Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a psychological occurrence experienced by individuals who have been through a traumatic event, such as sexual abuse, assault, or have bore witness to a devastating disaster. Many people believe that Holden Caulfield, the main character and narrator of the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, is suffering from this disorder. The telltale signs that someone may be living with PTSD are re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance, and hyperarousal. The main character of the Catcher in the Rye exhibits most, if not all, of these symptoms. To begin with, most PTSD victims have trouble with re-experiencing the event that caused them torment. These episodes can take the form of terrifying dreams or night terrors, flashbacks to the event that are so vivid the victim has physical symptoms (such as a racing heart or sweating), and having …show more content…
This usually describes one’s isolation from people or things that remind them of the event having trouble remembering the event, depression and guilt, lack of feelings, and losing interest in activities that they used to think were enjoyable. Caulfield is always telling the reader how everything that others find enjoyable, things he should find enjoyable (such as movies, shows, etc.) only make him sick to his stomach. He rarely enjoys anything, and likes to avoid people, even those he likes. For example, Holden said, upon being asked why he won’t go down to see an old friend of his, “I’m not in the mood right now,” I said. And I wasn’t, either. You have to be in the mood for those things,” (Salinger 33). This is significant because only a few seconds before, he was toying around with the notion of how he really should go down and say hello, and how he did like this friend, however, he does this several times in the story, saying that he has to be in the mood to go talk to her, having no motivation to reach out to this