Life can be hard to keep everything in balance; some have a harder time balancing life due to them having severe mood swings, that could make someone go from depressed to very enthusiastic. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, there is a person, Holden, who is having a hard time with the balance of life. He starts out at Pencey, where he is about to get kicked out, at the end of the semester, due to his bad grades. Days before the semester ends he decides to leave and go to New York; he does not tell his parents that he got kicked out of school nor does he tell them that he is staying in New York for a few days. He goes to New York because he does not want to deal with the phonies at Pencey. While in New York Holden goes through …show more content…
A manic episode is when a person mood elevate to be happy and enthusiastic; which this would lead to fewer hours of sleep, foolish actions and could get irritated fairly easy (“Bipolar Disorder”). For example, When Holden exhibited this type of behavior when he is at Pencey. He was talking to Stradlater about his date with Jane and it was getting pretty heated between the two of them as Holden would keep asking about the date, but Stradlater just wanted to drop the subject. Then Holden explains “This next part I don't remember so hot. All I know is I got up from the bed, like I was going down to the can or something, and then I tried to sock him…” (Salinger 43). Holden got very irritated during this manic episode. Before Holden was trying to punch Stradlater, he was just intrigued in to what Stradlater did with Jane on his date. From him not saying what he did on his date, Holden began to think of the worst, which was Stradlater having sex with Jane; that is what got him mad and wanting to throw a punch at him. With his action to Stradlater, it shows that Holden was going through an episode; he got mad easily and quickly and his impulsive actions shows the symptoms of a manic episode. Another manic episode that Holden had was when he just recently got to New York and he was in the hotel. He was in his room and he thought “The one thing I hate to …show more content…
Holden does show evidence this of type of episode; when he is feeling hopeless, and guilty (“Bipolar Disorder”). Right after Holden got into a fight with Stradlater, he began to feel hopeless. He started to feel that he did not belong, “Then I went over and laid down on Ely’s bed. Boy, did I feel rotten. I felt so damn lonesome” (Salinger 54). He did not feel that he should be at Pencey anymore and that made him feel hopeless. After this Holden leaves to go to New York because he does not want to be with phonies that make him feel depressed. With Holden feeling hopeless and depressed is a symptom of the depressive episode. Another time he showed symptoms of the depressive episode, when he was about to go meet sally for their date; when he was at the station he was sitting by two nuns waiting for their train and all of a sudden he felt guilty. He explains “...two of them were eating for breakfast was toast and coffee. That depressed me. I hate it if I was eating bacon and eggs or something and somebody else is only eating toast and coffee” (134). When depressed a person would sometimes feel guilty for things that they could not help; when Holden saw the two nuns he was feeling guilty that he had more money than them and that he could buy more to eat than them. Holden later gives the nuns twenty bucks, which he thought would help him from stop feeling so guilty; it just made him feel even
Symptomatic of those affected by mental illness, Holden lacks the ability to have solid relationships with others. He has attended numerous boarding schools and seldom lives at home. This has created a distant relationship between him and his parents. Holden never explicitly reveals whether or not he wishes to have a closer bond with his parents, but it is implied. He sneaks into his house while on his New York excursion to visit his younger sister Phoebe. As he is about to leave his parents’ house, “all of a sudden, [he starts] to cry. [He] couldn’t help it” (Salinger 179). His abrupt outburst of emotion indicates his need to have his parents’ help. He realizes that when he leaves, it may be his last time in the house, so he is not able to control holding in his emotions any longer. Holden also does not maintain a good relationship with his brother, D.B. He cannot stand that D.B. is “out in Hollywood… being a prostitute” (Salinger 2). Holden refers to him as a prostitute because he believes that D.B. is wasting his creative talents on screenwriting, a field that does not allow one to exercise his or her creativity. This causes the relationship that the two have to be frail. Holden’s relationship with his family is not ideal, and results from his mental
It is a mental illness that can sometimes occur in teenagers as a response to a sudden traumatic experience or abandonment. Symptoms of depression that directly relate to Holden’s behaviour include: loss of appetite, depressed or irritable mood, failing relations with family and friends, faltering school performance, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness or self-hatred and obsessive fears or worry about death. Holden lost his younger brother Allie to cancer when he was only thirteen years old. An event such as this is can be traumatic to a young person and cause feelings of sadness and/or depression. Thoughts about suicide is another common symptom of depression. Holden expresses thoughts about committing suicide in Chapter 14 after Maurice assaults him: “What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would've done it, too, if I’d been sure somebody’d cover me up as soon as I landed. I didn't want a bunch of stupid rubbernecks looking at me when I was all gory” (Salinger,
Protected by a cocoon of naiveté, Holden Caulfield, the principal character in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, therapeutically relates his lonely 24 hour stay in downtown New York city, experiencing the "phony" adult world while dealing with the death of his innocent younger brother. Through this well-developed teenage character, JD Salinger, uses simple language and dialogue to outline many of the complex underlying problems haunting adolescents. With a unique beginning and ending, and an original look at our new society, The Catcher in the Rye is understood and appreciated on multiple levels of comprehension. The book provides new insights and a fresh view of the world in which adolescents live.
While walking through the city, “…the more depressed [he] got…[he decides]…to stop off and have a drink somewhere”(100). The worse he feels the more he drinks. However, alcohol has never been known to solve problems. Holden also uses cigarettes in attempt to obscure his sorrow. After a stressful and disturbing meeting with Sunny, a young prostitute, Holden “…smoked a couple of cigarettes…[he] felt so depressed you can’t imagine” (110). Holden feels dejected, but even after he smokes, he still feels terrible. Due to the fact that he is trying to escape his emotional issues instead of facing them, his depression seemed to worsen. Yet another incident involving alcohol displays the same thing. While contemplating his sadness and disappointment in the human race, Holden “…sat at [a] goddam bar…getting drunk as a bastard […] I started that stupid business with bullets in my guts again […] I was concealing the fact that I was a wounded sonouvabitch” (166). Once again, he is trying to ignore the fact that he is wounded. The alcohol’s point is to help smother the pain, but really the drunkenness causes Holden to blatantly reveal he’s in a terrible state emotionally. Holden’s attempt at suppressing his sadness using drugs instead of fronting it seems to only worsen his emotional
There is a certain process that every human being on the planet has in common. Not everyone can say it is a pleasing experience, but nobody can deny that it happened to them. ‘Growing up’ happens to everyone one whether they like it or not. The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood is long and confusing, which often reveals questions that can never be answered. The novel Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger explores how the adult life has its complexities and can be very puzzling to teenagers starting that phase in their lives. The main character Holden Caulfield realizes the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenges of adapting to an adult society. The catcher in the rye shows the inevitable loss of innocence
“I believe that everyone else my age is an adult whereas I am merely in disguise (Margaret Atwood).” While physical maturity is inevitable, emotional maturity is not as certain. Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a distressed teenager who has been expelled from his fair share of boarding schools. He now wanders New York, trying to find his place amongst society. Since his brother's death Holden began to discover himself stuck in a perpetual state of discontent, feeling alone in his struggle to find his place in the world. Holden is no longer a child but he still doesn't fit in amongst adults as they are corrupt in the ways they live and act. Holden wishes to remain surrounded by innocence in order to avoid the
Some people feel all alone in this world, with no direction to follow but their empty loneliness. The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger, follows a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who despises society and calls everyone a “phony.” Holden can be seen as a delinquent who smokes tobacco, drinks alcohol, and gets expelled from a prestigious boarding school. This coming-of-age book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity which is influenced from the author's life and modernism, and is shown through the setting, symbolism, and diction.
Throughout the novel, Holden calls himself a ‘madman’ due to his confusion of his society. Holden thinks of himself as a ‘madman’ because there is no one that he relates to. Mr. Antolini was Holden’s encyclopedia but Mr. Antolini’s character was demolished when he patted Holden on his head (Salinger 192).Holden became extremely nervous so he left Mr. Antolini's house. Holden leaving the house results in him having no one to question so he is still confused. However, Holden running away further proves that he isn’t crazy, he got scared; he wasn’t naive to stay and find out if Mr. Antolini would’ve gone further than patting him on the head. Although Holden calls himself a ‘madman,’ he is not. Holden has goals that are virtually impossible to achieve but that does not make him a nutcase. Holden is a teenager who is trying to figure himself out. This phase of his life does not necessarily mean that he is crazy.
Throughout the novel we see signs of Holden's depression from the way he throws around the word all the time, “Innarested in a little tail t'night?’ ‘Me?’ I said. Which was a very dumb answer, but it's quite embarrassing when somebody comes right up and asks you a question like that. ‘How old are you, chief?’ the elevator guy said. ‘Why?’ I said. ‘Twenty-two.’ ‘Uh huh. Well, how 'bout it? Y'innarested? Five bucks a throw. Fifteen bucks the whole night.’ He looked at his wrist watch. ‘Till noon. Five bucks a throw, fifteen bucks till noon.’ ‘Okay,’ I said. It was against my principles and all, but I was feeling so depressed I didn't even think. That's the whole trouble. When you're feeling very depressed, you can't even think.” (110). In this case, we see Holden’s depression affecting him by making him do things that he knows he shouldn’t. Spending a night with a prostitute is something Holden knows he shouldn’t do, but he is conflicted by his depression to do it anyways. Something else Holden struggles with is suicidal thoughts. The serious part about depression is leading to suicide which Holden eventually has conflicting thoughts about, “What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would've done it, too, if I'd been sure somebody'd cover me up as soon as I landed.” (127). It is obvious that the depressive thoughts Holden have faced have led to something much
In the beginning of the book the reader immediately starts to see these symptoms. Before Holden left Pencey he said “ what I was really hanging around for, I was trying… to feel some kind of good-bye. I mean I’ve left schools and places I didn’t even know I was leaving them. I hate that”(Salinger 7). One of the symptoms of PTSD is living in fear everyday and this is how Holden felt. In the quote he says that he hates not feeling some kind of good-bye but what he is really trying to say is that he fears he will not feel it. Holden is trying to change his fear into other feelings, like hate. Another symptom of PTSD that Holden experiences is depression. Many times during the novel Holden says “It makes me so depressed I go crazy”(19). During the story Holden often talks about things that make him depressed and this quote is just one of the multiple examples of the suffering he goes through because of his depression.Throughout Holden's journey there are so many questions constantly going through his mind. A couple of these questions were should he make phone calls to his old friends and if he should go home to his family. “Boy did I feel rotten. I felt so damn lonesome”(62-63). He has an opportunity to cure his loneliness by calling his old friends but he never follows through. “Then I went over and laid down on Ely’s bed…. Boy did I feel rotten. I felt so damn lonesome”(62-63). This quote shows that even when Holden isn’t alone he still suffers from overwhelming loneliness, which is also a symptom of PTSD. In the novel Holden experienced many of the symptoms of PTSD and this story accurately showed the difficulties that PTSD sufferers experience when trying to live their daily
Events in Holden's life lead him to become depressed. Holden's depression centers on Allie. The manner that Holden sees himself and how he sees others leads him to be expelled from school. The speaker expresses, "One thing about packing depressed me a little," (51). Holden expresses these feelings when he packs his bags after being notified that he is expelled. Holden leaves school and heads for New York City, where he finds himself to be more lonely and depressed than ever. He is all alone and he laments, " What I really felt like doing was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out of the window," (104). Holden says this while he is all alone in his motel room. He is too ashamed of himself to return home, he knows that his mother will be upset and his father will be angry with him. He also adds that " I wasn’t feeling sleepy or anything, but I was feeling sort of lousy. Depressed and all, I almost wished I was dead," (90). Holden states this during one of the first nights that he is staying in New York. Holden expresses many thoughts of depression.
Holden Caulfield is a strange character in the story The Catcher in the Rye. He is first seen this way by when he gets expelled from a school called Pencey Prep. He is expelled for flunking almost all of his classes. Holden then watches his school play in a football game from afar and decides he wants to say bye to his teacher. After that he decides to leave Pencey early and head home to New York. He goes out drinking and hitting on women while he is there and then goes to see his sister, Phoebe. He is very close to his younger sister and really connects with her. This disorder that Holden has could be believed to be bipolar disorder; which he displays in different occasions throughout the novel.
Holden goes through this continuous road of feeling like a failure, disappointing those he loves like Phoebe, and acting like a child instead of taking charge of his life, but it is time to stop. Depression is a major concern today and takes a harsh toll on everyone, not only the person who is diagnosed with it, but also their family. It is not always obvious when someone is depressed. Everyone handles depression differently in their own way, but depression is a medical problem which should be handled professionally. Unfortunately, Holden let his depression escalate out of proportion, leading him to live a life full of emptiness, guilt, and compulsive lying and this is his way of dealing with his problem.
Despite this belief, Holden most likely suffered from depression. Some symptoms that led Holden to be depressed were his mood, lack of sleep, and his suicidal thoughts. In the article “Depression in Teens” it says “symptoms of depression may include [.] thoughts of suicide, suicide attempt.” Although Holden never tries to kill himself, he does have some thoughts.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about one in four American adults suffer from a mental disorder. This means that 57.7 out of 217.8 million people over the age of 18 are ill; never mind that mental illnesses are the leading cause of disability in Canada and the United States. Holden Caulfield, the controversial main character of J.D Salinger’s novel Catcher in the Rye, spends much of the book wandering through the streets of New York City. Kicked out of boarding school for the umpteenth time, he does many odd things: he calls a prostitute, tries to befriend a taxi driver, drinks with middle aged women, and sneaks into his own house in the middle of the night. While many of these things seem outré, some may even go as far as to say that he is mentally disturbed. From a psychiatric standpoint, main character Holden Caulfield exhibits the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder (manic depression), and psychosis throughout the infamous novel Catcher in the Rye.