Catcher in the Rye Essay

HEnglish10: period 6

November 7, 2012

Typical Teenagers

When one is feeling depressed or saddened they usually isolate themselves

from the world. People that are feeling lost or alone do not like to socialize with

others. In the book “The Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger, the main character is

named Holden Caulfield. Holden goes through many challenges throughout this

novel trying to find himself and his voice a lot like some people today try to do the

same. In this book there are many things that Holden does to try to find himself and

his place in the world. Salinger uses ducks, Allie, and alcohol that are used as

symbols to prove that teenage years often result to isolation, depression, and one

trying to find themselves.

In this novel Salinger uses ducks as a symbol of Holden’s isolation to the world. On the way to the hotel in a cab Holden asks the cab driver some interesting questions: “'You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance?'" (78). Holden is relating himself to the ducks, how he is lost and isolated from the world and does not know where to go. Holden is curious about the ducks and where they go when they can no longer live in their home just like Holden not being able to live in his home, he is very lost and confused because he is now entering adulthood. After
Tinney 2 asking the taxi driver where the ducks go when the pond freezes over he turns around and looks at Holden like he is crazy: “He turned around and looked at me like I was a madman. ‘What’re ya tryna do, bud?’ he said. ‘kid me?’ ‘no- I was just interested, that’s all.’” (78,79). This shows how self-conscious and hesitant he is to not truthfully answer the taxi drivers question. Holden actually wants to learn about the ducks because he is referring the ducks to himself. Teens commonly ask questions that are relevant to a situation that one is in but when the person they ask, asks “why” they just say “I don’t know. Just wondering.” When really that person has a whole story behind the question that was asked. Salinger uses Allie, Holden’s older brother, as a symbol to convey depression throughout the novel. One day Holden became so lonesome and had no one to talk to he started to talk to Allie: “What I did, I started talking, sort of loud, to Allie.” (129). Holden has a serious case of depression. He really needed someone to talk to him but he had no one to turn to, he had nobody except the person that passed away. Their bond was so strong that Holton felt like Allie was actually talking to him. After loosing a loved one, teenagers can go into depression for a long or short period of time, some cases are more extreme than others which is why everyone should have someone to talk to for reasons like these. Another part of the novel that uses Allie as a symbol of depression is when Holden is talking about his mother and how she got affected by Allies death: “ She hasn’t felt too healthy since my brother Allie died. She’s very nervous. That’s another reason why I hated like hell for her to know I got the ax again.” (140). Not only is Holden affected by Allies Tinney 3 death but so is his mother, she is physically and mentally sick because of this. He feels guilty to tell his mom he got kicked out of school again because she is already saddened and sick so more bad news will just affect her even more but in a bad way, which brings depression towards Holden. In this novel Salinger constantly brings up Allie to show Holden’s depression progressing thought the book. Holden continuously try’s to find himself in this book, sometimes it leads to things he knows he should not do but it makes him feel older and more mature like drinking alcohol for instance. Luce and Holden go into a bar for a few drinks and Holden gets a little out of control and so Luce leaves: “Yes, I sat at the goddamn bar till around one o’clock or so, getting drunk as a bastard.” (194). Holden is very sad and lonely which leads to his depression. Since he has no friends that he can talk to about his problems he turns to alcohol to “comfort” him instead of a person. If a teenager starts drinking alcohol, that could very well lead to being an alcoholic in the future. When Holden is sitting in the bar by himself getting very drunk waiting for people to come on stage to sing he calls over the headwaiter: “I told him to ask old Valencia if she’d care to join me for a drink.” (194). This shows Holden trying to find himself by trying to act mature by getting drunk and calling a woman over to have a drink with him. Some teenagers do things like this to get attention or to try and convince others that that person is mature. Over all drinking alcohol is not the way to find ones self and to become mature. If anything it will have only a negative affect on teenagers because drinking at such a young age could result to being an alcoholic in the future. Tinney 4 Salinger over all uses many symbols in this book but the three that stand out the most are the ducks, Allie, and alcohol as symbols to prove that teenage years often result to isolation, depression, and ones trying to find themselves. The ducks are like Holden, they stay in one place but when their home is no longer an option they must leave, the ducks become lost until they find a place they can stay until their pond unfreezes. The ducks can also symbolize Isolation because of the way Holden always changes homes causing him to be isolated from the world and his friends. Allie is a symbol of depression because whenever he thinks about Allie the thoughts and memories of his dead brother come stirring in his head, which causes him to feel sad and lonesome. Alcohol is a symbol of Holden trying to find himself in the world and where he fits in. He drinks to act mature but does not work because even when he is drunk he is always making immature comments that the older people dislike. Depression, Isolation, and people trying to find ones voice/themselves relates to teenagers tremendously. Studies have shown that two million teens in the United States alone are suffering from depression, 1 million teens socially isolate themselves, and almost every teenager tries to find ones voice/themselves in the world but some find it faster than others. These are very negative statics and so in the future one can only hope that fewer teens have to deal with these issues.