In his novel, The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger recounts the psychological and physical tribulations of Holden Caulfield, an over-analyzing and mentally unstable teenager, looking for satisfaction in a constantly changing world. In one selection, Holden describes his nighttime journey through Central Park; on the verge of an emotional breakdown, he seeks companionship while continually disdaining the idea of ​​being with those who care about him. detail, setting and repetition, it highlights Holden's feelings of loneliness and detachment, and it exposes the deterioration of his mental state. Say No to Plagiarism Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? essay In order to capture and demonstrate Holden's unspoken emotions, Salinger uses an ironic selection of details. Holden, lonely and desperate, longs to ignore his past experiences. However, while he breaks the record intended for his sister Phoebe, he "...did not; 'I don't feel like just throwing [the pieces] away'" (Salinger 154). This unbroken bond with his past reappears as he describes the stress and worry his parents and "a whole fucking stupid gang of" relatives would have if he died (Ironically, he only imagines his fear of ". .. imagining [his mother] not knowing what to do with all [his] costumes and sports equipment and everything" and his horror for his grandfather "... shouting out the street numbers when you get into a fucking bus with him"; these insignificant and unprecedented details highlight Holden's ultimate mental degeneration (154, 155). Holden's psychological deterioration continues as he complains that he has squandered all his money; after makes this proclamation, he unduly throws his coins into the pond and explains that "...[he did not know] why [he] had done it, but [he] had done it..."(156) .Holden's feelings of loneliness and faltering mental conditions parallel the dispiriting and abandoned setting of Central Park's lake. As Holden wanders the park looking for the lake, he expresses that he "...knew exactly where it was...but [he] still couldn't find it" (154). This statement embodies Holden's psychological state; he suggests that he knows what he wants in life but can't seem to locate it. When he finally finds the lake, it appears to be "...partly frozen and partly unfrozen..."; in this state, the lake symbolizes Holden's precarious position, on the border between rationality and madness (154). Desperately searching for the ducks, Holden seems to be looking for company again. However, all the ducks have disappeared and he is left in isolation. As Holden approaches the condition of mental instability, he comes symbolically closer to "very close to [falling] all at once" (154). By italicizing the word “in,” Salinger creates a double meaning; Holden appears to be in danger of literally falling into the lake and figuratively plunging into a state of mental collapse. Finally, through his use of repetition, Salinger emphasizes Holden's preeminent detachment from the world and his progression toward physiological madness. As he walks through the park, he continually points out the darkness around him; in fact, as the chapter progresses, the scene is described as “…becoming darker and darker…” (154). In the end, Holden expresses that "it's not too bad when the sun is up, but the sun only comes up when it feels like going out"; just as the darkness of the scene appears to successively intensify significantly, Holden's feelings of isolation amplify to the point of intensifying his feelings of despair (156). These emotions end up generating apprehension and fear of.