Holden Defense Mechanisms

Rab Sinay
Mrs. Kehrmeyer
AP English, Period 1
2 March 2017
From a Freudian psychoanalytical perspective Holden seems to utilize defense mechanisms as an attempt to prevent the saddening memories of his past bubble up from his unconscious to his conscious. Freud suggests that “the ego uses defense mechanisms to prevent the anxiety that would result if troubling desires and memories residing in the unconscious were fully realized in conscious awareness” (Nevid 471). While Holden finds it difficult to leave memories from the past behind, Salinger definitely lays out examples of Holden exhibiting defense mechanisms. In Nevid’s book, Freud explains that repression allows people to remain calm and collected on the outside, while containing hateful

Salinger describes Holden as someone who wishes and desires to have an intimate relationship with Sally, but based on Freudian theory, Holden’s slip of the tongue reveals that he is bothered by Sally and her counter-argument to his proposal of moving together out of New York. Another defense mechanism that is manifested by Holden is denial. In “The Psychodynamic Perspective,” Robert F. Bornstein from Noba informs readers that denial is the failure to recognize negative effects of an event or experience. While Holden fails to succumb to the realization that he must release himself from the negative effects of Allie's death, he also struggles to submit to another necessity: growing up. Salinger includes a conversation between Holden and his sister Phoebe on page 173, where Holden reveals to Phoebe that he would want to be a catcher in the rye, where he would stop children playing on a cliff in a field of rye from falling. In other words, the protagonist desires to prevent kids from maturing and losing their innocence. Holden deflects his

In Psychology Today, Dr. Alex Lickerman asserts that there numerous reasons and implications that cause us to lie in his article, “Why We Lie.” Dr. Lickerman infers that the most common motive to lie is to protect ourselves. He claims that we lie often in order to “avoid suffering painful consequences, shame, embarrassment, or conflict.” Holden admits to being a compulsive liar early on in the book. Salinger includes several instances of Holden lying, including when he speaks with Mrs. Morrow on the train while speaking about her son (54), and also while Holden converses with the nuns at the station, claiming that he had plenty of money to donate (110). However, what stands out is when he attempts to lie to Phoebe about being kicked out of Pencey. Phoebe knew him too well and was able to force the truth out of her brother. While Holden lied to Mrs. Morrow and the nuns in order for them to not get involved in his personal issues, as well as boost their self-esteem, he lied to Phoebe so she would not be disappointed. Phoebe’s opinion is one of the few that Holden cares about. Hall also points out that individuals even lie to themselves about fears and desires (106). As mentioned earlier, Holden has been lying to himself by trying to avoid adulthood as he is starting to believe he does not need to grow up. Holden fears that my growing up, he will be leaving Allie behind, even