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Bipolar Disorder In Catcher In The Rye

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Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a common mental disorder that is caused by genetics, the environment, brain structure, and chemistry. Bipolar disorder can often be misdiagnosed in teenagers since they are going through changes in their body and mind. One could see mood swings in a teenager and make the mistake of thinking he or she is going through normal changes. However, if one looks deeper into Holden’s character, one realizes that his mood swings, along with his excessive desire for sexual experiences, are actually symptoms of bipolar disorder. The first warning sign of his mental condition is when he buys Sunny, the prostitute, for the night. Although Holden feels ready to get his first time over with, when Sunny takes …show more content…

He shows signs of depression, PTSD, OCD, bipolar disorder, and the beginning stages of anxiety and anger issues. From the beginning of the book, one can see that he different than other characters who have similar characteristics. He is “in that unhappy phase of life, that transitional stage, where he has outgrown the relatively well-ordered world of his childhood and must find his way in the world of adults” (Bungert). This is important considering that many people get diagnosed with mental illnesses when they are in their teenage years. His struggles for getting out of childhood is a stressor for his mind. At the end of the novel, when Holden is finished telling his story, he says that he could probably tell us about how he got sick. He also acknowledges “the one psychoanalyst guy they have [there]” who asks if he is going to start applying himself (234). The fact that there is someone analyzing his behavior is a clear indicator that he shows signs of mental illnesses. Holden dodges any questions about his feelings of what happened to him because he does not know how to feel. The psychoanalyst also asks Holden if he is going to start applying himself in school more, but Holden does not fully answer the question. Not being able to apply oneself and losing interest are both signs of mental illnesses. These could lead to a person eventually dropping of out school, which is what Holden essentially does after getting kicked out and making his plan to move

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When he wandered the city, he attempted to make “friends” with prostitutes, cab drivers, and random people. He stayed at hotels and never communicated with his parents. When he was missing his sister, he snuck into their house to see her, a thing he wouldn’t have to do if he’d told his family in the first place. Holden didn’t give care much for the future, and this shows in the last chapter when he states he might not want to return to school once he is well. Holden’s only desire or career plan was to be a lowly farmer; not exactly a great career choice when your parents prompt you to attend boarding school after boarding school to ensure you have a good career and future.

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The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” was about the journey of a adolescent boy finding his way to adulthood. In the book Holden Caulfield was unsuccessful in finding his way to adulthood. Holden’s attitude in the novel throughout his journey was very immature. He also can't accept the fact that innocence can’t be forever protected. Lastly, Holden calls everyone a phony when in reality he is the real phony.

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The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger in 1951, is the story of an angst-ridden sixteen year old Holden Caulfield as he learns to deal with growing up. The story follows Holden through his three day experience through New York as he learns about the truth about innocence, sex, and mortality, making The Catcher in the Rye one of America’s most notable coming-of-age stories. One of the largest influences on Holden’s life was his younger brother Allie who died from leukemia at age eleven when Holden was thirteen. The death of Holden’s brother had a profound effect on Holden emotional state, which eventually caused his complete mental breakdown by the end of the novel.

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He is constantly in denial and thinks that everything else is to blame for his own problems. Holden always has an excuse to justify his action. When he left his old school he said, “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That’s all” (17). Holden is basically saying here that he left his old school not because he is not smart but it was because he could not stand the people there.

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999 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout his adventure, he displays multiple symptoms of teen depression. One of the first symptoms he displays is low academic performance. He tells us in the first few pages of the book that he was evicted from multiple schools and hated all of those schools. Negative thoughts leads us into another symptom of teen depression, the thought that life in the future is grim or bleak. Holden calls almost everybody throughout the entire novel phonies and fakes.

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656 Words | 3 Pages

Holden has a very different way of showing his depression in the novel. His depression is present when he tries to keep his innocence and stray away from adult hood all while trying to keep his relationship with his brother Allie. Holden wants to be the “catcher in the rye “. He wants to be that person who catches those kids who are falling off the cliff into adulthood. Holden wants to protect those who are close to him and those that he loves.

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934 Words | 4 Pages

As a result of Holden having two extremes that are a component of his personality, he has bipolar II disorder. Throughout the novel, Holden presents signs of hypomania, because of his irritability towards others, while also speaking rapidly and having difficulty sleeping. When Holden has had minimal food to eat, has feelings of depression, and most notably when he has pondered death, is another extreme of his personality. There are numerous occasions that Holden experiences both emotions simultaneously. Since Holden encounters levels of depression and hypomania, bipolar II disorder is a more accurate diagnosis than depression.

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The first cause of Holden 's mental illness that readers notice is that he lacks control over his actions. As Holden was 13 years old, his brother Allie died of leukemia. Holdens behavior in response to his brothers death was very violent. “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it (Holden Caulfield 39).” Holden admits that he didn’t know he was doing it, but says it was a stupid thing to do.

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Furthermore, Holden starts to hate all the adults or loses faith in them, calls them phony. Holden has a second thought of becoming an adult he loses hope in his future and it seems to him nothing in the world matters to him anymore. We can see that throughout the book. He smokes, gets drunk, and does daring acts like getting a prostitute in his room. He also tries to escape all this guilt and grief by wasting time with unnecessary people he calls phony.

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Tragic events can affect your mindset in irreversible ways, causing self-destructive behavior, low self-esteem, and devious actions. Jerome David Salinger in his novel, The Catcher in the Rye, he develops the character of Holden Caulfield, an adolescent boy who is living a tragedy, causing suffering and deep pain within him. According to Mary Klages from the University of Colorado, she incorporates Warren Hedges and Freud through a psychoanalytic lens and they come to a conclusion that psychoanalytical approaches reveal how and why people behave as they do, which helps clarify Holden Caulfield’s actions in the novel. Holden is presented as a troubled adolescent, facing discontent of his childhood in which he desires not to describe much in

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837 Words | 4 Pages

In The Catcher in the Rye, the author J.D. Salinger, introduces the protagonist; Holden Caulfield. Holden feels the sense that he cannot choose between the two worlds. For example, he makes it seem as both of them are complete opposites from each other. In the book, Holden wants to keep his innocence, but he also wants to grow up and toss that innocence away. He still keeps his childhood personality by constantly obsessing over things that shouldn’t matter.

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Boy gone crazy or depressed? Holden is in a deep depression but, does he stay depressed or go crazy? After Holden’s brother (Allie) dies he gets very depressed. Holden wasn 't even able to attend the funeral.

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Sickness comes in many forms, but perhaps the most misunderstood form happens mentally. All of the events that happen to the main character in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, are caused in some way or another by his mental illness. Holden Caulfield is a boy who drops out of school and travels to New York City. Holden makes irresponsible decisions like when he travels to New York City by himself without permission which affects him mentally. Holden’s mental illnesses affects his decision making,specifically his decision to stay in school and his inability to connect with people.

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693 Words | 3 Pages

Catcher in the Rye In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the narrator and protagonist Holden Caulfield a sixteen year old junior undergoes a series of changes. Holden learns multiple life changing lessons; one of them is you must grow up. In the beginning of the novel, Holden starts out as “that kid”; the one with the parents who expect him to get into an ivy league school, and end up with a kid with no intentions of doing so. At the beginning of the book it is very apparent that Holden lacks motivation; he also has hit rock bottom.

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Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has abnormal tendencies. Although he could just be a typical teenager, dealing with difficult situations, after analyzing his behavior it is believed that he is suffering from a mental ailment of some sort. Events from Holden’s past are still currently haunting him and it is evident that he is struggling. He needs the guidance of those around him in order to help himself through these tough time.

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