I have seen many disorders in my twenty years of working for the mental hospital as a psychiatrist. Mr. Holden Caulfield displays traits I have seen before. Certain tendencies and behaviors lead me to believe he might have Borderline Personality Disorder. This can include impulsivity, emotional instability, patterns of unstable relationships, etc.. At first, Mr. Caulfield continued to stay silent when asked questions by the nurses and myself. He refused to volunteer for treatments and judged those around him. I had gotten nothing out of him and was unable to get Holden to oblige to any treatments. I was hoping to make progress by the end of the first month. We talked about his parents the first couple of discussions, but the only comment really made was that they were nice. Indeed they were…nice, yet something inside me told me there was much more the then meets the eye. I had the chance of meeting them on a visiting day; Mrs. Caulfield had an unusual look in her eyes and was a smoker. The father seemed eager to know when he could send Holden to a new school and uninterested in his actual well being. I believe Holden experienced an unpleasant childhood, which affected him in ways that trouble him now. I have noticed the way Holden's father treats him with discipline, expecting trouble every second from Mr. Caulfield. He cared less about Holden's well being and more for his entertainment and social life in the theater business. His brother D.B. Caulfield drove down Hollywood once and spoke to him in person after our daily discussion about Holden's future. D.B. gave me much more information than I could ever get out of Holden. We spoke about Holden's long, melancholy story of the three days before Christmas. He explained Holden's i... ... middle of paper ... ...t this young man, yet there was so little time. He did seem to be corrupted and possibly suicidal but as we grow, we all become corrupted by society. Maturing opens our eyes to the realities of life. Some can deal with it by themselves, others, like Holden, need help. Holden will be leaving soon, but I think he has made some progress and will continue to do so. He has much time to learn; he is young. No one is born intelligent, no one is born corrupted. Perhaps, as Holden grew older, he realized the things in this world that needed to be fixed, but did not want to acknowledge it. He needs to realize that he has something to offer the world, but first he must learn to accept change. He needs someone to show him the path, and I can help him. Prognosis: He will learn, hopefully, with the help of medication and therapy Possible Diagnosis: Borderline Personality Disorder
... is apparent that he is a troubled young man through not only what is said and done, but what is also left as unspoken thoughts inside his mind. Holden Caulfield is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, mentally unstable. He is not classified as a "crazy person" or a "loon" but he is a young man who, as a child, had innocence and purity ripped away with no warning or mercy. Instead of reacting more positively and growing older at a young age, the tragedies caused him to year for the innocence of childhood that he knew in some dark corner of his mind had been long gone and was never returning regardless of how much faith and stubbornness he had.
In summary, Holden Caulfield is a troubled adolescent whose personality, improper feelings and habit of running from his problems prevent him from receiving sympathy. Since his personality includes being lazy and insincere, it is difficult to feel sympathy for him when he fails to try or tells lies. His improper feelings depress him over nothing or leave him lonely and isolated. His habit of running away from his problems make it difficult for him to receive sympathy because he chooses not to face his problems. Holden is a character that causes his own sadness. His actions prevent sympathy from being felt for him because most circumstances are all avoidable. Sympathy will be felt for the distraught protagonist when he fixes his personality or makes better decisions. Until then, Holden Caulfield is a character that it will be difficult to feel sympathy for.
Symptomatic of those affected by mental illness, Holden lacks the ability to have solid relationships with others. He has attended numerous boarding schools and seldom lives at home. This has created a distant relationship between him and his parents. Holden never explicitly reveals whether or not he wishes to have a closer bond with his parents, but it is implied. He sneaks into his house while on his New York excursion to visit his younger sister Phoebe. As he is about to leave his parents’ house, “all of a sudden, [he starts] to cry. [He] couldn’t help it” (Salinger 179). His abrupt outburst of emotion indicates his need to have his parents’ help. He realizes that when he leaves, it may be his last time in the house, so he is not able to control holding in his emotions any longer. Holden also does not maintain a good relationship with his brother, D.B. He cannot stand that D.B. is “out in Hollywood… being a prostitute” (Salinger 2). Holden refers to him as a prostitute because he believes that D.B. is wasting his creative talents on screenwriting, a field that does not allow one to exercise his or her creativity. This causes the relationship that the two have to be frail. Holden’s relationship with his family is not ideal, and results from his mental
Holden Caulfield is a typical teenager, with normal depression caused by overdramatics and worrying. His depression to me is solely based on his huge obsession of worrying, which is a behavioral symptom. While the other symptoms do affect him greatly, his constant fear of being alone, growing up, and fitting in causes his depression to grow. Even though he has such a negative view on life, it can be changed by a change in heart and
Holden Caulfield creates a thought-provoking point of view. On the surface, many of his thought patterns seem unrelated and stray from the topic. His association of topic with digression is used almost constantly throughout the novel. However, realizing that these digressions are very relevant and even crucial to the topic, he allows the reader to gain true insight into the character. His statements ...
He has a few friends, but even they do not seem to really like him. He is very lonely, but does not like to show it. He pretends to be fine; however he is not. He suffers from depression for many reasons, one being his brother Allie dying. He is very judgemental about everyone; even if they are completely normal, he finds something wrong with them. He does not have any confidence in himself because of how he has been raised and how his life is going. He seems very childish, like when he likes to pretend that he has been shot. Holden has a big mouth, even when he knows he cannot win he continues to run his mouth. Holden is very close with his siblings, he talks about them a lot and how much they mean to him. His parents on the other hand are not so big in his life. He resents them because they just send him to new schools. They do not act like his parents they act like they do not want him around, however he talks about how forgiving they are to
List reasons why you think Holden is sane, or normal compared to the average teenager. I think holden is sane because he is like most other teens. They deal with emotions, mood swings, relationships with others, etc
Holden Caulfield is clearly at odds with society. He prefers isolation rather than the company of others. He frequently lies when there is no need to do so. And he deems most people to be phonies without reasoning that in himself. It is clear that Holden Caulfield alienates himself as a form of self-protection. There is no doubt that he is a troubled individual in desperate need of help. Perhaps Caulfield has found help in the “crummy place” where the novel began.
...ality in the narrative is having to deal with alienation and how he deals with it, with the world. One of his other psychological features is having depression, which elucidate to Sigmund Freud. Holden’s last trait has to do with having immature relationships with women and focuses on both the author and Holden. Holden Caulfield could also be known as a wallflower. He is shy, always excluded to the world, and is always focusing in his own mind, which somewhat makes him have a normal trait. But that doesn’t cover his mental disorders.
The diagnosis for Holden Caulfield is co-occurring bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The was conjectured because of his recent manic episode, excessive spending and depression, increased energy, constant “loud speech”, inflated self-image, feelings of guilt, suicidal and racing thoughts, obsessiveness with childhood, innocence, and a fear of change [or what can be seen as abnormal requirement for stability]. Recommended treatment is referral to a psychiatrist for medicinal help, short-term therapy, and slow reinstitution into the general population.
Holden Caulfield and Chris McCandless share a similar view of society and challenges. These two characters suffered from depression and despair. However, they have very distinctive characteristics and personalities. Statistics believe that eleven percent of peoples in the entire world is currently facing depression and anxiety. These two famous character have a strong connection with eleven percent of the world population. Holden Caulfield is a teenager that always assumes society is full of phonies. Chris McCandless is an educated person with a college degree and wanted to be free from the ugliness of society and their way of life. Caulfield’s thoughts and opinions about society indicated that he suffered from depression throughout his life.
Holden is the second eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield. Mr. Caulfield works as a lawyer. His wife is a homemaker. He is one of four children born to the couple. His relationship with his parents and siblings appears to be normal. Preliminary interviews indicate that Holden had idolized his older brother, D.B., throughout his childhood. Recently, however, his opinion has reversed. D. B. Caulfield, a writer, has recently relocated to Hollywood. Holden regards this move as a misstep for his brother and has even gone so far as accusing him of prostituting himself by ag...
The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, interacts with many people throughout J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, but probably none have as much impact on him as certain members of his immediate family. The ways Holden acts around or reacts to the various members of his family give the reader a direct view of Holden's philosophy surrounding each member.
Holden Caulfield - A Nice Kid in a Cruel World Over the years, members of the literary community have critiqued just about every author they could get their pen on. One of the most popular novels to be critiqued has been J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. In favorable critiques, Holden Caulfield is a good guy stuck in a bad world. He is trying to make the best of his life, though ultimately losing that battle.
President Barack Obama has said, “Too many Americans who struggle with mental health illnesses are still suffering in silence, rather than seeking help”. While many mental disorders can easily be treated, they are extremely taxing on the victim and are challenging to diagnose. In final analysis, Holden Caulfield suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder (manic depression) and psychosis. From a psychiatric point of view, there is hope for Holden in the future, but only if he is genuinely avid in getting back to a state of normalcy.