A Lack of Hope in The Catcher in the Rye Essays

A Lack of Hope in The Catcher in the Rye Essays A Lack of Hope in The Catcher in the Rye Essay A Lack of Hope in The Catcher in the Rye Essay Essay Topic: The Catcher in the Rye While you may feel hopeless during a time of despair, it is often the desire for success that turns despair into hope. To be hopeful, you have a yearning for something to work out the way you wish. When you despair, you are still aware of what could happen, but begin to lose hope. Depending on how strong that feeling is, you might be able to turn it into hope before it is too late. For those who feel despair, they may feel that life is not worth living. Unfortunately for Holden, his feelings of despair have gone too far out of hand. Holden Caulfield, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye, lives a very troubling life. He struggles with staying enrolled and engaged in his classes, has difficulty with friendships due to his constant need to tell lies, and has thoughts of suicide often. It seems that this is a story of despair; Holden’s life lacks any signs of hope. It is clear that he does not have anything to live for since the thought of suicide frequently crosses his mind. Holden has fallen so far into this pit of despair that it is nearly impossible for him to recover. Holden has little desire and motivation at school. He is most recently kicked out of school for failing four out of five of his classes. Upon visiting one of his teachers, his teacher makes comments about how little effort Holden put into the coursework. On his assignment, Holden even wrote his teacher a note stating â€Å"it is all right with me if you flunk me though as I am flunking everything else except English anyway† page 15 Holden is showing his teacher how little his grades matter to him; he is not even hopeful that his teacher will try and pass him. Instead, he gives his teacher the permission, in a sense, to fail him. It wouldnt matter anyway since Holden does not have a chance at passing regardless of his note. Suicide is a reoccurring thought for Holden. There are instances in which he is about to commit suicide; however he refrains from doing