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Everyone feels depressed in his/her life at some point or the other. However, when depression becomes so much of a persons life, this person can no longer experience what is defined as "happiness." This is what happens to Holden Caulfield, the main character in J.D. Salingers Catcher in the Rye. The causes of Holdens depression are his brother, Allies death, his lack of personal motivation, and his loneliness. Since Holden has no one to turn to when he feels depressed, because he thinks that everybody is phony, this causes him to go into a deeper state of depression.
The main thing that makes Holden depressed is Allies death. Allie was one of the few people that Holden liked. From what Holden explains, he was a "perfect" kid. For this reason, when Allie died of leukemia, Holden fell into a state of depression, because of the unfair fact that a kid as perfect as Allie should die. Moreover, he feels guilty for his death. He shows this by breaking the windows in the garage with his fist. "I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist just for hell of it" (. The next time we see Allie as a motive for Holdens depression, is after Stradlater disapproves of the composition Holden wrote for him about Allies glove. Holden rips it, and then, as Stradlater wont tell him what he did with Jane, Holden uses her as a reason to fight with him. "All I know is I got up from the bed….and then I tried to sock him….so it would split his goddam throat open" (4). Even though he is somewhat jealous of Jane for going out with Stradlater, Allie is the deeper reason why Holden provokes Stradlater to fight with him. Holden also feels depressed for Allies death, because there are things he did in the past that he regrets. He feels depressed when he remembers that he once didnt let Allie go to the lake with him and Bobby Fallon on their bikes. "So once in a while now, when I get very depressed, I keep saying to him, "Okay. Go home and get your bike…Hurry up"" (). Allies death plays another role in Holdens depression, because at some point, Holden begins to fear death, and thinking about the fact that he is going to die makes him depressed. "I figured Id be dead in a couple of months because I had cancer….It certainly didnt make me feel too gorgeous" (18).
Nevertheless, Allies death is not the only cause of Holdens depression. Holden has absolutely no self-motivation. Since Allies death and the state of depression he has gotten into, he basically does not care about his life. He has failed four schools, and has gotten kicked out of them. He has no motivation in sticking to one school and doing his best in there. "This is about the fourth school Ive gone to" (). Although he does not directly mention that he feels depressed for failing four schools, it is very obvious to the reader that he is. He has no motivation whatsoever for improving his grades. "Dear Mr. Spencer. This is all I know about the Egyptians….I cant seem to get very interested in them…I am flunking everything else except English anyway" (1). Moreover, he has no motivation to improve himself; every time he talks about himself, he somehow underestimates himself. "Im the only dumb one"(67). His low self-esteem is clearly shown in this line. A big root of his depression is being a "loser" in life. "Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad" (5). He knows that he does not deserve the presents he gets; therefore he feels depressed. He lacks the desire and motivation to improve himself. In addition to this, the guilt he feels over Allies death, as mentioned before, is also related to his depression; remembering what a "perfect" kid Allie was, he thinks that Allie is the one that would deserve getting the presents he gets. Another way his lack of motivation depresses him, is that he has not had a real friend, for he cannot motivate himself to overlook the phoniness in a person, and accept the other as he/she is. He sees everybody as phony. "Strictly a phony" (86). Even though he is the one who alienates himself from the others, having no friends makes him feel lonely and depressed. Lastly, Holden feels depressed for his older brother, D.B, for being a "prostitute" in Hollywood. "Mr. Antolini said that anybody that could write like D.B. had no business going out to Hollywood. Thats exactly what I said, practically" (181). He simply cannot motivate himself to be happy for his brother and look for at least one good thing in what he does, in spite of how much he hates Hollywood.
Even though Holdens lack of self-motivation plays a major role as the cause of his depression, his loneliness is also a very important cause of his depression. After Holden is notified that he is expelled from Pency Prep, he starts packing, to leave early. "One thing about packing depressed me a little" (51). Obviously, he would feel depressed for being expelled from his school once again, and having to face another world alone. When he gets to New York City, he finds himself more lonely and depressed than ever. "What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window" (104). Being lonely and having no one to talk to really depresses him. As mentioned before, Holden cannot find anyone who is not phony, except Phoebe. She basically is the closest Person Holden has. "….what I figured Id do….Id sneak home and see her m in case I died and all" (156). For this reason, he is alone in this world and has no friends. Holden is isolated from his parents as well, because he feels ashamed to talk to them as a result of being kicked out of four schools. Also, his parents do not bother to talk to him, and all they do is to send him off to schools. Therefore, his relationship with them is not a close one. "But my parents, especially my mother, she has ears like a goddam bloodhound. So I took it very, very easy when I went past their door" (158). This is when Holden sneaks into his house to visit Phoebe, and does not want his parents to hear him enter, for he is ashamed to face them. Holdens depression due to loneliness is also shown when he is in the hotel lobby, which is empty. "I wasnt sleepy or anything, but I was feeling sort of lousy. Depressed and all. I almost wished I was dead" (0). This makes him feel lonely and depressed, and so as to escape his depression, he gets drunk. Lastly, Holdens depression is clearly shown when he walks alone on the street and becomes afraid of not being able to get to the other of the street. He starts talking to Allie, aloud, asking him to help him to get to the other side. "Allie, dont let me disappear. Allie, dont let me disappear. Please, Allie" (18). Loneliness is what many people try to escape from, and what Holden is trapped in. Help with essay on Holden's Depression
Allies death, Holdens inability to motivate himself, and his state of loneliness are what cause Holden to feel depressed. His loneliness in life causes him to get into a deeper state of depression. Those who surround him he thinks are phony, and, for this reason, he will stay lonely.
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