In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D Salinger, Holden’s desire to control his life and his desperation for human interaction prompts him to genuinely ask Sally to run away and eventually marry him. 

To begin with, Holden is sitting with Sally on a date when he tells her he desires to run away and marry her. Holden says, “I could get a job somewhere and, we could live somewhere with brook and all and, later on, we could get married or something. I could chop all our own wood in the wintertime and all. Honest to god, we could have a terrific time!” Holden exhibits one of the only instances of being truly excited for his future when he talks about running away. His happiness is not because of Sally in particular, but the idea of having his life within his own control and with someone to spend it with.

After Sally’s quick rejection, Holden eventually goes home and talks with Phoebe, his younger sister. Distraught that Holden flunked out yet again, Phoebe asks what he wants to do with his life. Holden responds, “I couldn’t be a scientist, I’m no good at science...Lawyers are all right, I guess-but it doesn’t appeal to me.” Holden begins to feel depressed yet again after Phoebe’s confrontation. Her interrogation leaves him to ponder the unfamiliar uncertainty of growing up. This unrelenting anxiety to live up to his parents expectations, from society, and within himself, creates a strong motivation to take matters into his own hands. To run away to a serene, peaceful place, even with a girl he doesn’t necessarily like, is Holden’s ideal world.

At one point of the novel, Holden was visited by a prostitute, but the scene doesn't quite pan out as he anticipated, as he never does anything with her. In fact, as shown within the quote, "Don't you feel like talking for a while?... I was feeling so damn peculiar... 'I don't feel very much like myself," (pg 124-125).  He uses her for conversation and interaction, but not for fornication as initially expected. Most people within the situation would not have had the same outcome as Holden, he simply wanted to talk to Sunny, the prostitute, instead of perform sexually with her. This shows how desperate he is for interaction, he simply wants to talk and listen, have basic human interaction. He would even go as far as to pay for someone to interact with him, even if she wasn't sure what to say in the situation. 

On page 134, after Holden asks Sally to Vermont, he goes on to say, “I probably wouldn’t’ve taken her even if she wanted to go with me...The terrible part, though, is that I meant it when I asked her”.  Here is an example of Holden willing to do anything for human interaction, even if the doesn’t have any romantic feelings towards Sally. Also, the first part of the quote is a way for Holden to make himself feel better because Sally did say no to his offer. 

To conclude, Holden’s proposition to run away with Sally and live in the picturesque landscape of Massachusetts and Vermont reflects his fear and anxiety for his future and his intense desperation for human interaction. The thought of living in a self-reliant, pain free world is one of, if not the only thing that gives Holden joy and excitement for his future.  

In chapter 13 of Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, Holden arranges a meeting with a smart-mouthed, underage prostitute named Sunny. However, once she arrives in his hotel room Holden panics and suggests, “I thought you might care to chat for a while,” (Salinger 106). Furthermore, while she is seducing him, he notes to himself, “I just didn’t want to do it. I felt more depressed than sexy,” (107). Normally, when a man invites a woman up to his hotel room, specifically a prostitute, he does it typically to feel better about himself and boost his ego. This passage illustrates how Holden, a 16-year old male, experiences emotions not commonly involved with having a prostitute in his hotel room, he was “more depressed than sexy” (107). This indicates how lonely and depressed Holden was at this time because of his increasingly growing need for someone to be there for him to talk to. Holden’s asking of Sunny to simply talk to him was a cry in the dark for help, and further illustrates the point that Holden was in a state of severe depression and confusion. Altogether, by Holden’s suggestion that they talk instead of actually doing anything, it strongly defends that the state of Holden’s mental health was not good, and in a state of worsening depression.