Holden Caulfield, captures the American reality of teens through anxiety and mental health in the book The Catcher In The Rye. Caufield is afraid of adulthood and the responsibilities that come with growing up. He suffers from depression and anxiety. These mental health issues were likely a cause from the death of his little brother, his witnessing the death of his classmate, and the violence and unhealthy environment in the all boys boarding school. Holden Caufield’s mental health challenges reflect a reality in America that most teens are dealing with some level of stress and anxiety and how those shape their behavior as they become young adults.
Holden Caulfield is the victim of several traumatic events. In a short amount of time, he loses his younger brother and witnesses the suicide of a classmate. It becomes difficult for him to remain positive. He develops extreme anxiety. “Everytime I came to the end of a block and stepped off the goddam 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's ever seen me again. Boy, did it scare me. You can’t imagine. I started sweating like a bastard-my whole shirt and underwear and everything.”(p. 197-198) This quote shows an example of the panic attacks and anxiety that he suffered. He also was questioning himself when he talked about disappearing.
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He always end’s up taking a negative view of situations. This is probably due to him suffering so much trauma. “That’s the whole trouble. You can’t find a place that’s nice and peaceful, because there isn’t any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you’re not looking, somebody’ll sneak up and write ‘Fuck you’ right under your nose.”(p. 204) No matter the situation, Caulfield feels helpless and sees the