Catcher in the Rye
Have you ever heard the expression, “You can’t take care of others if you can’t take care of yourself”? In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield would benefit from applying this expression to his life. Holden wants to be a “catcher” that prevents children from falling off the cliff of innocence and into adulthood. However, Holden has many issues of his own that thwart him from living a normal, happy life. Although Holden expresses how much he wants to care for others, he should take care of himself first because he is approaching a dangerous point in life due to his unhealthy behaviors.
Holden exhibits many irrational actions and distorted ways of thinking that bring affliction upon himself mentally …show more content…
Holden deprecates himself right from the start and says that “As a matter of fact, I’m the only dumb one in my family” (67). Holden feels as though he has let his family down because he is the only one in his family who has never accomplished anything. These feelings greatly contribute to his depression. Afterwards, Holden shows aspects of his unsettled mind by pretending that he gets shot and is dying. He says, “About halfway to the bathroom, I sort of started pretending I had a bullet in my guts . . . I 'd crawl back to my room and call up Jane and have her come over and bandage up my guts. I pictured her holding a cigarette for me to smoke while I was bleeding and all” (104). Holden thinks that the only way Jane will pay attention to him is if he is bleeding to death. In a world where he feels insignificant, these disturbing and crazy fantasies make him feel important, wanted, and loved. Later on, Holden talks more about the idea of his death and says he will gladly volunteer to die. He is “sort of glad they’ve got the atomic bomb invented. If there’s ever another war, I’m going to sit right the hell on top of it. I’ll volunteer for it” (141). Holden has such low self-esteem and does not even care about his life anymore. Holden shows severe instability through his harsh feelings of
Have you ever heard the expression, “You can’t take care of others if you can’t take care of yourself”? In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield would benefit from applying this expression to his life. Holden wants to be a “catcher” that prevents children from falling off the cliff of innocence and into adulthood. However, Holden has many issues of his own that thwart him from living a normal, happy life. Although Holden expresses how much he wants to care for others, he should take care of himself first because he is approaching a dangerous point in life due to his unhealthy behaviors.
Holden exhibits many irrational actions and distorted ways of thinking that bring affliction upon himself mentally …show more content…
Holden deprecates himself right from the start and says that “As a matter of fact, I’m the only dumb one in my family” (67). Holden feels as though he has let his family down because he is the only one in his family who has never accomplished anything. These feelings greatly contribute to his depression. Afterwards, Holden shows aspects of his unsettled mind by pretending that he gets shot and is dying. He says, “About halfway to the bathroom, I sort of started pretending I had a bullet in my guts . . . I 'd crawl back to my room and call up Jane and have her come over and bandage up my guts. I pictured her holding a cigarette for me to smoke while I was bleeding and all” (104). Holden thinks that the only way Jane will pay attention to him is if he is bleeding to death. In a world where he feels insignificant, these disturbing and crazy fantasies make him feel important, wanted, and loved. Later on, Holden talks more about the idea of his death and says he will gladly volunteer to die. He is “sort of glad they’ve got the atomic bomb invented. If there’s ever another war, I’m going to sit right the hell on top of it. I’ll volunteer for it” (141). Holden has such low self-esteem and does not even care about his life anymore. Holden shows severe instability through his harsh feelings of