Examples Of Depression In Catcher In The Rye

Depression: A State of Mind Phony: “not real or genuine; fake; counterfeit” (Dictionary.com). This one word is Holden Caulfield’s favorite word. Holden Caulfield is the protagonist and narrator of the novel The Catcher in The Rye, written by J.D. Salinger. Holden is a lonely seventeen-year old who has been expelled from the prestigious, all boy academy, Pencey Prep. He is a very judgemental and hypocritical person to the surrounding world, and tries to protect his innocence as a child to keep himself from entering the adult world. Holden tells his story through a flashback, from inside what is believed to be a mental hospital or sanitarium in Southern California. He displays the symptoms for the mental disorder depression, resulting from his traumatic childhood. Depression is a “profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that were once pleasurable” (“Depression and …show more content…
Some people have trouble sleeping” (“Depressive Disorders”). Holden’s lack of sleep over the few days that take place in New York City is a perfect representation of insomnia or disturbed sleeping patterns. Another symptom that Holden shows is “recurrent thoughts of death” (Ford-Martin and Odle). On multiple occasions when Holden starts to feel lonely or depressed in general, he reverts to considering suicide. Holden says, “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” (Salinger 104). The thought of suicide also occurs when he thinks, “I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead” (Salinger 48). These frequent thoughts of suicide running through Holden’s mind, are a clear representation of depression in his life. Holden continues to demonstrates many of the frequent symptoms used to diagnose depression, throughout his