The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger

So, I finished this book over a week ago, so I'll have to focus this post on only ideas from the second section.  Holden has to have some kind of mental illness or problem.  An important idea in this section was his indecisiveness.  He seems to enjoy people one minute, and then the next he dislikes them and begins telling lies.  This was annoying to the audience, yet I believe it has significance to the overall point of the novel.  Several times, he chooses to do one thing, then does a 360 and changes his mind.  In chapter 8, he claims "he didn't feel like it" (Salinger, page 54) when talking to Mrs. Morrow.  At one point, he says he wants to pray, but then he doesn't because he changes his mind.  Another specific point in this section was when he called on the prostitute then didn't use her [ahem] services because he changed his mind yet again.  I think this all contributes to his mental issue as he cannot maintain a stable mindset when making decisions.