The Catcher in the Rye and Depression

The classic novel, The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, was published in the 1940's and instantly became a hit. The Catcher in the Rye is a masterpiece within itself. Portraying the impact that depression has in Holden's life, Salinger reveals the causes of depression and how it affects his life.

Depression is a big factor in The Catcher in the Rye. It is a disorder that causes one to have lack of interest in usual hobbies, have a loss of appetite, and in most cases having many sad feelings associated with the mind altering thought of worthlessness. One who is depressed usually has a negative attitude towards everything. Salinger shows depression in his novel through the main character Holden Caulfield. Holden is a fine example for depression. He lost a brother at a young age and has been thrown out of a variety of schools on numerous accounts. He feels as though he has no purpose in life, causing his lack of interest in just about everything he did on a regular basis.

Chapter one of The Catcher in the Rye already shows signs of depression in the main character, Holden Cau

Part Three

Trask 4

Sylvia Plath portrays depression in her novel, The Bell Jar, through the narrator, Esther Greenwood, who is also the main character. Esther's depression is caused by the feeling of dissatisfaction when things are not perfect. As an overachiever and scholarship winner, Esther receives a great amount of pressure, which also causes her depression, leading to the troublesome effects it had on her life. Esther believed that when she got to New York everything would be so great and pressure free. She should have been having the time of her life, but that all proved untrue when her sense of dissatisfaction set in.

In The Bell Jar Plath has used an important technical device of realism. The Russian critic Shklovsky called this "defamiliarization."

This shows the reader how many things, even little things, depress Esther just because of dissatisfaction in her life. This dissatisfaction affected the way she viewed life. Esther became obsessed with attempts to get herself liberated from a virginity she finds

Some common words found in the essay are:
Esther Greenwood, Lenny Doreen, David Copperfield, Catcher Rye, Depression Plath, Caulfield Holden's, Sylvia Plath, Caulfield Holden, Bell Jar, Jar Plath, catcher rye, main character, main character holden, depression caused, character holden, sylvia plath, holden caulfield, esther greenwood, holden's life, esther's depression, bell jar, character holden caulfield, depression caused feeling, esther's depression caused, depression main character,
Approximate Word count = 2142
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)