The Catcher in the Rye Blog 12

There are many strong quotes in The Catcher in the Rye that really stand out.  The following is a quote about Holden’s depressed feelings.  “What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of good-by. I mean I've left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel even worse.” (Shmoop 1).  This quote, though stated by an emotionally confused boy, has much truth to it.  This feeling happens to everyone.  If a person leaves something behind and does not know that until later, they feel like they have missed something.  A hole is left that was once filled.  It seems like Holden struggles with this problem pretty often.  “Holden wants to make connections with people (or, in this case, with places), but to do so means to make an emotional investment that will probably end up depressing him. Here, however, he seems to decide that he would rather feel sad about leaving a place than feel sad about the fact that he doesn't get to feel connected enough to feel sad.” (Shmoop 1).  Fear of messing up seems to be the problem that Holden continues to face.  He does not want to let himself or anyone else down by a broken relationship so he never starts one in the first place.  This is what leaves him depressed and sad all the time.  Shallow relationships make him mad also.  He refers to those people as “phonies”, though he tends to act like one himself.  So either way he chooses, Holden will not be happy.  J.D. Salinger has made Holden Caulfield into a complex character that many can still relate to.  The feelings and thoughts that Holden displays are startling, yet have very many similarities to teenager thought processes today. 

"The Catcher in the Rye." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2012. http://www.shmoop.com/catcher-in-the-rye/.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.