Holden Caulfield Mental Illness

The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Sallinger is about a teenager 16 year old Holden Caufield who gets expelled from his school and becomes emotionally unstable after the events he experiences. This is because he goes out in New York City and explores avoiding his parents from the punishment of being expelled as he finds much “phoniness” in the world. Today, teenagers have been developing certain mental illnesses in today's society due to a variety of reasons which can be similar to Holden. Holden Caufield suffered through many mental illnesses stemming from grief and trying to fit in socially, which led to depression, and other personality problems which are very common issues that teenagers experience today. Just like Holden possessed

In The Catcher of the Rye, Holden barely mentions his late brother, barely opening up to others and confronting his emotions. When Allie died to Leukemia at a young age, his emotions of grief are illustrated with how he reacts to Allie’s death with Holden saying, “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” (Sallinger, 44). With Allie’s death, Holden shows signs of grief with much aggression as he destroys his windows with his fists at 13 years old after Allie’s death. Allie’s death results in Holden forming mental illnesses of depression from loneliness as displayed when Holden sat by himself smoking cigarettes when he says how he starts talking outloud when feeling depressed. Holden says, “What I did, I started talking, sort of out loud, to Allie. I do that sometimes when I get very depressed. I keep telling him to go home and get his bike and meet me in front of Bobby Fallon’s house” (Sallinger, 110). Holden talking to himself about Allie also demonstrates how he does not open up to many people of his emotions which are bottled up and not released, building up creating his depression from this loneliness when he is sitting by himself apparently talking to

This could be from a variety of different things including peer pressure, validation from others, and more. In the article, “Stress”, it talks about how trying to fit in can cause a lot of stress as it says, “Many teens feel a great amount of stress in dealing with their peers. Dating, fitting in, and handling conflicts with peers are among the most stressful situations that can confront teens” (Jenkins). This stress that teens go through can cause many personality disorders or depression depending on the extent. This is similar to Holden, as Holden tries to fit in the male society by negatively talking about women and objectifying them, which can cause stress for him as he seeks validation from others. Teens today are also influenced by their peers on their actions. In the article “Peer Pressure” it says, “The term “peer pressure” refers to any type of influence that your friends may have over you. Many times, teens are influenced by their peers to do things that result in negative consequences. This is negative peer pressure. Specifically, negative peer pressure refers to activities such as using drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes; vandalizing property; using violence against others; having sex before you are ready or having unsafe sex; stealing; or driving drunk” (Feder). Teenagers actions are greatly impacted on the result of peer pressure and who they surround themselves with which can