Loneliness and Depression in The Catcher In The Rye Essay

The Catcher in the Rye Response

I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wish I was dead. (Salinger 48) Loneliness and depression is exhibited by Holden, the main character in the book, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. In the Poem Hanging Fire, Audre Lorde, the author, focuses on a young person who also suffers from being lonely and depressed and feels many of the same emotions Holden does. There is a common theme between this poem and this book: the loneliness, depression, and neglect teenagers face leads them to feel like outliers of society.

Holden is going through a tough time after the loss of his brother. Life hasnt been easy for Holden; he has had to deal with his bad grades, the stress of getting kicked out of schools, and the neglect by his parents. He has nobody to talk to, nobody to console him. In the poem, a fourteen year old faces many critical issues, although in comparison to Holdens they seem trivial. But, for the fourteen year old they are monumental resulting in insecurity, depression, and sadness much the same as that for Holden. The phrase and mommas in the bedroom with the door closed. (Audre, 10-11, 22-23, 34-35) was constantly repeated in the poem reinforcing neglect. Both writers are trying to express the grief kids have when they dont get any attention. When they suffer from a lack of attention it leads to loneliness and depression. In addition to feeling lonely and depressed, they feel like a complete outsider, they feel different; they feel like they are a wrong person. Nobody even stops to think of my side of it. Why do I have to be the one with braces (Audre, 24-30).

In todays day and age many adolescents are suffering from being different or feeling wrong. Mommy, daddy, I just want to let you know Im gay. Some parents who have gay kids try and prevent them from being gay hoping to change who they are to something more right or more acceptable. Gay kids feel much like Holden and the fourteen year old boy, outliers of society. Being different is not easy, and letting people know youre different is even harder. Many kids around the world who feel they are on the fringe may even resort to taking their own life because they have nowhere or nobody to turn to. In Holdens case he had many feelings about death and what people would think about when he is dead. Similarly the fourteen year old thought about his death pondering Suppose I die before graduation they will sing sad melodies. (Audre, 15-18) These thoughts are common to creep into the heads of neglected, depressed, teens who feel like outliers of society.

Salinger and Lorde focused on the critical issue of teenage depression, loneliness, and neglect to help readers understand the need this group has for attention. This group needs to be heard and understood. They need to feel right not wrong. Should kids feel like Holden or the fourteen year old, suicide is perhaps a likely conclusion for those outliers.