As humans we all need to go through obstacles to achieve goals. In The Catcher in the Rye, the main character; Holden, goes through some challenging life events. Holden goes through a lot of stress and can not find an escape from his depressive self. Throughout the book, Holden’s life is crumbling apart and he can’t stand being a part of society. His judgemental point of view pushes him away from society, pulling him away from the people he loves. Holden’s unstable emotional and logical state is an example of how Holden’s negative reasoning is increasing into something that could harm him personality.

Holden from the beginning, sitting on top of a hill and looking down at a football game, we can see how much of an outsider Holden is. Holden’s perception of the real world is different from others around him. He is very judgmental towards people he knows, he states that they are phonies. Yet, he doesn’t have the same judgement towards his sister and his dead brother. The only way Holden is coping with his depression is by smoking, drinking alcohol, and talking to Allie.

Holden affects the people around him. For example, in chapter 17, Holden goes on a date with Sally, a girl he dated for a long time. At first, everything was going swell. They went to the movies to watch the Lunts, but Holden became judgemental about the actors in the movie and the people watching the movie. Holden becomes very irritated when Sally starts talking to this other guy, he calls him a bastard in his head. Once the showing was over, Holden was about to take Sally home but then Sally got the idea to go ice skating, which Holden accepted. They ice skated for a while and then went to a bar near them. Holden asked Sally if she hated school, she replied that it’s boring but she doesn’t truly hate it. Holden replied to his own question by saying that he does hate school. He later went through a whole rant on why school sucks. While Holden was ranting, Sally told him to stop screaming; however he believed that he’s not yelling. He began another rant, saying that he and Sally should go up into the woods, begin a new life, and get married. This example shows how Holden wants to isolate himself from society. Sally declines the offer and Holden gets mad. He calls her a “Royal pain in the ass”, which makes Sally cry. Holden apologizes but Sally refuses his apology and goes home without him. This shows Holden’s anger escalating due to his depressive and judgmental beliefs and causing strain within his relationships.

In addition, it seems that every time Holden attempts to figure out a solution, he keeps on digging a wider hole for himself. For example, asking for alcohol underaged, lying that he was 21, trying to find Phoebe at the museum which actually only made him feel down from observing the exhibits, going on a date with dating Sally, and buzzing Jane even though the mom always picks up. He is not very good at making decisions, considering that he is only 16 years old. Holden is going through all of these problems at an age where stress can overcome their emotion and can escalate to a point of self inflicting pain.

In conclusion, the effect of depression really takes a toll on an individual. It makes us withdraw from the people we love and care for us. Also, a person with depression can’t see the world clearly and they believe that everyone is an enemy. In order for them to feel safe, they stop talking to other people and lock themselves away from others. Holden believes he’s never going to escape from this situation causing him to think that he is a madman. He be