Holden Caulfield Ptsd Essay

the Catcher in the Rye “PTSD” Essay
Throughout the book The catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden, has many odd experiences pertaining to his mental state. From the different situations that Holden describes it becomes more, and more obvious that he has PTSD. Although Holden has symptoms that correlate to depression he also has symptoms that are not defined by depression. Depression can also be a symptom of PTSD. The symptoms of PTSD that Holden has are Re-experiences, avoidance, hyperarousal, and peculiar cognition and mood. In order for Holden to be diagnosed with PTSD he must have one re- experiencing symptom, one avoidance symptom, two arousal symptoms, and two symptoms of a peculiar cognition or mood. Holden has PTSD, he has

Although this category of symptoms only needs one event to satisfy it, Holden supplies it with Many. One of the most obvious of events, and possibly the most Concerning happens when Holden is at Mr. Antolini’s house. Holden stays at his house overnight, and while Holden is sleeping Mr. Antolini touches Holden on the head. This makes Holden very concerned. In response to this, this is what Holden narrates:“When something perverty like that happens, I start sweating like a bastard. That kind of stuff's happened to me about twenty times since I was a kid. I can't stand it.”(Salinger 193). Although this may have been creepy, it seems as if Holden overreacted compared to the average person. Holden states he has gotten nervous about “perverty” situations before about twenty times. This raises many suspicions about why Holden becomes so hysterical after an event like this. Many PTSD patients have survived a traumatic event in their life. This event is so traumatic that anything that reminds the patient of the event can trigger an intense response. Holden must have had a traumatic event that causes him to react to situations that he considers “perverty”. Another set of events that trigger Holden’s sensitivity to things of a perverty nature are when he finds the words “Fuck you” written on the walls of the school, and museum. When this happens Holden narrates: "Only, I didn't. I sat down for a

For a patient to be diagnosed with PTSD they must have at least one avoidance Symptom. Holden also has Symptoms of peculiar cognition, and mood that relate to his symptoms of avoidance. An obvious example of Holden avoiding somebody is when he avoids Jane Gallagher. Throughout the story there are many times where Holden has wanted to contact Jane, but never goes through with it. An example of one of these times is when Holden is at the museum, and thinks about calling Jane. Holden narrates: “There wasn't anyplace else to go. I thought maybe I might stop in a phone booth and give old Jane Gallagher a buzz before I started bumming my way west, but I wasn't in the mood.”(Salinger 202). At this point in the story Holden decides he is going to move out west without telling anybody. Once Holden does this he wants to stay incognito. Holden thinks about calling Jane before he leaves, but says he just “wasn’t in the mood”. This is a strange reason not to call Jane considering she was one of his best friends for a whole summer. Holden is obviously avoiding Jane for another reason. Holden is avoiding Jane because she reminds him of his brother’s death. Jane reminds him of this because she is one of Holden’s friends from Maine, where his summer home is located. This is also the same place where his brother died. Like many people with PTSD Holden is avoiding something because it reminds them of a traumatizing event that happened.