Tragic events can affect your mindset in irreversible ways, causing self-destructive behavior, low self-esteem, and devious actions. Jerome David Salinger in his novel, The Catcher in the Rye, he develops the character of Holden Caulfield, an adolescent boy who is living a tragedy, causing suffering and deep pain within him. According to Mary Klages from the University of Colorado, she incorporates Warren Hedges and Freud through a psychoanalytic lens and they come to a conclusion that psychoanalytical approaches reveal how and why people behave as they do, which helps clarify Holden Caulfield’s actions in the novel. Holden is presented as a troubled adolescent, facing discontent of his childhood in which he desires not to describe much in
Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, is regarded throughout the book with many emotional and social issues. Holden is affected mentally from multiple past events and becomes very depressed, which leads to suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is a mental health condition that is triggered from past events that terrify the victim. Holden Caulfield suffers from PTSD because he experiences a horrifying past event that creates many symptoms similar to the PTSD symptoms.
In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”, the protagonist Holden Caulfield demonstrates his unusual behaviour. The narrator introduces the story of an emotionally damaged teenager whose suspicions and personal issues prevent him from being “normal” in a society full of phonies that he does not seem to get along with. It becomes clear that Holden has clouded judgement as he rides an emotional rollercoaster of mood swings with the people he likes, and dislikes. Therefore, it becomes obvious that some of his personal flaws include his distrust, depression, and unreasonable attitudes and thoughts are based on his underlying emotional problems. Holden Caulfield has a variety psychological problems, such as his skepticism, depressive behaviour, and
In the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger readers are introduced to a young man named Holden Caulfield who introduces himself and begins to tell his story of how and why he left his school; Pencey Prep. In the story, Holden explains how he is being kicked out of school and doesn't want his parents to know and so leaves school early. throughout the story, Holden explains what happens to him before he must go home and act like he is home from school for a break instead of being kicked out. When it comes to the topic of Author's purpose of The will of individual vs the will of the majority some will think the purpose is to show that Holden going against the will of society to rebel, however, I think the author’s purpose of The Catcher in the Rye was to show that the individual will manifest in his desire for isolation comes from his is fear and damage done by fear of pain, failure, rejection, and is unwilling or unable to go along with the majority. This all shown through Imagery, symbolism, and diction.
In Holden’s mind becoming “the catcher in the rye “means that he can still catch Allie from falling off the cliff. This is relevant to Holden’s depression because everything around him is telling him to grow up but instead he runs away from it in fear that is will pull him farther apart from his relationship with his brother Allie. Holden is on the edge of becoming an adult which creates more pressure and leads him to
As the book starts Holden describes his childhood and how he has been kicked out of several school and once more again from his currently school, giving a sense of irresponsibility and no care in the world. Holden later on mentioned slowly the loss of his brother due to leukemia and how he reacted outrageously by breaking the windows of his garage home. As a reader one would view that behavior as abnormal, but Peter Shaw descried it as a normal behavior for a fictional character in the 1950s and by mentioning that Holden, “is presenting in a somewhat different manner than are the sentimentalized young people in other novels if his period” (par. 3), admitting that Holden was somewhat of an outcast of a character even for its time he is still considered normal. Shaw also challenged the reader’s view of Holden by emphasizing that Holden is not a real person, but a fiction character developed in the 1950s and in fact a mad psychological character is normal and made the reading rather more interesting and acceptable during that time. As readers someone may come across as understanding Holden’s behavior due to a loss and everyone mourns differently and as Shaw said, “ the one period of life in which abnormal behavior is common rather than exceptional” (par.
Throughout a child 's life, sooner or later they get thrown into the teenage experience which starts their transition from childhood to adulthood. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden Caulfield is stuck in his childhood and does not want to grow up. He is a very complex character and has an odd way of dealing with his emotions; he doesn 't. When Holden is faced with a problem, instead of facing it and slowly working his way through it, he tries to get rid of it entirely. He does not want to be thrown into the real world and will do anything to not be put in those “adult like situations”. I believe that Holden’s issues arose about the time when his younger brother Allie passed away due to leukemia when he was only eleven.
How does this contribute to your understanding of how Holden forms relationships with and interacts with people? What time period is the story set in? What evidence from
In the paradoxical personality of Holden we discover something much deeper. As Holden makes himself out to be tougher than what he actually is, Salinger introduces stubbornness. Holden’s true nature of gentleness and sensitivity offered throughout the book often brings bedlam into his life, though Salinger brings into
Another common PTSD occurrence involves the patient experiencing flashbacks. During these flashbacks, it can overwhelm one’s sense of reality and make it seem the event is happening again for the first time, “Mimicking the real thing because it provokes a similar level of stress in the body” (Trauma Recovery). The aspect of the heart pounding and the preparation of muscles to react as they did at the time can have some patients believe it is occurring a second time, making any other symptoms worse. Emotional breakdowns are common after experiencing flashbacks and can lead to the patient having energy outbursts where it is hard for them to control themselves. Holden Caulfield recalls past events that
"People are always ruining things for you" (Salinger 87). The past could affect a person in many ways including physically and mentally. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger the past has a major effect on Holden. Events like the death of a loved one (Allie), James Castle suicide, and the careless parents leads Holden to suffer from depression, anxiety, and impacts he's personality and behavior. Holden was deeply hurt when he lost his younger brother Allie.
In the beginning of the book Holden hints that he went through unfortunate events in this life. It can be foreshadowed that something bad has happened around Christmas and that Holden is getting help from some sort of institution. Holden came off to me as laid back and irresponsible, he was the fencing team captain but left all the equipment’s in the subway. Holden also did not seem to care about anything. I noticed that he thinks something in his head but does the opposite.
Although Holden is not fully recovered he is much less depressed than his earlier stages in the book. Holden has taken a step further in his adult life and rather than dismissing those around them he begins to value them, thus being a big step. In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the narrator and protagonist Holden Caulfield a sixteen year old junior undergoes a series of changes; changes that helped a distraught teenager learn that everyone grows up. You don 't need to be the “Catcher in the Rye” that protects the children from going if the deep end thought
Holden also has an abnormal perception of reality. This is demonstrated when Holden states, “Which always kills me. I’m always saying “Glad to’ve met you” to somebody I’m not glad at all I’ve met . If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff though” (Salinger 87)
Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, embodies the classic teenager in the process of discovering himself, and how the world works. But, regardless of Holden 's rich, prep school lifestyle, the series of events that have mapped out his life up to this point have utterly affected his emotional well being and perception of the world. Many traumatic events such as the death of holds brother Allie, the death of a class mate, and countless numbers of awkward incidents with adults have all added up to affects Holden 's well-being and detach him from reality. The death of Holden 's younger brother Allie has caused him to confuse his perception of reality and to alienate himself.