Team+Awesomesaucetastic

Justin van den Heuvel and Aaron Zupfer

«With a name like Team Awesomesaucetastic, it has to be good.»

1. The motifs in the story "Catcher in the Rye" is mostly related to loneliness and depression. In the book, Holden describes about how most people interact with other people. (And how he went to all that trouble giving me that advice about finding out the size of your mind and all, and how he was the only guy that'd he even gone //near// that boy James Castle I told you about when he was dead. I thought about that stuff. And the more I thought about it, the more depressed I got. Pg.195)

2. Holden's mood is mostly depression. Holden gets depressed about almost everything he describes about; family members, friends, etc. This mood is very similar to the motif, and describes Holden's position. (After Old Sunny was gone, I sat in the chair for a while and smoked a couple of cigarettes. It was getting daylight outside. Boy, I felt miserable. I felt so depressed, you can't imagine. What I did, I started talking out loud, to Allie. I do that sometimes when I get depressed. Pg.98)

3. Holden is always alone, but never in his mind. Whenever Holden is left alone in the streets or in a room, he tries to remember about his younger brother, Allie, or one of his girls, Jane Gallagher.

**I.** **Introduction** a. Holden's reaction in the story mostly describes about his depression and loneliness in the story, 'Catcher in the Rye.' b. Loneliness and depression. i. Holden falls under depression when everything he sees in people's lives are "phonies" because of their actions, or when people remind him of his past (flashbacks). ii. The cause of his depression is his memories. iii. He experienced not only loneliness and depression, he has endured problems with relationships, intimacy, and sexuality.

**II.** **Holden falls under depression when everything he sees in people's lives are "phonies" because of their actions, or when people remind him of his past (flashbacks).** a. "After they left, I started getting sorry that I'd only given them ten bucks for their collection. But the thing was, I'd made that date to go to a matinee with old Sally Hayes, and I needed to keep some dough for the tickets and stuff. I was sorry anyway, though. Goddamn money. It always ends up making you blue as hell." (Chp.15) i. After giving out a few dollars to some nuns, Holden realizes that he needed some of the money for his date. He tells how money can sometimes be cheerful to people, and how it can be depressing to others. b. "Take most people, they're crazy about cars. They worry if they get a little scratch on them, and they're always talking about how many miles they get to a gallon, and if they get a brand-new car already they start thinking about trading it in for one that's even newer. I don't even like old cars. I mean they don't even interest me. I'd rather have a goddam horse. A horse is at least human, for God's sake." (Chp.17) i. Explains how people like to show off how much money and things they have. c. "Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad." (Chp.7) i. So, Holden basically is saying "Don't give me b.s."!

**III.** **The cause of his depression is his memories.** a. "My brother D.B.'s a writer and all, and my brother Allie, the one that died, that I told you about, was a wizard. I'm the only really dumb one." (Chp.10) i. Holden finds himself competing with his brother and appears to lack self-esteem making himself the dumb one in the family. b. "I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddamn windows with my fist, just for the hell of it." (Chp.5) i. Holden was in a state where he was depressed the most after his brother, Allie died of leukemia. c. "I mean when she was talking and she got excited about something, her mouth sort of went in about fifty directions, her lips and all. That killed me." (Chp.11) i. Holden remembers of how the good times he had with Jane Gallagher, but that was all a distant memory.

**IV.** **He experienced not only loneliness and depression, he has endured problems with alcoholism, relationships, intimacy, and sexuality****.** a. "I ordered a Scotch and soda, which is my favorite drink, next to frozen Daiquiris." (Chp.12) i. Every time Holden gets himself depressed, he turns towards alcohol. Alcohol beverages were an access for Holden. He was able to get into night clubs and get served even though he was only a minor. He ends up getting drunk and was acting completely pathetic and stupid. b. "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." (Chp.26) i. Throughout Holden's childhood, Holden had practically idolized his older brother, D.B. and had adored his baby sister, Phoebe. Phoebe was his "hope of happiness" and had brought him true joy. He would do everything in his power to protect her. But, when it comes to women, Holden greatly struggles with them. c. "In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex manic you ever saw." (Chp.9) "Sex is something I really don't understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away." (Chp.9) i. Intimacy and sexuality are most of the rooted problems that Holden faces relating to his alienation. He fears the adult world: Sex is found everywhere. He has the opportunity to have a prostitute to come to his hotel room. He always want to be around girls and talk to them.

**V.** **Conclusion** a. The story 'Catcher in the Rye,' mostly describes about loneliness and depression. i. Holden gets depressed when he gives out something, or when he sees other people that bring him flashbacks. 1. Seeing people together or when he gives out a valuable, he gets a flashback about the same thing that happened before. ii. The cause of his depression is his memories. 1. Holden describes a memory about a friend or family member that he used to have fun with, but now, he is not with them anymore. iii. He experienced not only loneliness and depression, he has endured problems with relationships, intimacy, and sexuality. 1. Holden had the roughest childhood in his life, and was being pushed and peer pressured by other people. iv. But in the end, Holden gets a somewhat of a happy ending. He realizes that his little sister tells him "Holden you are a screw up!" And for once in his life, he thinks about what Phoebe said to him and rethinks what he has done to his life. He has come to terms, with some degree, that to be a "catcher" for Phoebe and the rest of the people; he must allow them to grow up for themselves. It is true that life is challenging; people are capable of facing challenges (whether good or bad) in their lives.

This is a story about a teenager, Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year-old boy, who is deeply troubled and who has suffered so much loneliness and depression pretty much his whole life. The story, //The Catcher in the Rye//, mostly describes about Holden's loneliness and depression. Holden's relations give three insights into his character in describing about his depression: he falls under depression when everything he sees in people's lives are "phonies" because of their actions, or when people remind him of his past (flashbacks); another that causes his depression is his memories; memories of his brother's death to leukemia and witnessing a suicide (And how he went to all that trouble giving me that advice about finding out the size of your mind and all, and how he was the only guy that'd he even gone //near// that boy James Castle I told you about when he was dead. I thought about that stuff. And the more I thought about it, the more depressed I got. Pg.195); and lastly, he experienced, not only loneliness and depression, but had endured problems with relationships, intimacy, and sexuality. These three insights had brought Holden's feelings of depression to a whole new level of suffering and made him what he is now.

"After they left, I started getting sorry that I'd only given them ten bucks for their collection. But the thing was, I'd made that date to go to a matinee with old Sally Hayes, and I needed to keep some dough for the tickets and stuff. I was sorry anyway, though. Goddamn money. It always ends up making you blue as hell." (Chp. 15). This is the first turning events how Holden Caulfield experiences and lives loneliness and depression; a depression that made him see everything in people's lives as "phonies" because of their actions, or when people remind him of his past (flashbacks). This presents a clear distinctive between the world of a child than of an adult. A child wants to help someone by being genuine, caring, giving; but, also be giving to themselves. Here's an example; after giving a couple of nuns a few dollars, Holden realizes that he also needs money for his date with Sally Hayes. He later explains how money can be trouble-some, and can also bring happiness to others. "Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad." (Chp.7). In other words, Holden is basically describing, "Don't give me bull crap!" Holden not only describes about himself, he too, describes about how people like to be big show offs. Take this quote for example: "Take most people, they're crazy about cars. They worry if they get a little scratch on them, and they're always talking about how many miles they get to a gallon, and if they get a brand-new car already they start thinking about trading it in for one that's even newer. I don't even like old cars. I mean they don't even interest me. I'd rather have a goddam horse. A horse is at least human, for God's sake." (Chp.17). This quote shows how people like to show off their new products and how much money they have. Holden is not one of those people. He likes to keep everything simple and to-the-point.

Holden has gone through some good and bad obstacles (mostly bad ones). What's caused his depression; is his memories. In the book, Holden describes about the good times and bad times he's had with his family and friends. But, all of this has changed. In order to hide his pain, Holden has been living off of booze, which is the only thing that keeps him from being depressed. "I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddamn windows with my fist, just for the hell of it." (Chp.5). One sad part in the story is when Holden is confronted by his own fear when his brother, Allie died of leukemia. Not being able to compose himself, Holden went into a state of rage and sadness. He started punching out all the windows, and he slept in the garage where his brother died. Speaking of brothers, Holden also explains how his two brothers, Allie and D.B., were smarter than him. "My brother D.B.'s a writer and all, and my brother Allie, the one that died, that I told you about, was a wizard. I'm the only really dumb one." (Chp.10). This makes Holden think negatively about himself. He believes his brothers and parents are better than him. He finds himself in a competitive position with his brothers, and mostly lacks self-esteem. Like in the quote, Holden believes he's the only dumb one in the family. Even though some of his memories were very sad, others memories were the good times he had, like this; "I mean when she was talking and she got excited about something, her mouth sort of went in about fifty directions, her lips and all. That killed me." (Chp.11). This was one of the good times Holden had with one of his girls, Jane Gallagher. He explains how she talks very fast when she gets very excited, and how she mumbles a lot. Now, it's all a distant memory to him. Memories can trigger unexpectedly almost everyday. Sometimes they can be a good thing, or be an answer. Sometimes, they can be depressing and sad. Like Holden, his memories triggers about something depressing or something he did for a reason. Even if it's depressing, or fun, or something good, he gets depressed for no reason. To get it out of his head, he drinks or smokes to calm him down.

Holden, like many many teens, suffers loneliness and depression on a daily basis. When he's depressed, he wanders around to some places to get it out of his head. Besides the experiences of loneliness and depression, Holden endured big problems with alcoholism, relationships, intimacy, and sexuality. These are many motifs that can be found in //The Catcher in the Rye//. "I ordered a Scotch and soda, which is my favorite drink, next to frozen Daiquiris." (Chp.12). Alcoholic beverages are available at all times; drinking takes the pain away. This is quite what portrays Holden's personality. It seems that, every time Holden gets depressed, he turns his attention to alcohol. Even at a young age, he was able to access into night clubs, bars, etc. After a night of drinking, he ends up getting drunk and acts ridiculous in public. With alcohol out of the way, Holden has been through a lot of trouble ever since he was young. "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." (Chp.26). Holden's childhood was a mess. Despite his messed up relationship with his family and friends, the only thing that kept him alive and happy was his older brother, D.B., and his young sister, Phoebe. Phoebe has been Holden's true idol. She is like the heart that keeps him alive and happy when he's depressed. Relationships was one of the reasons that troubled him; but, at the same time quite happy and content. And where there's relationships between two different people, sex is also one of Holden's trouble. "In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex manic you ever saw." (Chp.9). "Sex is something I really don't understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away." (Chp.9). These two quotes Holden faces problems with sex and intimacy. Without his parents advice and caring; sex was a forbidden topic (since they've totally avoided the 'sex' topic to Holden), Holden fears the real world. He gets pressured, beaten, and teased at from other people. He only wants to talk about his feelings to other people, especially around girls. Holden's reaction to other people has been rough, and it still continues. Alcoholism, sexuality, relationships, and intimacy pretty much sums up Holden's life of loneliness and depression.

The story //The Catcher in the Rye//, influences about a character named Holden Caulfield. He has suffered loneliness and depression. Two powerful words that made Holden the way he is now. Holden's depression has come from these three parts. First, he falls under depression when everything he sees in people's lives are "phonies" because of their actions, or when people remind him of his past (flashbacks). Second cause of his depression is his memories. Holden describes a memory about a friend he's lost; witnessing a suicide and family members that he used to have fun with. Unfortunately, due to his alienation, he is not with them anymore. And lastly; not only has he experienced loneliness and depression, he has endured problems with relationships, intimacy, and sexuality. Holden endured a very rough childhood life, and was being pushed and peer pressured by other people. But in the end, Holden gets a somewhat of a happy ending. He realizes that his little sister tells him "Holden you are a screw up!" And for once in his life, he thinks about what Phoebe said to him and rethinks what he has done to his life. He has come to terms, with some degree, that to be a "catcher" for Phoebe and the rest of the people; he must allow them to grow up for themselves. It is true that life is challenging; people are capable of facing challenges (whether good or bad) in their lives.