Living with Depression

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden battles a deep depression. By reading this novel, one gets a look inside of the life of a teenage battling deep depression. Throughout the course of the novel, Holden continues to surround himself with people. The quote "How can I be surrounded by a sea of people and yet still feel so alone?" really applies to the life of Holden Caulfield. Even though he surrounded himself with people, he was felt depressed and alone. I would label Holden as a pessimist. Holden always found a way to find a bad in every situation. For example, while eating breakfast with two nuns Holden thought, "All the two of them were eating for breakfast was toast and coffee. That depressed me" (Salinger, 143). The fact that he was a pessimist greatly contributed to his depression. Even a simple event, such as a small breakfast, spiked his depression. His depression got so bad that he spoke of taking his life on multiple occasions. Living with depression is a battle that Holden will fight for the rest of his life, but lucky for him he has people in his life like Phoebe to help him through it.