Samantha Blake
Holden Caulfield, the main character in “Catcher in the Rye,” is a good example of a depressed teenager. The causes and the signs of Holden’s depression are that of a typical depressed person. Throughout the novel, Holden’s outlook towards life is troubled by his loss, and oncoming depression.
Holden shows many symptoms of being depressed. His character goes through life experiences that drive Holden to a breakdown. Holden’s depression is established from the death of his brother Allie, and evolves over time. A loss of a friend or family member is a major cause of depression and therefore is the fundamental cause for Holden’s depression. His brother’s death sends Holden into a rage and breaks windows in his garage. With all that violent anger, he wasn’t given the proper help he needed to deal with his dilemmas. It is also knows that holden never went to his funeral and consequently never had the chance to say goodbye or let go of the occurrence. Since his parents didn’t give him the help he needed, that could have created more tension with his relationship with them. This is holden’s main conflict and cause of his depression, even though it is known later on of the suicide of a classmate in one of his old schools.
The major signs of depression include difficulties in school or not attending school, acting angry most of the time, being rebelliousness, alcohol or drug use, low self-esteem or self-worth, problems with family members, not getting along with friends and peers, suicidal thoughts and/or attempts, difficulty coping with problems, and isolation.
In the novel, Holden displays many of these signs. School difficulties are the earliest indications of his depression. We learn that he has been to four top schools, and that he has made little or no effort to do well. When he describes his classes to Mr. Antolini, his old teacher and good friend, he says, “Oh, I passed English all right. It was mostly literature, though. I only wrote about two compositions the whole term. I flunked Oral Expression.”(page 182) He disagreed about digression being a bad thing while the teacher was trying to make a lesson on how not to digress. His digression becomes non-participation in that class.
His relationship with his friends lacks trust and real companionship. He can’t seem to connect with other people, which therefore makes him lonely. Samuel Johnson’s phrase, “I am lonely because I am miserable” describes Holden’s life cycle. For Holden it seems as though he is lonely because he is so sad and depressed, but he is depressed because he is lonely, he cannot seem to connect with people.
His lack of effort in school leads readers to believe that he is unenthusiastic about his future. He lets himself flunk out of four different top schools without even trying to pass. Without passing school, he would have difficulty having a successful future. Holden cares so little about achievement that it appears he doesn’t plan on having a future. This leads readers to question if Holden might be suicidal.
Holden shows an abundant amount of anger towards the world, which is shown in his extremely critical judgments of people. He criticizes people who are boring or insecure and, his most loathed quality, people who are “phony.” Holden uses the label “phony” to suggest that certain people are superficial or fake; however, from the many examples where he uses this term, he himself is portrayed as superficial. Instead of taking the trouble to reach more in-depth conclusions, he is quick to give people and ideas a simple label. Often, when people make such judgments, they are insecure about themselves, an underlying cause of depression.
Holden almost enjoys judging others to an extent that he predicts that people are so tactless that someone will probably write "fuck you" on his tombstone. “I think, even, if I ever die, and they stick me in a cemetery, and I have a tombstone and all, it’ll say “Holden Caulfield” on it, and then what year I was born and what year I died, and then right under that it’ll say “Fuck You.” I’m positive, in fact.”(page 204)
Rebelliousness is something Holden shows as well. He was kicked out of his school, Pencey Prep, and was not supposed to return home until Wednesday; however, he decides to leave early very spontaneously. When things aren’t going well for him with his roommates, he packs up and leaves to get away from it all, to be done with it.
Alcohol or drug use can be a great clue of one who is depressed. Holden on occasions has drank and has gotten very drunk. When he did get drunk, he called upon Sally Hayes, a girl he had dated earlier that day. He had left the date after he insulted her by saying “you give me a royal pain in the ass.” He called her up late at night when he was very drunk and told her “yeah. Listen, hey. I’ll come over Christmas Eve. Okay? Trimma goddam tree for ya Okay Sally?”(page 151) She responded by agreeing, and telling him to go to bed; however, since he was not only drunk , but also depressed, she was put into a situation that made her some what responsible for how Holden reacts. Not only does depression bring pain and suffering to the depressed person, but to those who care about them, such as Sally.
Depression interferes with normal functioning such as Holden’s constant lying throughout the novel. Holden tells Mrs. Morrow, " I have to have a tiny operation…….it isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on my brain" (page 58). Holden’s compulsive lying shows that he is not satisfied with himself and that he feels that people will judge him critically.
Depression can be treated. Holden’s narration takes place in a mental institution where he is hospitalized and visited by a psychoanalyst, which means he is on his way to recovery if he stays with the treatment. Treatment can be done by counseling or psychotherapy. It is talking about feelings with a trained professional who can help you change relationships, thoughts, or behaviors that are causing the depression. When you're depressed, you may be in a pattern, and you can't seem to focus on the good in life. Talking to someone can help you get out of it. That method of treatment is the most popular. Medication is another treatment for depression, especially for people who have a chemical imbalance that predisposes them to becoming depressed. Medication is usually prescribed to treat depression that is severe or disabling. When depression is so bad that you can't focus on anything else, where it disturbs your life in an overwhelming way, medication could be essential, along with counseling.
Even with the many symptoms Holden contains, he does not have to stay depressed. I believe that he may need to re-analyze the death of his brother and finally say goodbye and let go of it. Without that closure, I don’t think he can live his life without being depressed.