While some may think Holden Caulfield brought his depression on himself, others argue he just could not help it. J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye touches both on the main antagonist Holden Caulfield’s disapproval of his social class and Holden’s journey of descending deeper into his mental state of depression. Due to his dislike of his social class, Holden finds himself separating from them and falls into a deep hole of depression and isolation because of the increasing pressure put on him.
Holden is part of a wealthy social class where he notices the people cherish the less important things instead of utilizing their opportunities. Holden states that his classmates are all “phonies” (76) who study only in hopes to become successful and buy a “goddam Cadillac someday” (76). According to Holden the students at his school do not care to savor the quality education they are receiving. He …show more content…
From early on in the book Holden exemplifies to the reader that he does not take pleasure in the activities everyone else enjoys. He plans on not prioritizing unimportant events like sports games. When Pencey Prep was playing in the last football game of the season Holden watches over the field and says he could hear the crowd roaring “because practically the whole school except me was there” (1). When the students are doing one thing Holden chooses to be alone and finds something else to do. He does not want to just fall into the crowd and be just like “the whole school.” He tries to avoid appearing like every other person, so instead he outcasts himself to become different from the rest of them. He is trying to find out what actually is meaningful to him and what he does enjoy. Although Holden’s inquiring to become different from everyone else is what leads him to become so alone he has the right mind set of escaping the stereotypical ways to find a more adequate
Holden is part of a wealthy social class where he notices the people cherish the less important things instead of utilizing their opportunities. Holden states that his classmates are all “phonies” (76) who study only in hopes to become successful and buy a “goddam Cadillac someday” (76). According to Holden the students at his school do not care to savor the quality education they are receiving. He …show more content…
From early on in the book Holden exemplifies to the reader that he does not take pleasure in the activities everyone else enjoys. He plans on not prioritizing unimportant events like sports games. When Pencey Prep was playing in the last football game of the season Holden watches over the field and says he could hear the crowd roaring “because practically the whole school except me was there” (1). When the students are doing one thing Holden chooses to be alone and finds something else to do. He does not want to just fall into the crowd and be just like “the whole school.” He tries to avoid appearing like every other person, so instead he outcasts himself to become different from the rest of them. He is trying to find out what actually is meaningful to him and what he does enjoy. Although Holden’s inquiring to become different from everyone else is what leads him to become so alone he has the right mind set of escaping the stereotypical ways to find a more adequate