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How Does Holden Present Depression In Catcher In The Rye

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Many teens nowadays are facing depression. In the book Catcher in the Rye the author J.D. Salinger explores loneliness and depression in a troubled boy who does not want to grow up. Holden often admits his loneliness and finds out he has some emotions left. He chooses to protect himself and reduce his pain. For example, whenever he thought about calling up a girl he gives himself many reasons why he should not contact her so he doesn’t get hurt in the end. He tries so hard to protect himself by shutting things out that could potentially hurt him. Holden Caulfield the protagonist isolates himself, has many fears, especially about growing up, and can’t connect well with people.
Holden isolates himself from his society. Holden then becomes …show more content…
Most kids are excited about growing up and seeing what they become, but Holden is the opposite. Holden does many childish things throughout the book that shows how desperate he is to stay in his young ages. He got kicked out of his school for academic failure, he was irresponsible with his fencing stuff, he refused to go home to his parents, and many more. He doesn’t like change and he struggles because he thinks he has his whole life on top of his shoulders. When Holden figures out he can’t escape growing up it saddens him. He referred to himself towards the end of the book as being the catcher in the rye. He wants to save kids for when they start to fall off of the cliff into adulthood. (Salinger 173) Holden tends to turn to alcohol when he has problems. Instead of facing his fears, he can hide his issues with drinking. An example of Holden turning to alcohol would be when he was in New York and went to a night club. He didn’t have anything to do so he just went to the club. When he was there he wanted to order a drink but, a bartender would not serve him one because he did not look old enough. Holden was mad he couldn't get an alcoholic beverage so he tried to argue with the guy, but it didn’t work. (Salinger 69) One of the main reasons why Holden is depressed is because he has a fear of adulthood and does not want to grow

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