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Nervous Breakdown In Catcher In The Rye

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Have you ever had a nervous breakdown? In the play Catcher In the Rye the main character Holden experiences varies of nervous breakdowns and it affects his life and people around him. Holden's depression comes from different reasons like the death of his brother and a classmate, his love for Jane, and his troubles in school were the main reasons for his depression. Throughout the course of the novel, Holden showed many signs of a nervous breakdown like the death of his little brother,his classmate dying, and his relationship with a girl he likes but never gets a real chance with her.
One of the first steps of Holden's breakdown was the death of his younger brother Allie. His brother’s death wasn't his fault he couldn't save his brother from having leukemia, so he has a desire to help others, and do what he wished he could have done for his brother Allie. Holden's brother having leukemia did not just kill him, but it killed holden as well because they were so close to each other. The night his brother passes away Holden sleeps in the garage and breaks the windows with his bare arms and goes to the hospital for this. …show more content…

James Castle committed suicide after being bullied by some boys at Holden's school, the death of his classmate really affected holden emotionally. Holden has been witnessing to many deaths for such a young age. The death of his classmate really traumatized him because James was wearing Holden's jacket when he committed suicide and that had a big impact in his life. Holden starts seeing the world as a dark place Because of these experiences, Holden must view death as an escape from a dark and tough world. In the play he said that if he were to go to war that he wanted to be shot on the spot rather than having to struggle throughout the war. Holden starts seeing the world and his life with no purpose and hates living and wonders if he should just try to live life or avoid

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1704 Words | 7 Pages

To start, the death of Holden’s younger brother, Allie, has impacted Holden’s life to a certain extent. He passed away when he was eleven years old and when Holden was thirteen years old from Leukemia. Holden has not been the same ever since the death and can be shown by, “I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage. I don’t blame them. I really don’t.

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1022 Words | 5 Pages

People do not expect the death of a loved one to occur at such a young age, and so abruptly like Allie 's death. The smashing of the windows shows the huge impact that he had on Holden, and how upset he was that he no longer had his brother by his side. Holden was uncertain in how to deal with this upsetting change in his life, resulted in aggressive behavior. Holden was also exposed to another traumatic event in his life during his time at Pencey. After being introduced to one of Holden 's classmates Castle he states, ¨Finally, what he did, instead of

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646 Words | 3 Pages

While in school, Holden also witnesses someone dying, a kid was being bullied and then committed suicide by jumping out a two story window. Holden heard the kids body hit the ground and witnessed him laying on the cement with blood everywhere. That also played a factor in the way he

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1370 Words | 6 Pages

Pained by the loss of his brother, Holden has delusions that if he tells Allie to join him, then he can change the past and be a better brother. Holden relives his past through schizophrenic episodes in attempt to bring his brother back, however, his mind has been exposed to shattering pain and his life will never be the same

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693 Words | 3 Pages

Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD for short, stems from many different events that has impacted a person's life. In the The Catcher in the Rye, By J.D. Salinger, the main character is a troublesome teen boy named Holden Caulfield. He tells the story in a rehab where he has been sent to get therapeutic help. We learn early on that Holden cares very little about things and doesn’t apply himself, which is why he gets kicked out of his private school. From the way he presents himself I gathered that something terrible must have happened to him, especially since he will not talk about his early childhood.

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656 Words | 3 Pages

Holden recalls the time he spent the night in his garage: “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. It was very stupid I have to admit, but I hardly didn’t even know I was doing it, and you didn’t know Allie (Salinger, 39).” His denial is represented when he does not admit why he did what he did to the garage. Holden

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783 Words | 4 Pages

It 's feeling everything at once than feeling paralysingly numb,” writes Maria Henriksson. Mental illness refers to many conditions that individuals could go through. For example depression, addictive behaviors, and eating disorder have effects that could indicate whether or not an individual has a mental illness. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, Holden faces many hardships after his brother 's death. Holden 's mental illness is inferred through his lack of control, isolating himself from others, and relieving the past which caused him to not move

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1142 Words | 5 Pages

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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1615 Words | 7 Pages

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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1378 Words | 6 Pages

The only motivator that Holden has to continue living is his younger sister, Phoebe, who is extraordinarily intelligent for her age. After he gets kicked out of Pencey, Holden is lost in life. He speaks to many people, seeking advice and comfort, but they are not able to help him find a human connection. Holden’s depression increases throughout the novel, almost to the point of suicide. He criticizes many people and ideas, labeling them as ‘phony’.

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720 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the novel, the topic of death is reoccurring in Holden 's mind. Whether he 's in school, doing homework, or aimlessly walking around New York City, Allie 's presence or lack thereof is always looming. It escalates to the point that Holden is always thinking about his own death, but more more specifically he 's fear of being forgotten: "Every time I came to the end of a block and stepped off the goddamn curb, I had this feeling that I 'd never get to the other side of the street. I thought I 'd just go down, down, down and nobody 'd ever see me again. Boy did it scare me"(256).

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779 Words | 4 Pages

In this quote he tells that his brother died. This shows his brother died when he was young. Furthermore he dies as an innocent child who was not exposed to the adult world or the “phoniness.” Allie's death was tragic to Holden but maybe, in some ways Holden wanted the death himself, he wanted to preserve his innocence. Another point that shows Allie's mitt represents innocence is when Holden says Allie used to read poems on his glove while playing baseball which he wrote before the game so he wouldn’t be bored.

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728 Words | 3 Pages

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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1238 Words | 5 Pages

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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366 Words | 2 Pages

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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