well. Holden is not only depressed because of his failure but he is also very lonely.
Throughout the book, Holden is continuously lonely and has no fun, which may lead to a part of his depression. Mainly, Holden is lonely because he hardly has any friends. An example of him not having friends is when he is about to call someone, but he does not have anyone to call up, or he never feels like calling anyone. Like what he says when he is about to call Jane, "I started toying with the idea, while I kept standing there, of giving old Jane a buzz...The only reason I didn't do it was because I wasn't in the mood. If your not in the mood you can't do that stuff right." (63; ch. 9). This shows that he does not have many real friends because nobody wants to talk to him, even on the phone. Holden is also depressed from loneliness because he thinks everyone is a "phony." This says that he just simply hates everyone who tries to be a typical 1950's person, which is mostly everyone. That is one of the biggest reasons why he does not have any friends. Lastly, does not have any fun because he does not have any friends to hang out with. This gives Holden more time to think about how depressed he is and he
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cannot talk to anyone with which to share his feelings. Holden's loneliness is a big part of why he is depressed, but it all started with Allie's death.
Holden's depressing childhood all started with the death of his brother, Allie. There are many examples where the reader can tell that he misses Allie and where he refers back to him. One time he brings out his memories of Allie is when he takes out Allie's baseball glove and writes Stradlater's composition on it. This shows that he likes to look back and remember Allie as much as he can because that was his only best friend. Another time is when Holden is running across the streets because he feels like he is going to fall down forever. He keeps talking to Allie before he runs across the street saying, "Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Please Allie." (198; ch. 25). This quote shows that he still wishes and/or thinks that Allie was still with him. One of the most defining reasons that the reader can tell Holden is depressed by Allie's death is when Holden punches out all of the windows of his house and almost his parent's car after Allie died. Many may think that this is the start to the road of Holden's depression.
As shown, Holden is depressed in many ways: he fails in life, he is lonesome, and he still is affected by his brother's death. Holden is a failure because he cannot pass any classes in school, except English, and he cannot do anything right. He is lonely because he simply hates mostly everyone and., therefore, does not have any friends. Holden is depressed by his brother's death because that was his best friend. Holden's depression started with the loss of his best friend/brother and continued on with failure and loneliness throughout the rest of his life.
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Work Cited
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951.
This is the complete article, containing 978 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page).
