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Holden Caulfield Analysis Essay

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Final Analysis Report on Holden Caulfield Depressed, Schizophrenic, Psychotic, Crazy, and many more are some of the words used when describing Holden Caulfield’s mental state. Holden continuously isolates himself from others as well as the society he lives in, has many acts of uncontrollable anger, and attempts to run away from New York to isolate himself even more than before. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden indicates that he is telling the story, his story from a mental hospital, “This madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy (Salinger, 1).” This statement also indicates that from the beginning of the novel Holden withdrew himself from society and isolated himself from others. The first hint the readers receive that indicates that …show more content…

He continuously expresses his desire to run away with Sally, he seems quite obsessed with Sally even; he explains to her as what he sees as the "phony" aspects of the world, “I hate living in New York and all. Taxicabs, and Madison Avenue buses, with the drivers and all always yelling at you to get out at the rear door, and being introduced to phony guys that call the Lunts angels, and going up and down in elevators when you just want to go outside, and guys fitting your pants all the time at Brooks (Salinger, 17).” There are many other instances/examples of Holden withdrawing from society, but I see these as the three most important to his character; Isolation, Poor anger management, and runaway attempts. I do not believe that holden suffers from a mental disorder, I believe that his reaction to a traumatic event is fairly appropriate but this does not justify most of his poor actions such as drinking and smoking. Holden feels as if he is better off alone which results in him isolating himself from

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Holden Caulfield internally rebels against society, choosing to value his own defiant, unorthodox judgment over the authority figures and institutions in his life. He describes nearly everyone in society as hypocritical and “phony,” and constantly points out people’s flaws. In the environment of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a social outcast, since he detests the phonies and refuses to engage in their pretentious behavior. Salinger demonstrates these people do not act according to their true personalities, and instead try to change their behavior to conform to social expectations. Furthermore, Holden observes that many continually focus on money and celebrities, leaving no room for any positive emotions or genuine connections.

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Keeping these things in mind, Holden Caulfield is presented much like the author. Caulfield has a very immature attitude that fall under the category of Ego-Defensive. The Ego-Defensive category has four subcategories within itself called; denial, repression, projective, and rationalization, that are labeled as defense mechanisms through psychological lenses. According to McGraw-Hill’s Dictionary of Modern Medicine, denial is the “primitive–ego defense–mechanism by which a person unconsciously negates the existence of a disease or other stress-producing reality in his environment, by disavowing thoughts, feelings, wishes, needs, or external reality factors that are consciously intolerable.” Holden presents his state of denial in the way he tries to maintain his relationship with his deceased brother, Allie.

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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 .

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Factors that led me to this diagnosis are Holdens constant state of depression, the loss of his brother, and him expressing both feelings of loneliness and suicidal thoughts. Numerous times throughout The Catcher in the Rye Holden displays both depressive and suicidal thoughts such as “What I really felt like though was commiting suicide. I felt like jumping out the window” (Salinger 136) and “Please. I’m lonesome as hell. No kidding.

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Holden’s Diagnosis In The Catcher in the Rye Holden tells us the story of how he got into a mental institution. The 17-year-old is presented as an anti-phony, anxious, and an angry teenager. Holden deals with a lot in the novel like being kicked out of school, getting beat up, and struggles with the death of his brother Allie. It is clearly shown in the novel that Holden is dealing with some serious mental health issues.

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Holden Caulfield struggles with mental illnesses, which puts him in a mental institution talking to a psychoanalyst in the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”. Holden being in a mental institution is necessary for him to recover. People with serious mental disorders are admitted into mental institutions for various amounts of time. Mental institutions are necessary and helpful to people, such as Holden Caulfield, with many types of disorders and are effective for a majority of people and result in patients being grateful for their time spent at mental institutions. Depression, anxiety disorders, post traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorders are all examples of reasons people are admitted into mental institutions.

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Everybody says that, especially my father” (Salinger 12). This comment that Holden receives from people a lot indicates that they see him differently, then the way he views

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“Having anxiety and depression is like being scared and tired at the same time. It 's the fear of failure but no urge to be productive. It 's wanting friends but not socializing. It 's wanting to be alone but not wanting to be lonely. It 's caring about everything then caring about nothing.

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Isolation and Depression: A Vicious Cycle Grief. Depression. Isolation. What do you think when you hear those words? Holden Caulfield has been through a lot, from being kicked out of several schools to being so depressed he wonders why he should go on living. Holdens family keeps pushing him away and that’s where he learns his tendency to push people away who he cares about.

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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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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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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.

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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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Although Holden is a very intelligent character he finds the hypocrisy and ugliness in the world around him and quickly associates it with the adult world. Holden is a very introverted character who hesitates throughout the book to share information about his life . J.D Salinger makes sure to portray Holden that way to

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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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