The ending of this book always confused me a bit. Holden refuses to tell us what exactly happens next. we’re left seeing him watch Phoebe ride the carousel. And even though this picture makes him happy he still seems ‘depressed’ just like any other time before. He begins to cry but he says it’s because he’s so happy watching Phoebe.
In the very last chapter, Holden doesn’t directly come out and say it but he is in some kind of hospital. He mentions and psychoanalysis and how D.B. and his girl come to visit him. So was Holden crazy this whole time? Did he imagine everything that he told us in the book? Or was in institutionalized after everything happened? I think it’s up to interpretation. I believe Holden was just a boy trying to find someone to love him. In the process he was trying to find himself as well. If he was crazy or not, these two goals were definitely something he strived for, if he was aware of it or not.
In the very last chapter, Holden doesn’t directly come out and say it but he is in some kind of hospital. He mentions and psychoanalysis and how D.B. and his girl come to visit him. So was Holden crazy this whole time? Did he imagine everything that he told us in the book? Or was in institutionalized after everything happened? I think it’s up to interpretation. I believe Holden was just a boy trying to find someone to love him. In the process he was trying to find himself as well. If he was crazy or not, these two goals were definitely something he strived for, if he was aware of it or not.