Holden is schizophrenic. Many people may wonder what it’s like to live a day in the life of Holden Caulfield, or just someone with a mental disorder in general. But no one knows and never will know. All people know is what he is like, how he handles his day to day tasks, and how he goes about his work ethic. He is failing four out of five of his classes. Everything but English. He was just kicked out of Pencey and that is the fourth school he has been kicked out of and he’s only 16. He tells us that he dropped out of one because he didn’t like it. The thing is, Holden doesn’t understand the importance of passing his classes. He has been told multiple times by many people that he needs to start applying himself and get it together, but he doesn’t …show more content…
Holden says, “Boy, I sat at that goddam bar till around one o’clock or so, getting drunk as a bastard. I could hardly see straight,” which could affect him because he could get in trouble for underage drinking and because he lied about his age. After all, he is a terrific liar. On a different note, when your drunk and can’t see straight, you’re more prone to accidents, so he could’ve gotten very hurt if he wasn’t careful (Salinger, 166). The note that Holden wrote to Mr. Spencer on the Egyptians also states, “It is alright with me if you flunk me though as I am flunking everything else except English anyways,” which tells the reader that Holden just straight up doesn’t care that he is failing his classes and is perfectly okay with it and he feels that it’s no big deal (Salinger, 15). The reader knows that Holden was kicked out of Pencey. He says, “They gave me frequent warning to start applying myself---especially around midterms, when my parents came up for a conference with old Thurmer---but I didn’t do it,” which he tells the reader that he has been told, but still decides not to do it. Just because he doesn’t care. And Holden wonders why he was kicked out (Salinger, …show more content…
When Phoebe asks Holden to tell her one thing that he likes, he says this, “The trouble was, I couldn’t concentrate too hot. Sometimes it’s hard to concentrate,” which the reader can infer that Holden was using that as an excuse because he couldn’t think of anything to tell Phoebe. So he stalled by saying that. Then he tells her that he likes Allie and talking to her in moments like this. She is not satisfied with those answers because Allie is not alive and talking to her is not a physical thing (Salinger, 187). Holden goes to the station before going home and he read some articles. He read that he may have “lousy” hormones and cancer. He says, “I figured I’d be dead in a couple of months because I had cancer. I really did. I was even positive I would be,” which straight up tells the reader that Holden has a very calm reaction about it, yet he is just a very negative person for thinking that after reading just an article. He takes things too literally sometimes (Salinger, 216). Holden later tells us, “And if the boy digresses at all, you’re supposed to yell ‘Digression!’ at him as fast as you can. It just drove me crazy. I got an F in it,” Holden said. This tells the reader that Holden got an F on this because he didn’t like something. Next he says, “That digression business got on my nerves,” which is saying that Holden had no reason for getting an F other than the fact that he didn’t like something (Salinger,
Unlike other protagonists with amazing superpowers or cunning wits, the characters from the film Rushmore, and the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” share many of the same characteristics. In Wes Anderson’s film, Rushmore, the main character, Max Fischer, played by Jason Schwartzman has an unprecedented amount of similarities to J.D Salinger’s character Holden Caulfield from “The Catcher in the Rye”. Both stories focus on the idea of children wanting to grow up quickly whilst still being too immature to do so. The similarities include their personality traits, and the relationships they have, but the characters also differ in one major way, their views on sex. These similarities create a feel of familiarity in the reader or viewer allowing them
Holden’s endless journey begins when he received the call when he is expelled from Pencey Prep because of his low grades. Holden starts out as a college student that is damaged deep down his heart. The world before his journey was full of phonies as he commented, “Also at the threshold, the initiate will encounter a helper” (Ariane Publications 9). The helper usually leads the main character into the essential path before any accomplishments. In this condition, Holden’s former History teacher Mr. Spencer takes the role. He asks Holden,” Do you feel absolutely no concern for your future, boy?” (Salinger 20). He warns Holden about the difficulties that are waiting for him ahead but also pushed Holden forward to the journey. Even though Holden did refuse the journey by lingering at school after he got the expel letter. Nevertheless, the talk with Mr. Spencer may have aff...
Holden Caulfield has failed out of three other prep schools before his parents enroll him at Prencey. The first chapter takes place during the last days of Holden’s first term at Prencey. He has failed four of his five classes, and because of this, he has been asked to not return for the next term. The headmaster has already verbally informed Holden, and is writing a letter to his parents to inform them. Since there is nothing left for Holden at Prencey, he decides to leave the school before the official end of the term. He goes to New York to relax until his parents expect him home for the mid term break. Holden’s experiences during this long weekend lead him to some sort of mental hospitalization. At the end of the novel, Holden is in the hospital recovering and is somewhat optimistic about attending a new school.
Early on in the story Holden shows the readers that he is able to analyze people and make an educated judgement of them. Holden blames his departure from Elkton Hills on the people he was surrounded by. He says,“One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies” (Salinger 17). This quote connects to the story because it seems Holden has trouble staying in one particular place if just a few things are not perfect. By understanding others, Holden is quick to decide that where he was at that particular time is not the place for him. This thinking does force him to go to another school, but at the same time, he decided that Elkton Hills is not the place for him. Being able to make a decision and stick to it without having second thoughts is something all high school students should be able to do. In the novel, Holden has come across people he knows like to manipulate others. With this mindset he does not completely avoid them, rather, he learns to deal with them. In chapter 19, there is an interaction where Holden knows his audience and adjusts his actions accordingly. Holden describes his friend, Luce, as an intellectual guy that voices his opinion. He says, “That’s the trouble with these intellectual guys. They never want to discuss anything serious unless they feel like it” (160). With this, it shows Holden knows his friend and knows how to talk without
... struggles. Holden just wanted someone to talk to and wants to break his depression by succeeding. In my opinion, I believe Holden does find what he’s looking for due to Phoebe riding on the carousel ride as it makes Holden happy, “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way Phoebe kept going around and around” (213). Holden’s struggles have came across his fate from being depressed and as long as Phoebe is by his side, Holden has someone to communicate with, and to now live a peaceful and comfortable life. The life-lessons that Holden has had to face throughout the book have changed his life completely by knowing his true character towards the end of the novel. His life revolves around his problems, and he seemed helpless in evading them. With that being said, Holden found himself facing the issues of acceptance of death, growing up, and his own self-intentions.
As Holden Caulfield interacts with others and meets new challenges, he reveals his innermost feelings throughout The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Some may interpret his behaviors as teenage angst, but others find that Holden reveals traits of a mental disorder. Specifically, Holden suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder “is a serious mental illness marked by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships” (NIMH). He often experiences uncontrollable rage that results in altercations and behaves on impulse when handling money. He also shows signs of addiction when consuming alcohol. Additionally, Holden has trouble maintaining positive relationships with
Throughout the book, certain values of Holden start to show through. He speaks a lot about how he dislikes "phonies" and tries to separate himself from them. Every time Holden tries to run away from these "phonies," it starts to give you an idea about how he values honesty and his reaction towards people who don't have this particular value. In chapter seventeen, Holden tries to rationalize himself being kicked out of school by saying he wants to accomplish something different and not just be a phony. "It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques (Salinger 131)." In life, and as his days go by, he will realize that many people in society and people who run it, are indeed not genuine. The reality angers Holden and he fantasizes about running away, escaping from society, and living in a cabin away from everybody. This is a far-fetched idea that is hardly even an option for him. He decides that if he can't fit in a society where he isn't wanted, then he won't be a part of it. This thought would have never come across Holden's mind if he was like everybody else, but he isn't. Holden obviously can't deal with the environment around him and one day may lash out to the elements of life that aren't in agreement with him.
The lack of nurture that Holden receives from his environment and the conflict he engages in with it are yet another factor that brings Holden down. Person versus Environment contributes greatly to his descent. Holden is shipped between schools, being kicked out of one only to be expelled from the next. To Holden, the environment that he is surrounded by at Pencey represents the phony, cruel world of those who run it. He is unable to connect with anyone in this school, The disgust and disinterest he has with the institution is shown in the quote, “Pencey was full of crooks.” (pg. 6). As well, he is seen incessantly attempting to defy social norms. Holden battles his environment, flunking out of school and showcasing the opposition he has towards
One of the main themes that J.D. Salinger expresses is that depression negatively affects teenagers. The main cause for Holdens depression is the loss of his brother, Allie. He first mentions him when he says, “He got leukemia and died when we were up in Maine, on July 18, 1946” (38). This shows the main reason for Holdens problems and how the loss of someone close can affect every aspect of a persons life. Because of his depression Holden is consistently going to bars and getting drunk. At one part he is sitting at a bar and he says, “I sat at that godd*** bar till around one o'clock or so, getting drunk as a bastard. I could hardly see straight” (150). When Holden becomes depressed he turns to alcohol. This affects the decisions he makes because he is not in the right mental state. Holden also shows his depression when he is talking to one of his teachers, Mr. Spencer about him getting kicked out. He asks Holden how his parents will react a...
Holden's idealism is first brought forth when he describes his life at Pency Prep. It is full of phonies, morons and bastards. His roommate, Stradlater, " was at least a pretty friendly guy, It was partly a phony kind of friendly..." (26) and his other roommate, Ackley is "a very nosy bastard" (33). Holden can't stand to be around either one of them for a very long time. Later, he gets into a fight with Stradlater over his date with Jane. Holden is upset because he thinks that Stradlater "gave her the time" and that he doesn't care about her; 'the reason he didn't care was because he was a goddam stupid moron. All morons hate it when you call them a moron' (44). Holden not only sees his roommates as phonies and bastards, but he also sees his headmaster at Pency Prep as a "phony slob" (3). This type of person is exactly what Holden doesn't want to be. He strives to be a mature adult; caring, compassionate, and sensitive.
One reason is that Holden drinks and smokes at a young age. However, he gets past this because of his height and his gray hair. Another reason is that he does not care about his education. Even after failing school after school he still does not care whatsoever. He also said that he does not have much concern for his future either. In addition, Holden tries to flirt and date with older women that he does not know. Furthermore, Holden likes runs away from all his problems instead of facing them. For example, instead of telling the truth about his grades at Pency to his parents, he decides to stay on the run until he runs out of money and gets sick. Lastly, Holden repeatedly lies a lot throughout the book such as his name or even where he is going. In conclusion, I am certain that Holden is a problem
Holden lacks the essential ability to motivate himself, which he needs to survive in the 'real' world. He continues to be kicked out of every school he attends because he fails to apply himself, his simple reasoning being 'How do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't' (213). Everybody else in his life tries to encourage him to care about school and his grades but it doesn?t make any difference. From the start of the novel Holden?s history teacher at Pencey tells him ?I?d like to put some sense in that head of yours, boy. I?m trying to help you. I?m trying to help you, if I can? (14). But the fact of the matter is he can?t help him, Holden has to help himself. The drive to succeed has to come from within him, ?I mean you can?t hardly ever do something just because somebody wants you to? (185). In order for Holden to succeed he has to want it for himself. The only problem being Holden is unable to will him into doing anything he is not genuinely interested in, therefore missing out on further knowledge he could acquire that would truly entice him. Holden gives up on school because he fears if ...
Consciously, he believes that he is innocent and that adults are phony, and does not realize that he is in fact similar to adults in his unconscious desires. He constantly rejects the ideas of lying and of having interest in others’ lives, however at one point in the novel he says, “I am the most terrific liar you have ever seen in your life. It’s awful” (Salinger 16). He lies in attempts to receive someone’s attention. An example is when he lied to Ms. Morrow that his son is one of the best students at Pency, "a bunch of us wanted old Ernie to be president of the class" (Salinger 18) but because he was so modest and shy, he wouldn't let them elect him,” (Salinger 56 - 57). Holden does not realize that his actions are a reflection of an unconscious desire to lie and fit in, and continues to believe that he is the only different, innocent individual. He even mentions that his parents are careless, depressed, nervous and lonely and never respects them due to his idea that they are phony are well, still oblivious to the fact that he expresses many of these traits himself. Furthermore, Holden has a conscious desire and motivation to become rogue, as is evident by his sudden choice to leave Pency for New York City. He hates to go to school but he goes to see his teacher. He doesn’t listen to any of his teacher’s advice, but he keeps him calm. Upon doing so, he says, “Oh, I feel some concern
Holden Caulfield can be analyzed through his thoughts, actions and circumstances which surround his everyday life. Holden acts like a careless teenager. Holden has been to several prep-schools, all of which he got kicked out of for failing classes. After being kicked out of the latest, Pency Prep, he went off to New York on his own. Holden seems to have a motivation problem which apparently affects his reasoning. The basis of his reasoning comes from his thoughts. Holden thinks the world is full of a bunch of phonies. All his toughs about people he meets are negative. The only good thoughts he has are about his sister Phoebe and his dead brother Alley. Holden, perhaps, wishes that everyone, including himself, should be like his brother and sister. That is to be intelligent, real and loving. Holden’s problem is with his heart. It was broken when his brother died. Now Holden goes around the world as his fake self, wearing his mask. Holden is looking for love, peace and understanding. He is scared to love because he is afraid he might lose it like he did with his brother. That is the reason for Holden's love of the museum, he feels safe because it never changes it always stays the same. Holden is troubled with the pain of death, it effects every aspect of his life causing him to not care about the future, himself or anyone, except Phoebe and Alley.
J.D. Salinger presents Holden Caulfield as a confused and distressed adolescent. Holden is a normal teenager who needs to find a sense of belonging. All though Holden’s obsession with “phonies” overpowers him. Dan Wakefield comments, “The things that Holden finds so deeply repulsive are things he calls “phony”- and the “phoniness” in every instance is the absence of love, and , often the substitution of pretense for love.” Holden was expelled from Pencey Prep School not because he is stupid, but because he just is not interested. His attitude toward Pencey is everyone there is a phony. Pencey makes Holden feel lonely and isolated because he had very few friends. Holden’s feeling of alienation is seen when he doesn’t attend the biggest football game of the year. His comments on the game: “It was the last game of the year and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn’t win” (2, Ch. 1). This also hints to Holden’s obsession with death. Holden can’t find a since of belonging in the school because of all the so-called phonies. Holden speaks of Pencey’s headmaster as being a phony. Holden says that on visitation day the headmaster will pay no attention to the corny-looking parents. Holden portrays his not being interested by saying, “all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to buy a goddam Cadillac someday, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses”(131, Ch. 17). Holden does not care for school or money. He just wants everyone to be sincere and honest.