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Holden psychoanalysis
Overall brief analysis of holden’s relationships
Holden psychoanalysis
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Nothing stays the same. Adults appear as children vanish and new friends are made, different from the old. The novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is about a young man named Holden Caulfield who finds problems with his life and in society which I can also relate to. In my life, I have realized that I have made some friends just so I could “fit in” or to manipulate and use, whom I do not sincerely care about and unconsciously backbite. I’ve also realized that childhood friends genuinely care about you more often than not. In a similar way, Holden Caulfield expresses an extreme disgust for “phonies”, while acting like one himself. Furthermore, the only people he feels he can be honestly open with are those he grew up with. One of the differences between …show more content…
This proves that Holden finds “phoniness” repulsive and that it sickens him. Even though Holden has no tolerance for “phoniness”, he often shows it himself. Holden says he “shoots the bull” quite often. Furthermore, he rarely tells people what he really thinks when they ask him about something. Lying comes naturally to Holden, and he enjoys it as shown when he is talking to the woman on the bus and says, “Then I really started chucking the old crap around. ‘Did he tell you about the elections?’ I asked her. ‘The class elections?’ She shook her head. I had her in a trance, like. I really did.” (Salinger, 56). Later on, Holden states that he could lie for hours if he felt like it. Those who lie often, easily and enjoy it cannot be honest people. Therefore, even people who dislike being two-faced and being “phony” can easily show it themselves. This is most apparent in peoples personalities at home with their family, compared to how they act with different groups of friends at school. Since moving last year, I have realized this myself while meeting new people at school. I had made a new friend who seemed like a decent person, although soon enough it became more fun to laugh …show more content…
This is because children only make friends with people they genuinely like. The two-faces of every adult is pretty much non-existent in children. Holden finds it very difficult to make lasting relationships with other people. He is often jumping from school to school and does not share his feelings with most people. The only person he consistently shares his true feelings with is Phoebe. Being siblings, Holden and Phoebe grew up with each other and formed a genuine relationship. As Holden prepares to leave the city to live on his own and find work elsewhere, he has a conversation with Phoebe and he says, “‘What the hellya got in there?’ She put the suitcase down. ‘My clothes,’ she said ‘I’m going with you. Can I? Okay?’”(Salinger, 206). This shows the magnitude of a childhood bond. Even though Holden had barely thought through his plan and was going to leave school to try to find a job in another state, Phoebe, a 4th grader, still wanted to go with him. Since starting at a new school, I have realized that the types of friends you make when you are younger are more genuine. I also have been a victim of backbiting, just like everyone else. Yet it wasn’t at my old school, among my old friends, that this was more obvious. It is where I am now. I’ve heard from a few of my closer friends about what others say about me and although it is not exactly shocking, I’d much rather have them say it to
Since Holden was isolated from his family, in order to not get hurt again he tries to find hypocrisy in people to stop himself from trusting others. Holden feels isolated after being sent to a boarding school that “was full of phonies” by his parents (Salinger 90). Salinger’s message to the audience with this quote is that when
Throughout the whole novel Holden has always been in denial of everything. As stated by Freud, denial is the “Refusal to recognize a threatening impulse or desire” (Sigmund Freud). When he visited his ten year old sister Phoebe, she was trying to communicate with Holden but she was nervous that it would displease him. She stated “Because you don't. You don’t like schools. You don't like a million things. You don't…Why the hell do you have to say that?” I said. Boy was depressing me” (Salinger 169). Even though Holden is very fond of Phoebe he didn't bother to listen to what she had to say, this demonstrates that Holden is very in denial because he got very upset when Phoebe said that he dislikes everything. Which furthers shows how he is unable to recognize that what Phoebe is
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
that he is trying to hide his true identity. He does not want people to know who he really is or that he was kicked out of his fourth school. Holden is always using fake names and tries speaking in a tone to persuade someone to think a cretin way. He does this when he talks to women. While he is talking to the psychiatrist he explains peoples reactions to his lies like they really believe him, when it is very possible that he is a horrible liar and they are looking at him with a “what are you talking a bout?” expression. Holden often lies to the point where he is lying to him self.
From the protagonists’ point of view, the adult world Holden and Franny are entering and living in is a very superficial place. Holden who is sixteen years of age is going through a time of crisis where he is almost forced to become an adult. This concept is the very thing that makes Holden afraid, causing him to misbehave at school. His latest school, Pencey Prep, expels Holden due to his failing grades. When asked for the reason of his lack of academic enthusiasm, Holden simply states that he is not interested in anything. In every school he has attended, Holden has managed to find different reasons not to care and possibly even hate the institutions.
Holden lacks the ability to be real with himself and this cause many problems. One of Holden’s problem is that he judges almost everything and everyone. This makes him isolated from the world. Along with him thinking of it as all bad and negative . Saying that he thinks everything in the world and it self is a “ phony”. The person that can't really grasp the world and their own problems is Holden Caulfield. Holden caulfield is a phony himself by his doings. the quote “I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life” , This means holden is constantly lying his way through life and he's lying to himself and it
Through out the novel Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is seen interacting with many different characters in different situations. These situations range from leaving his school, Pencey Prep; meeting a classmate’s mother on a train to New York; talking to women from Seattle in a club; encountering a ‘phoney’ pianist in a club; and much more. The way Holden responds to these people and interacts with these people is humorous at times. He may not like some because they are considered ‘phonies’, and others he can really connect to. Here are some characters that serve as great examples.
Holden wants to make connections with people, but does not have any means to make an emotional decision that will end up depressing him. However, he seems to decide that he would rather lie to feel good.
He does not like phonies because they are somebody who is fraudulent in some way, which he often associates with adults. An example of this when Holden says “For instance, they had this headmaster, Mr. Haas, that was the phoniest bastard I ever met in my life” (Salinger 13). He goes on to say “Haas would just shake hands with them and give them a phony smile” (Salinger 14). Holden believes phonies are people who put a false face on to make themselves look better, think highly of themselves, act hypocritically, etc. Salinger uses this dislike to make Holden more individualized and more genuine. The people who Holden does not think are phonies are generally children who Holden believes still have some innocence left in them and people who are fun to be
In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden, sees himself as a prophet or a saint, somehow better than everyone else. Holden uses this to look down on people and point out the phonies and the wickedness in the world around him. Ironically though, Holden seems to be the wicked and evil he hates within the world, not the good and kind that he thinks he is.
While Holden was on the train in New York he couldn’t do anything except lie when meeting Ernest Marrow’s mother. Morrow’s mother asks what Holden’s name is and Holden replied, ‘Rudolph Schmidt,’… I didn’t feel like giving her my whole life history. Rudolph Schmidt was the name of the janitor of our dorm…” (Salinger 54). This is a clear example of Holden’s phoniness, he is unable to be genuine when interacting with strangers. Though Holden exercises phoniness he gets upset at the Headmaster at Elkton Hills, Mr. Haas. Holden describes Mr. Haas as "the phoniest bastard [he had] ever met in [his] life… [Mr. Haas] went around shaking hands with everybody’s parents when they drove up to school. He’d be charming as hell, and all. Except if some boy had little old funny-looking parents… Then old Haas would just shake hands with them and give them a phony smile and then he’d go talk, for maybe a half an hour, with somebody else’s parents.” (Salinger 14) Holden is hypocritical by calling Mr. Haas phony when he lied to Ernest Marrow’s mother when she asked a simple question of what his name
Clearly, that it's not a choice that he makes, but rather a habit that he develops. His constant lies give false perspectives on what actually happens. For example, on a train ride Holden meets the mother of a bully from Pencey called Ernest Morrow. When they start talking, he immediately lies about his name and his identity. Then he lies to the mother about what a great son she has and about all his false accomplishments. This gives the mother a false perspective of her son and his actions. Lastly, he lies about having a brain tumor to cover up his expulsion from Pencey. Most of Holden’s lies consist of detailed stories to make them sound more interesting. He told these false stories at Pencey, to complete strangers, to his family, and to himself. It is clear that at times he lies to make his life more interesting and meaningful, since he is depressed. He doesn’t receive the care that he wants from his parents, he lost his brother to cancer and is extremely lonely. What’s really ironic though, is that Holden considers many people as “phonies”, while he is the one making up the most lies, making him one as well. ‘“I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera. It's terrible.”’ (Salinger 22) This shows that he is a compulsive liar whose exaggerations continue to become more grand over time. The lies he tells himself are much more impacting than lies told to other people because he tries to make himself believe that everything is fine despite what happened. Holden’s lies are inexcusable and will one day get him into a lot of
Compulsive lying is another characteristic that Holden exhibits. Holden would tell people lies just so they could not become closer to the real Holden. Holden tells lies on numerous occasions to gain. Holden pathetically tells Mrs. Morrow, " I have to have a tiny operation… it isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on my brain" (58). She tells Holden that she is very sorry and she is hopeful that he shall be well soon. Holden then catches him self in a lie and he remarkes, "Once I get started, I can go on for hours if I feel like it," (58). This compulsive lying shows that Holden is not satisfied with himself and that he feels that people will judge him critically.
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.
He often finds that common social activities are phony and full of phony people. Holden often replaces the word adults with phonies, because he believes that the adult world is filled with lies and deceit.“If you sat around there long enough and heard all the phonies applauding and all, you got to hate everybody in the world, I swear you did.” (158) Holden claims that he does not want to be an adult because his whole life would be boring dedicated to making money at a desk job. Holden is kind of a hypocrite because he often says that phoniness starts with money even though he often takes advantage of his wealth. Holden encounters two nuns on a bus and one of the first things he notices is that they both have cheap suitcases. “It isn't important, I know, but I hate it when somebody has cheap suitcases. It sounds terrible to say it, but I can even get to hate somebody, just looking at them, if they have cheap suitcases with them,” (120) Its repulsive for Holden to look down on these two nuns just because of their suitcases. He seems to think that he is not phony and he is honorable for wanting to protect the innocence but Holden can be just as cruel and judgemental as any ‘phony’ adult. When he isn’t spending his money Holden blames part of the deceit and unhappiness of the adult world on money.“I was sorry anyway, though. Goddam money. It always ends up making you blue as hell.”