Life is neither good or bad, it's what you make it be. In some cases people evolve illnesses which changes the way they see life. Holden is a special case having a variation of illnesses, that might explain why he is having trouble adjusting with society. Or the reason why he acts the way he does. In “The Catcher in the Rye,” J.D.Salinger shows Holden Caulfield having trouble to adjust in society and withdrawing from social interaction caused by his Post Traumatic Stress. Reasoning of what might be the answer of his thinking, or lack of adjusting in society. By Holden focusing in death throughout the story, with his wishes to die and starting all over. With one of the causes being witnessing deaths that he expresses in the story.
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The second time was more intense. This time a classmate from his school. “There was this one boy at Elkton Hills,named James Castle, that wouldn't take back something he said about this very conceited boy, Phil Stabile...Finally, what he did instead of taking back what he said, he jumped out the window...and there was old James Castle laying right on the stone steps and all”(188). In this moment Holden is in shock to see his classmate dead. That fits in one of the causes that lead to Post Traumatic Stress. The witnessing of a scary or shocking event. So far Holden hasn't been this descriptive of an event as this event that might have lead to his illness. Holden shows more symptoms as becoming very upset when something causes memories of the event. When “every time 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 …” (217). Showing intense ongoing and fear to be forgotten. Holding tightly to the memory of his brother Allie. Causing him to “talk to my[his] brother Allie. I’d[he] say to him, Allie don't let me[Holden] disappear… And then when I’d[him] reach the other side of the street without disappearing, I’d[he would] thank him”(218). That why Holden keeps saying he is feeling depressed in certain occasions, because he doesn't know he has Post Traumatic
Holden also has a negative perspective of life that makes things seem worse than they really are. In addition to Holden’s problems he is unable to accept the death of his brother at a young age. Holden’s immaturity, negative mentality, and inability to face reality hold him back from moving into adulthood. Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child.
There is one universal truth that will exist through out all of time and space that affects all that live to experience it. That truth is known as grief. We all experience grief, and for Holden Caulfield, grief is a major aspect of his life, the force that drives him to do everything he does in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. There are seven stages to this emotion known as grief: denial, depression, anger, bargaining, guilt, reconstruction, and finally, acceptance. There are many parts in the novel that could have influenced Holden’s grief, but the main one that most people who read the novel have figured it out was the death of his little brother Allie. The root to Holden’s grief lies with his brother which cause Holden’s to act and change the way he does in the novel.
Holden Caulfield is the narrator of the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. At first introduction, Holden is very judgemental about different characters and seems annoyed about his life. At times, the narrator is rude and has a sarcastic tone towards others when speaking. Holden would be a friend of mine because I enjoy the company of a friend who makes corny jokes.
A person who is able to live life with many struggles such as dropping out of school and dealing with a family member’s death can really continue pursuing their lifestyle in the future. In The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, it becomes evident that Holden has difficulty accepting himself and others as he constantly defines people as "phony". Before we can understand why Holden leaves on his journey at all, we must understand his struggle. Holden leaves Pencey because he was surrounded by phonies and wants to find success elsewhere. He tries to find someone to communicate with by turning to his family. Holden just wants someone to talk to and wants to break his depression by succeeding.
I believe that Holden Caulfield is mentally disturbed and shows many signs of it throughout the novel. Problems in Holden’s life that have led him to this rest home are the death of his brother Allie, his multiple failures throughout his academic career, and his distress about moving on in life. Holden deals with these problems by drinking and smoking throughout the novel. He also shows depression throughout the novel by being kicked out of multiple schools and being over-critical of people when he describes them. I feel that he is very disturbed and had not been able to deal with his problems before. Unfortunately his feelings such as the loss of Allie ha...
Throughout the novel, Holden leaves hints insinuating that he is distancing himself from people and society through his actions and decisions. Holden shows his hate towards the adult world by mentioning “phoniness” throughout the book, insinuating that he will never be like this, even though it’s impossible. His constant failing at school evidences that he isn’t planning to have a common future by having a job like most people would. It was evidently explained that Holden doesn’t fit in because he doesn’t want to be part of humans’ corrupted society. Regardless of how one feels about society, it is evident that its flaws made a teenager retract from accepting humans’ adult world, and instead negated to be a part of it.
Holden feels as if he is stuck in his 13 year old self. Although he is aging he isn’t necessarily maturing the way his classmates and other people are around him. This is due to the fact that he never received closure when Allie died. When he starts picturing his own funeral because he might get pneumonia and die, he remembers D.B. telling him about his brother's funeral. He stated, “I wasn’t there. I was still in the hospital. I had to go to the hospital and all after I hurt my hand” (Salinger 171). Since he never attended the funeral he never got to say his final goodbyes to the one person he truly loved. Holden feels as if he can’t connect with anyone else in the world like he did with Allie. If he did then he would most likely push them away, so he wouldn’t have to experience the trauma of loss again, because it greatly impacted his life the first time. The trauma Holden experienced when he was younger resulted in him not being able to form stronger relationships with people which made him more depressed and
People’s shortcomings cause them to look at themselves and the environment around them, Holden does this multiple times throughout the book. “It’s a funny kind of yellowness, when you come to think of it, but it’s yellowness, all right. I’m not kidding myself,” (100). Holden doesn’t delude himself into thinking he’s perfect, which will allow him to better understand himself and his needs, but it also causes him some problems, like depression. Depression is said to ail everyone at least once at some point in their lives, Salinger makes it apparent that Holden is suffering it throughout the novel. “What I really felt like doing, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would have done it, too, if I’d been sure somebody’d cover me up as soon as I landed,” (116-117). Depression and suicide are still present in today’s society, and unfortunately a part or many people’s lives, contributing to the American
The negative light that Holden views the world under is a key contribution to his unhappiness. He is unable to see even a glint of sincerity in people’s actions which allows him to experience feelings of severe despondency and dejection. “People never give your message to anybody,” (pg. 166) shows how Holden no longer feels let down by people but instead expects the worst from them instead. He struggles to find genuinity in people’s actions, and in turn feels “lousy and depressed,” by nearly everything. Holden is constantly seen bringing down the adult world. It is shown he has an inner conflict between his adult and child self, leading him to feeling lost and without a place. He is disgusted by the adult world describing it as a place filled with “phonies” but, views adolescence as a source of happiness. He shows a direct fear of change by stating, “The best thing...was that everything always stayed right where it was.” (pg. 135). As Holden is being pushed out of his childhood and into an area where he feels out of place, it is only inevitable that this would be a source of his depression. Both of these internal conflicts add to Holden Caulfield’s
This indicator is considered to be called “flashbacks” that holds “the same fear and horror the persons felt when the event took place. [The individual] is expected to grieve over past memories when the death or loss is traumatic or unexpected”. How an individual grieves is dependent on how much the loss meant to them and how they can expect to experience physical, emotional and spiritual reactions. While analyzing Holden's persona when reminiscing about these memories of Allie, they can sometimes feel so real, that it is as if the event is actually happening again. This symptom is firstly introduced when Holden is describing who Allie was and how he “got leukaemia and died…when [Holden] was only thirteen” (Salinger 38), this being the root cause of Holden’s PTSD. Grief stricken by this traumatic event, Holden decides to “[brake] all the windows in the garage…with [his] fist, just for the hell of it” (39). Holden later admits that breaking the windows “was a very stupid thing to do” but doesn’t regret his actions. This memory of breaking the windows after Allies death is a physical reaction of grief that is forever imprinted into is mind, causing distress to Holden to think about. As Holden progresses throughout the novel, other specific painful memories come back when he is not expecting him causing a great strain on Holden’s emotions. Since grief is a normal reaction to the death of a loved one, it is a natural response to feel sad or anger towards the traumatic event. During Holden’s time in New York, he is suddenly hit with the memory of Allie and how they used to play together. Specifically focusing on this particular memory, Holden recalls “telling [Allie] to go home and get his bike and meet [him] in front of Bobby Fallon’s house” (98). While thinking of this, Holden decides to fixate on the negative aspects of the memory such as
Difficult situations are a part of life, and people everywhere must cope with difficult circumstances such as conflict in out lives. See Appendix 1 (Depression). But occasionally, people experience an event, which is so unexpected that it continues to have serious affects, long after it has happened. Like depression in general these events may include a traumatic event involving actual or threatened death to themselves or others. Also learning that a close friend is in danger or has died can cause this type of anxiety disorder (What Is A Depressive Disorder?). This condition is one of several known as an anxiety disorder. One significant event in Holden’s life that is a factor for his mental illness is the death of his brother Allie. When Holden found out, “[He] was only thirteen and they were going to have [him] psychoanalyzed and all, the night [Allie] died, and [he] broke all the windows with [his] fist, just for the hell of it” (Salinger 39).
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.
Holden Caulfield suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder throughout the course of the novel. In fact, the root of all his problems come from Allie’s passing; he died from leukemia. Holden used to be extremely close with him and his imminent death changed his entire life and psyche. Holden seems to relive the event of his beloved little brother Allie’s death over and over. “What is clear, however, is that many of the symptoms Holden displays in the course of the novel mirror the classic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The death of his younger brother, Allie was a traumatic event in Holden Caulfield’s life and is perhaps at the root of the depression he battles in the novel. The death of a sibling can trigger post-traumati...
J.D. Salinger, in his novel The Catcher in the Rye, shows that often times when an individual faces problems in their life they will try to find a means to escape, instead of solving them. Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be excluded from any group. He feels alienated from the rest of society, but I believe that Holden stays bitter on purpose. He keeps a cynical, sarcastic outlook on life so as to escape his true feelings. This is not uncommon for people who have trouble accepting their problems.