Does the corruption of our society cause negative thoughts inside of our head? In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, Holden, the main character, battles many mixed emotions and thoughts. Holden’s life was first affected by his brother, Allie, and his death. Furthermore, Holden was a student at Pencey Prep, but when he failed to keep good grades, he was kicked out. Once he left Pencey prep, he started having strange thoughts and emotions he deals with when he first arrives in New York. It could be inferred that his mental state is what caused him to wind up in what is thought to be a mental hospital. Holden 's mental state in the passage is depressed since he suffers from suicidal thoughts because he is lonely and has no one that
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Loneliness is one of the several motifs of the story and is constantly repeated before and after he leaves Pencey Prep. In the beginning of the story, we can already tell that Holden is lonely because he talks about how everyone is at the football game and he is watching it, but from the top of a hill. “I remember around three o’clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of the Thompson Hill…” (2). Usually a college student would go to the football game with his friends, but Holden doesn’t because he is lonely that he has nobody to go with. He talks about Ackley and him being annoyance, but if Holden would consider him as a friend, he would have someone to talk to and wouldn’t be suffering from loneliness. Next, after Holden leaves Pencey Prep and arrives at Penn Station, he decides to call someone, but has nobody to call. “I left my bags right outside the booth so that I could watch them, but as soon as I was inside, I couldn’t think of anybody to call up” (59). The reason why Holden has nobody to call is because he classified mostly everyone he judges them as “phonies,” which can be described as hypocritical. The irony behind this is that Holden is a hypocrite as well, which makes himself a phony as well. Holden is able to find a solution to his loneliness by visiting phoebe. Phoebe is excited to see him and at the same time, sad to see him leave again. She wants to go with Holden to wherever he goes until Holden decides after the carrousel ride that he will stay. “I meant it, too. I wasn’t lying to her. I really did go home afterward,” said Holden (212). Overall, Holden’s loneliness was most likely caused by Allie’s death, which changed the way he
Loneliness is one of the several motifs of the story and is constantly repeated before and after he leaves Pencey Prep. In the beginning of the story, we can already tell that Holden is lonely because he talks about how everyone is at the football game and he is watching it, but from the top of a hill. “I remember around three o’clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of the Thompson Hill…” (2). Usually a college student would go to the football game with his friends, but Holden doesn’t because he is lonely that he has nobody to go with. He talks about Ackley and him being annoyance, but if Holden would consider him as a friend, he would have someone to talk to and wouldn’t be suffering from loneliness. Next, after Holden leaves Pencey Prep and arrives at Penn Station, he decides to call someone, but has nobody to call. “I left my bags right outside the booth so that I could watch them, but as soon as I was inside, I couldn’t think of anybody to call up” (59). The reason why Holden has nobody to call is because he classified mostly everyone he judges them as “phonies,” which can be described as hypocritical. The irony behind this is that Holden is a hypocrite as well, which makes himself a phony as well. Holden is able to find a solution to his loneliness by visiting phoebe. Phoebe is excited to see him and at the same time, sad to see him leave again. She wants to go with Holden to wherever he goes until Holden decides after the carrousel ride that he will stay. “I meant it, too. I wasn’t lying to her. I really did go home afterward,” said Holden (212). Overall, Holden’s loneliness was most likely caused by Allie’s death, which changed the way he