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Free Catcher In The Rye Essays: The Side Effects Of Life

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The Side-Effects of Life A strong mind requires a balance of logic and imagination. If a person is lacking one of these elements, they will be unable to effectively deal with the harsh reality of life. J.D salinger explores this idea in his book “the Catcher in the Rye” through the ordeal of his protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Holden undergoes a series of unfortunate events that physically and mentally break him down. This leaves him in a hopeless state of mind because he was left to face life on his own. One can argue that it is in fact not Holden’s fault for his powerless state of mind, but rather society’s fault. It is for this reason that Holden’s clinical depression, abnormal hatred towards people, and his absurd thoughts is why he belongs in a rest home.
To begin with, illness and abandonment are major causes to Holdens depression, …show more content…
Humans can never make the impossible, possible and Holden fails to realize this. Holden states, “I keep picturing all these little kids and nobody’s around… I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” (Salinger 173). This is an unrealistic thought and only valid in Holden’s mind because there is no cliff in a field of rye. In Holden’s perspective becoming an adult is something bad and he wants to stop it, but who can stop Gods will? Holden wants to catch children before they lose their innocence and become adults meaning he wants to freeze time. Holden does not want young children to see what he saw and enter adulthood on their own. This quote reveals that Holden is not happy with his life and he wants to be there for kids because no one was there for him and that is what’s making him suffer. Holden is unable to accept the truth about life and is overwhelmed with his thoughts. A rest home would be a great place for Holden to help him get over the calamity that he was unable to

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