Holden makes a fuss about Sally, along with almost every other character, who connects with him in someway, either, in his head, which is to the reader or verbally to the character. Although these actions may not seem heroic, Holden is being who he is meant to be, and he has no other
Holden Caufield exhibits symptoms of both teen grief and antisocial personality disorder. However, Holden definitely suffers from prolonged grief disorder, rather than being antisocial, because Holden expresses aversion to solitude and a need to be around others. In both the desolate hallways of Pencey as he is leaving, and the empty streets of New York as he is wandering them, Holden feels "lonesome and depressed". The patient is clearly not antisocial. Holden demonstrates a prominent symptom of prolonged grief disorder: he avoids reminders of deceased loved ones.
A tough exterior can mask a gentle soul. In the bildungsroman, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, there are several examples of this. Such examples are his empathy towards other people, his thoughts on fighting, and his values he holds. In the novel, the reader views life through the protagonist, a troubled kid who seems cold and hard but under his facade lies a sensitive boy who longs for companionship.
Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, is regarded throughout the book with many emotional and social issues. Holden is affected mentally from multiple past events and becomes very depressed, which leads to suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is a mental health condition that is triggered from past events that terrify the victim. Holden Caulfield suffers from PTSD because he experiences a horrifying past event that creates many symptoms similar to the PTSD symptoms. Allie dying from cancer, started affecting Holden’s emotions and actions throughout the book.
Holden’s main problem is he doesn’t have courage ( “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move.” ) Holden thinks that if he moves forward he is going to change and become impure. We as people all want to move forward but sometimes the people you are associated with are not helping you either. You can tell once he says “You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two
PREWRITING Taylor Owen Research Paper Mr Williams 5/15/23 Mental Illness Seen in Holden Caulfield: The Catcher in the Rye Analysis Holden Caulfield’s thoughts and behavior in “The Catcher in the Rye” exemplify symptoms commonly associated with depression, anxiety and PTSD. Firstly, he struggles with an intense feeling of sadness and loss, indicating feelings of depression. Holden also frequently worries about his future and the uncertainties of life, which can be seen as symptoms of anxiety. Additionally, his experiences with death, specifically the passing of his younger brother, Allie, and witnessing a suicide, contribute to the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder .
After Holden makes a date with Sally, he sees her and he describes, “I didn’t even like her much, and yet all of the sudden I felt like I was in love with her and wanted to marry her” (138). Holden states several times throughout the novel that men that do not really like women but still go out with them are phony. Holden contradicts himself as he says this about Sally, ultimately showing that he is a phony himself. After Holden gets into a fight with Stradlater, Holden explains, “I’m a pacifist, if you want to know the truth” (52). Minutes after Holden acts with extreme temper against Stradlater, and even attempts to punch him, he explains how he is a pacifist.
Holden perceives that he is alone in the world and is searching for someone with whom he can make a meaningful connection. He is in desperate need of a person to release him from his loneliness and feelings of despair. When Holden’s strong connection with Jane Gallagher ended, his life began a downward
In Holden’s mind becoming “the catcher in the rye “means that he can still catch Allie from falling off the cliff. This is relevant to Holden’s depression because everything around him is telling him to grow up but instead he runs away from it in fear that is will pull him farther apart from his relationship with his brother Allie. Holden is on the edge of becoming an adult which creates more pressure and leads him to
In the novel The Catcher In The Rye written by J. D. Salinger shows that Holden goes through his journey and is depressed because of his isolation from
Holden’s encounters with Sally ended poorly, he angered Sally and her family. Sally flirts with other guys, while on the date with Holden, and it obviously pisses him off. Holden still takes her to the ice skating rink, almost as a distraction, or something to waste time, to give himself some sort of freedom. When Holden is with people that known him, that he is willing to spend time with, in his mind, he is free. Everytime; however, Holden begins to get comfortable with someone, he unravels himself.
This scene is extremely important in revealing more about Holden’s character. We know that he feels like an outsider in his own world. He associates himself with those “on the other side” which highlights the isolation he seems to feel. With further analysis, it is clear that Holden feels as though no one understands him and may be even against him. He seems to bring about a sort of hatred for the “hot-shots” who I perceive as the materialistic adults Holden tries to avoid becoming, hence him not wanting to grow up.
Holden is now lost in his own fantasy world not wanting to grow up from his childhood life, due to the tragedy of Allies death. Freud’s theory would examine the depth of the unconscious state and its primary root source attached to incomprehensible pain by noting, “the preconscious state holds information we’ve stored from past experience... This information can be retrieved from memory and brought into awareness at any time” (Freud 469). Because Holden never stops thinking of his brother he is trapped in his own world and can’t find an escape to his mood disorder of depression and his emotion of tribulant grief. However, Holden acknowledges that he is lost, “they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all…I don’t blame them” (Salinger 38).
Holden’s Struggle To Find Himself: Throughout the novel, The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden struggles to find himself and who he truly is in order to be happy. His struggles relate to many things that he does or say in particular. Holden lacks with a social status with women and his family, whether it’s a relationship or being antisocial. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield experiences the complexities and struggles involved with both physical and emotional relationships.
Loneliness is a state many have experienced, but it is scarcely felt to the point of insanity and utter hopelessness. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield’s loneliness is a self-defense mechanism from socializing with others, making it the greatest source of his pain. Though his loneliness is caused by uncontrollable external forces, it is only overcome by his own choice of introspection. Initially, Holden did not chose to be lonely.
