The Catcher in the Rye: Breakdown

Toward the end of the novel, more specifically chapter twenty-four, Holden is teetering on the edge of a full-scale mental and emotional breakdown. After he shows strange emotions while talking to Phoebe in the middle of the night such as bursting into tears when she lends him some money, he goes to Mr. Antolini’s house planning to confide in him and crash at his place for the night or possibly longer. During the conversation they have, Mr. Antolini has a quote that basically sums up Holden’s situation; “I have a feeling that you’re riding for some kind of terrible, terrible fall. . . . The whole arrangement’s designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn’t supply them with. . . . So they gave up looking.” This quote once again assures me that Mr. Antolini is a genuinely nice guy and not just some creep. Anyway, Mr. Antolini’s description of Holden’s hard times completely differ from Holden’s own views. While Holden views himself as the protector of the innocent children falling into the dangerous adult world, Mr. Anotlini feels as though Holden is the one who needs to be protected. On a more literal note of the quote, Mr. Antolini is saying to Holden that he probably does not feel connected to his environment and that he has simply given up trying to do anything. The reader can honestly infer this from earlier in the book, but Mr. Antolini has just put it in words. There is no real proof, but I assume that this just rocks Holden’s world. I would guess that this whole situation with Mr. Antolini and then later watching Phoebe is what tips Holden over into his complete breakdown where he must go see a medical doctor to be phscyoanalyzed which puts us back to the beginning of the story where Holden states that he is indeed in a hospital recounting all of these moments in his life.