Patients 229: Holden Caulfield Psychological Analysis
Holden Caulfield came in for a meeting and I observed different key behavioral evidence of a mental disorder. The first thing that he said to me was, “I am the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life” (16). This was a leading reflag of a possible mental disorder and alerted me to be aware of what is and is not the truth. Though, he seemed to be fairly honest with me. He then moved on to various other topics and seemed to get sidetracked every once in a while. One key focus of Holden was his deceased brother Allie. He was clearly affected by his brother’s death and could not hide his compulsion to talk about him. He also brought up his former classmate, James Castle, who committed suicide
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Holden has lived with this disease for years without treatment and his most prominent symptom is depression, which may have escalated into Major Depressive Disorder. Holden himself has said he feels depressed numerous times. This is a mood disorder that causes feelings of sadness and loss of interest. It affects how a person feels, thinks, and behaves and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems (Mayo Clinic). The symptoms of this disorder are very similar to PTSD, which include mood swings and feeling discontent. "You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth"(133). Holden said this just after asking Sally to run away with him and start a new life. Now he is back to thinking of her a pain and a phony. Though, he did mean what he said about going away, which shows how discontent he is with his life. Another symptom is crying, which Holden does multiple times in seemingly peculiar situations for unknown reasons. “I was sort of crying. I don 't know why” (52). Holden has trouble managing his thoughts and feelings, and although he feels happy to be leaving Pency he begins to cry. Holden is very irritable and puts him in sad moods throughout his life. “The more I thought about my gloves and my yellowness, the more depressed I got, and I decided, while I was walking and all, to stop off and have a drink somewhere”(90). When he feels this way, all he can think about is being depressed and it is hard to concentrate. Then he feels the need to drink, even though he is only 16. Substance abuse is also a common sign/symptom of depression. “So all I did was, I ordered another drink. I felt like getting stinking drunk” (145).Holden turns to alcohol and uses it as entertainment and an outlet from his depression. Holden’s depression has gotten to the point where he often thinks about suicide and wishes he were dead. “What I really felt like,
Nineteen million American adults suffer from a major case of depression (Web MD). That is a staggering one in every fifteen people (2 in our classroom alone). Holden Caulfield is clearly one of those people. Depression is a disease that leads to death but is also preventable. Psychology, stressful events, and prescription drugs are causes of depression. Stressful events brought on Holden’s depression. Holden has been trying to withstand losing a brother, living with careless parents, and not having many friends. The Catcher in the Rye is a book that takes us through the frazzled life of Holden Caulfield, who appears to be just a regular teen. But by hearing his thoughts and through heart-wrenching events in the book, the reader learns that Holden is not the innocent boy that he once appeared. In his book, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger shows that Holden’s depression is not only affecting him, but also the people around him through Sally, Phoebe, and Sunny.
To begin with, many of Holden’s physical and mental symptoms can be linked to events occurring during manic and depressive phases. According to Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance(DBSA), “Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a treatable illness involving extreme changes in mood, thought, energy, and behavior”. DBSA states that manic phases can include a decrease in sleep, reckless behavior or speech, flamboyant actions
Holden is proven to have Borderline Personality Disorder, because of the causes, such as allied death, childhood trauma, and neglect. He also continuously shows the symptoms related to BPD. Such symptoms as his behavior when alone or about to be left alone, and the insight into why he abuses alcohol and drugs and goes on spending binges, as well as self-injury. Holden qualified in many other symptoms as well, such as his frequent mood swings and impulsive behavior.
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
Emotional symptoms can be harder to detect sometimes, especially ones like hopelessness, and sadness. He indicates sadness by saying, “Then I went over and laid down on Ely's bed. Boy, did I feel rotten. I felt so damn lonesome” (48). Holden, even though he says he does not need anybody, he really wants and needs that social interaction, with people like Ackley. He views phony people and social outcasts to have no life, when in reality,
...herefore just by showing the readers that he had major mood swings, depression, and hallucinations, Holden only ends up confirming that he had delusional disorder.
Making mistakes is a completely normal part of life. Learning from your mistakes is a necessity because it’s the only way to progress. Beatrice Wood, an artist and sculptor speaks one solution for dealing with mistakes. “Life is full of mistakes. They’re like pebbles that make you a good road.” These “pebbles” (mistakes), which come in all different shapes and sizes create structure for us to go anywhere in life. By contrast, Holden’s resistance towards his school work creates too many pebbles, and he is stuck spinning his tires in rocks. In The Catcher in Rye, J.D. Salinger displays through Holden that making mistakes and learning from them is a vital part of growing up, because running
Symptoms of depression that directly relate to Holden’s behaviour include: loss of appetite, depressed or irritable mood, failing relationships with family and friends, faltering school performance, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness or self-hatred and obsessive fears or worry about death. Holden lost his younger brother Allie to cancer when he was only thirteen years old. An event such as this can be traumatic to a young person and cause feelings of sadness and/or depression. Thoughts about suicide are another common symptom of depression. Holden expresses thoughts about committing suicide in Chapter 14 after Maurice assaults him: “What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide.
Compulsive lying is a trait that Holden demonstrates. Holden would lie to people simply so they could not become closer to the real Holden. Holden tells lies on several occasions attempting to gain sympathy from others. Holden pathetically informs Mrs. Morrow, " I have to have a tiny operation... it isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor ...
The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is about the narrator, Holden Caulfield, and his tale of adolescence. At the beginning of the novel, Holden Caulfield is leaving Pencey Prep, the most recent of a few private high schools he has attended and dropped out of. The story then trails into his adventure after leaving Pencey early to explore his home of New York City before returning to family, leading him to discover and learn from the people he interacts with as he slowly succumbs to the angst of adolescence. One question drawn when reading the novel is Holden’s mental health, which is seen in his narration and his self-claimed depression. According to a journal about psychological health in adolescents, one might conclude that
J.D Salinger’s novel, Catcher In The Rye is about a teen, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the narrative. Holden is full of unique problems and most of the time lost in his own world, that can’t face reality. The psychoanalytic theory arranges a lens of definition when working at Holden Caulfield. Holden is seen as a lonely, rebellious teen who flunked out of an all boys private school, Pencey Prep. Failing school exemplifies how Holden controls his own decisions in the real world. As stubborn Holden is, opening up his persona and experiences to people is very hard for him, “I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me…” (Salinger 1). From a Freudian psychoanalytical perspective Holden would seem to keep all his thoughts all bottled up, not speaking, and opening up to people. “The preconscious holds information we’ve stored from past experience or learning. This information can be retrieved from memory and brought into awareness at any time.” (Nevid 469). Holden is one step closer to becoming a better changed person by speaking to his psychiatrist, and there is only way to find out if he did.
Throughout the novel we see signs of Holden's depression from the way he throws around the word all the time, “Innarested in a little tail t'night?’ ‘Me?’ I said. Which was a very dumb answer, but it's quite embarrassing when somebody comes right up and asks you a question like that. ‘How old are you, chief?’ the elevator guy said. ‘Why?’ I said. ‘Twenty-two.’ ‘Uh huh. Well, how 'bout it? Y'innarested? Five bucks a throw. Fifteen bucks the whole night.’ He looked at his wrist watch. ‘Till noon. Five bucks a throw, fifteen bucks till noon.’ ‘Okay,’ I said. It was against my principles and all, but I was feeling so depressed I didn't even think. That's the whole trouble. When you're feeling very depressed, you can't even think.” (110). In this case, we see Holden’s depression affecting him by making him do things that he knows he shouldn’t. Spending a night with a prostitute is something Holden knows he shouldn’t do, but he is conflicted by his depression to do it anyways. Something else Holden struggles with is suicidal thoughts. The serious part about depression is leading to suicide which Holden eventually has conflicting thoughts about, “What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would've done it, too, if I'd been sure somebody'd cover me up as soon as I landed.” (127). It is obvious that the depressive thoughts Holden have faced have led to something much
Mr. Antolini?s theory as to what is wrong with Holden is right on, it?s just too bad he was unable to get through to Holden. Due to the fact that Holden has already given up on himself and is unwilling to apply the valuable advice he has been given. He has lost the substantial ability to find happiness in life and therefore can?t find the energy to motivate himself in anything he does. It?s a tragedy that someone as bright as Holden Caulfield is unable to find the strength within himself to persevere in a world of insanity.
Holden goes through this continuous road of feeling like a failure, disappointing those he loves like Phoebe, and acting like a child instead of taking charge of his life, but it is time to stop. Depression is a major concern today and takes a harsh toll on everyone, not only the person who is diagnosed with it, but also their family. It is not always obvious when someone is depressed. Everyone handles depression differently in their own way, but depression is a medical problem which should be handled professionally. Unfortunately, Holden let his depression escalate out of proportion, leading him to live a life full of emptiness, guilt, and compulsive lying and this is his way of dealing with his problem.
The inability of Holden to accept growing up and the depression caused by it has made Holden suicidal, "what I really felt like, though, was committing suicide.