What Is Holden's Breakdown In Catcher In The Rye
A psychological breakdown is like a hole. Once you fall in, it is hard to climb out. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s view of the world remains the same, however, the world around him changes. Holden’s self-isolation and the realization that he cannot save childhood innocence leads to his breakdown.
Holden isolates himself from becoming close with another person as a source of self-protection, which ultimately plays a negative impact on his psychological state. While talking to Old Spencer, Holden thinks to himself, “I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over” (Salinger 14). Just like the ducks, Holden does not know who and where to turn to because he has no one in his life that he feels …show more content…
In the staircase of Phoebe’s school, Holden finds inappropriate writing on the walls and says, “Somebody’d written “Fuck you” on the wall… it’s hopeless… if you had a million years to do it in, you couldn’t rub out even half the “Fuck you” signs in the world. It’s impossible” (221-222). By rubbing the writing off the wall, he is trying to preserve children from the loss of their own innocence by shielding them from the evil things that they have yet to learn. When he cannot rub off the swear scratched into the wall, Holden realizes there is nothing he can do to shield them from the corrupt world. He feels helpless and does not understand why innocent children must become corrupt and a “phony” (94). While watching Phoebe ride the carousel, Holden comes to a mature conclusion: “The thing is about little kids, if they want to grab the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (232). When Phoebe tells Holden that she is “too big” (231) to ride the carousel, he urges her to go on, in an effort to preserve her innocence. Holden does not want to admit to himself that his own sister has lost her innocence. At this point, Holden comes to accept that he cannot save children from adulthood and all of the evils that come with it.
Due to his need for isolation and the realization that
Holden isolates himself from becoming close with another person as a source of self-protection, which ultimately plays a negative impact on his psychological state. While talking to Old Spencer, Holden thinks to himself, “I was wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over” (Salinger 14). Just like the ducks, Holden does not know who and where to turn to because he has no one in his life that he feels …show more content…
In the staircase of Phoebe’s school, Holden finds inappropriate writing on the walls and says, “Somebody’d written “Fuck you” on the wall… it’s hopeless… if you had a million years to do it in, you couldn’t rub out even half the “Fuck you” signs in the world. It’s impossible” (221-222). By rubbing the writing off the wall, he is trying to preserve children from the loss of their own innocence by shielding them from the evil things that they have yet to learn. When he cannot rub off the swear scratched into the wall, Holden realizes there is nothing he can do to shield them from the corrupt world. He feels helpless and does not understand why innocent children must become corrupt and a “phony” (94). While watching Phoebe ride the carousel, Holden comes to a mature conclusion: “The thing is about little kids, if they want to grab the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (232). When Phoebe tells Holden that she is “too big” (231) to ride the carousel, he urges her to go on, in an effort to preserve her innocence. Holden does not want to admit to himself that his own sister has lost her innocence. At this point, Holden comes to accept that he cannot save children from adulthood and all of the evils that come with it.
Due to his need for isolation and the realization that