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Holden's Mental Instability In Catcher In The Rye

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Holden’s mental instability is reflected through his instability and restlessness. He cannot do one thing or stay in one place. One example of this is when Holden becomes tired of riding taxis, and it becomes something he can no longer do. In his mind, which is fragile and on the verge of shattering, he can no longer be in a taxi for whatever reason he thinks. The same goes for when he goes from school to school and is unable to stay in one for a long time. He also cannot stay in the same hotel for much time. Holden’s unstable actions are a reflection of his mind. This mindset is definitely linked to his depression. Most depressed patients cannot stay in a single place for too long because they get the feeling they are “rotting” in that place. …show more content…

riding a taxi, going to school) are unable to be completed because Holden has no motivation to complete these actions. Holden is so blinded by his depression he can't even stay at home without being overwhelmed and feeling the urge to leave. This could also be him subconsciously trying to avoid making close and positive connections due to the fear of losing a loved one, like Allie. Also, Holden has noticeable low self-esteem so he may feel picked on or pointed out when being around people. Holden is rejected from nearly everyone he interacts with, so the safest idea to him is to isolate himself and not spend too much time in one place or doing the same thing because of his many fears. Unfortunately, its visible that his isolation does not help because he still reflects: “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everyone.” (Salinger,

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After Holden’s brothers death he, “slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist” (Salinger 44). He went into the garage to isolate himself from everyone else and broke the windows out of anger. His post traumatic stress disorder kept getting worse because he continually

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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

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While in New York City, Holden goes to bars and meets up with some of his friends. After being in New York City, Holden goes home to tell his sister, Phoebe, that he is leaving to go live in the far west as a deaf-mute person. I think Holden has very severe mental health problems

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He is incapable of moving forward and getting closure by clinging to this fantasy and avoiding facing the realities of growing up. It is further demonstrated in the way he interacts with other characters. To avoid confronting his own issues, Holden relies on superficial relationships in the novel to form meaningful connections. When Holden considers his own future he says he does not “feel like going into it” because he is reluctant to deal with his emotions and the challenges of adulthood (224). In avoiding these challenges, Holden remains stagnant and unable to move

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Although Holden shows maturity when he agrees to back off from his plans, it devastates Holden, knowing he cannot run away from his problems anymore. He realizes he has no choice but to stay in a world where he doesn’t

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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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Holden lives in conformity doing things not because he wants to but because they’re the socially accepted. According to Freud’s theory this is because of Holden’s ego, stating, “ The ego operates according to the reality principle, the basis for operating in the world by taking into account what is practical and acceptable. The ego seeks to ways to satisfy the demands of the id without incurring social disapproval” (Nevid 470) Holden’s action do not represent his his true

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This aspect of his makes it difficult for him to find a place in society where he belongs. He is trapped inside his mind by the thoughts that cause him to doubt himself. These doubts confuse Holden in such a way that he cannot figure out where he needs to be in life. Holden’s preconceived notions make him quit before he even tries. They cause him to have a mindset where he doesn’t feel the need to apply himself.

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Kierlyn Flynn English ⅚ March 2, 2023 A mentally healthy individual has the characteristics of emotional intelligence and spiritual consciousness. Holden didn’t have those characteristics. Mental health issues people went through in the past differ from how it is today in the present. Mental health was treated poorly especially in younger adults who experienced it the most.

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The beginning of Holden’s journey starts with the innocence and naivety of childhood. Childhood is the stage that ignorance is bliss with no care in the world. Holden goes to a prestigious boarding school for boys and he believes that everyone in that school is a phony in some way. Holden is an observant character as he stays in the background, but he can also cause the most trouble. Like a child, he asks many questions and he is very curious to the point that he can be annoying.

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His PTSD from Allie's death triggers his coping mechanisms used for other mental illnesses he struggles with including depression. Repeatedly in the quote above, Holden mentions his depressive state and is signifying how much of his imagination and thoughts are centered over his state of mental stability and depression. Salinger explains the message of how irrational one may act when trying to come to terms with their depression which may be a result of previous trauma. Another instance where Holden uses poor coping mechanisms is when he is sleeping at Grand Central on the bench overnight, he thinks to himself, “And I think I was more depressed than I ever was in my whole life” (Salinger 214). While Holden is spending the night at Grand Central, he gets lost in his thoughts reflecting on how Mr. Antolini was touching his forehead and acting affectionate towards Holden.

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In Holden 's journey, he becomes more and more isolated from the world throughout the book. He isolates himself by choosing to not interact or go out with people. And further, when he does, he only ends up doing things that ruin the interaction with others, and makes himself become more isolated. Holden tries, but is always rejected and unsuccessful with his attempts.

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The idea of having a character that struggles to find themselves is quite a common idea in many books. This is seen in the Catcher in the Rye where JD Salinger puts Holden the main character through different struggles throughout the book to finally realise what his purpose is and what he aims to be. There are many different situations that Holden is put through but they all aim to the same purpose, being a catcher in the rye. Two of the main struggles are his journey into adulthood and to retain his innocence. The second is how he is almost alienating himself from others and very rarely opens up to anybody, and his relationships with people are not great because he thinks of many of the people he meets are phony.

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Holden struggles with growing up and facing reality. There are many examples of Holden’s immaturity that are displayed in many forms such as facing responsibilities, his speech, his actions, and etc. Holden’s outlook on adult life is that it is superficial and brimming with phonies, but childhood was all about looking pleasing and innocent. He wants everything to stay the same and for time to stop. As Holden progresses in age, he will discover more about becoming mature in the

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Along with Holden’s many health problems, he is also mentally unstable in that he makes very erratic and irresponsible decisions, particularly when it comes

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