Holden Caulfield is a teen who is stricken with grief. He narrates his life with both a jaded and cynical voice displaying an overall discontentment with the world. Holden struggles to balance his emotions and switches between an almost manic joy and rage. The most significant cause of Holden's issues is the death of his brother. I believe that Holden is suffering from PTSD and depression. Factors that led me to this diagnosis are Holdens constant state of depression, the loss of his brother, and him expressing both feelings of loneliness and suicidal thoughts. Numerous times throughout The Catcher in the Rye Holden displays both depressive and suicidal thoughts such as “What I really felt like though was commiting suicide. I felt like jumping out the window” (Salinger 136) and “Please. I’m lonesome as hell. No kidding.”(Salinger 193). These quotes along with the facts that “Possible warning signs for suicide include… talking about self-harm, death or dying [and] experiencing the loss of a significant family member or friend…” (Whitmore 472) and that “Childhood trauma leaves a person extremely vulnerable to the effects of stress, … and specifically to the development of PTSD” lead me to believe Holden’s behaviors do warrant his admission to the facility. Before Holden can be released from our facility he needs to be taught some …show more content…
When he faces an extremely difficult situation, for example him getting beat up by Maurice, he gets very emotional saying “I was still sort of crying. I was so damn mad and nervous and all.”(Salinger 135) and sort of gives up on life “I felt like jumping out the window.”(Salinger 136) Another way he responds is by acting/lashing out for example when he yells at phoebe even though it's only because he feels guilty that she's upset he's leaving and says “You’re not going. Now, shut up!”(Salinger
PREWRITING Taylor Owen Research Paper Mr Williams 5/15/23 Mental Illness Seen in Holden Caulfield: The Catcher in the Rye Analysis Holden Caulfield’s thoughts and behavior in “The Catcher in the Rye” exemplify symptoms commonly associated with depression, anxiety and PTSD. Firstly, he struggles with an intense feeling of sadness and loss, indicating feelings of depression. Holden also frequently worries about his future and the uncertainties of life, which can be seen as symptoms of anxiety. Additionally, his experiences with death, specifically the passing of his younger brother, Allie, and witnessing a suicide, contribute to the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder .
Holden’s younger brother, Allie, died of leukemia when he was eleven years old and Holden was thirteen years old. Another tragic thing that Holden had to face was the suicide of one of his classmates by jumping out of a window. This impacted Holden’s character in a major way, from not being able to trust people because they were “phonies'' to having a mental breakdown in the park. Major events that lead me to believe that he was not okay mentally are when he punched all the windows out of the garage, he imagines he sees Allie, he fantasizes about committing suicide, made a rash decision to go live in the west as a deaf/mute, and gets drunk many, many times. All of these instances show Holden has a lot of grief in his life.
These issues that he goes through spiral him into a downwards slope later on in the novel. Holden Caulfield shows signs of PTSD and anxiety throughout the novel, the first sign being the death of his brother. The loss of his brother led Holden to display many traits of someone suffering from PTSD. Some of his
Furthermore, he displays complete apathy towards his future, is unable to form connections with other people, and frequently speaks of how he is ‘depressed’ and ‘lonely.’ He even states at one point that; ‘what I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window.’ Holden is clearly suffering from depression and suicidal idealisation, therefore his mental health may cause us to question his reliability as a narrator as his outlook on life is greatly affected by the way he feels, showed in the fact that he generally puts a negative spin on
A study found that “53,920” (Friedman,2) women in sweden had a form of mental illness. This shows that almost every person can have or obtain some sort of mental illness and that they should receive the proper treatment for it. Another reason on why it's not Holden's fault that he's alienated is that his family has pushed him away for so many years, by moving him to boarding school after boarding schools like pencey prep the only people in his family that cared for him are his little sister phoebe and his little brother allie. Holden speaks so highly of his little sister because he realizes that she's the only one that currently cares for him. “Holden!’
Holden Caulfield suffers from depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. First, Holden Caulfield experiences symptoms of depression through his suicidal ideations, extreme impulsivity, and loss of interest in activities. According to the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit American healthcare organization currently ranked as the best hospital in the world by Best Hospitals Honor Roll, “depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest” (1). Holden experiences severe symptoms of depression throughout the entirety of The Catcher in the Rye.
Holden Caulfield is the victim of several traumatic events. In a short amount of time, he loses his younger brother and witnesses the suicide of a classmate. It becomes difficult for him to remain positive. He develops extreme anxiety. “Everytime 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.
Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye Robert Evans writes “Holden seems remote from nearly everyone. We do get inside his head, and some readers clearly empathize with his thoughts and feelings, but Holden rarely invites us (or anyone) into genuine communion. Instead, his general attitude is cynical and judgmental, and he rarely finds—and rarely seeks—a sincere, enduring bond with another person.” (Evans) This behavior from Holden clearly shows that he may have some mental or social issues right from the start of the book.
Holden Caulfield is a young kid who is struggling with his belonging and stance in life. When he was 13 his brother died, and it had a very long lasting effect on him. The most significant underlying cause for Holdens problematic behavior would be the death of his brother and how he and the family handled the loss. His fear of growing up and his idealized version of childhood are what's holding him back in life. Holden Caulfield is being diagnosed with depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies, and PTSD.
Throughout the book, Holden is struggling to get by. The death of his brother Allie has left him in a tough spot. Holden doesn’t exactly know how to deal with this. The different stages of grief are represented through Holden. Holden shows denial and anger when he flashbacks to one of his memories after his brother’s death.
The first cause of Holden 's mental illness that readers notice is that he lacks control over his actions. As Holden was 13 years old, his brother Allie died of leukemia. Holdens behavior in response to his brothers death was very violent. “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it (Holden Caulfield 39).” Holden admits that he didn’t know he was doing it, but says it was a stupid thing to do.
Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year old boy that suffers from many different mental disorders. These disorders include post traumatic stress disorder which lead to depression and bipolar disorder. From the death of his younger brother, Allie, to his life decisions and choices it shows his state of mind. Post traumatic stress disorder is a disorder characterized by failure to recover after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying thing.
Although Holden is a very intelligent character he finds the hypocrisy and ugliness in the world around him and quickly associates it with the adult world. Holden is a very introverted character who hesitates throughout the book to share information about his life . J.D Salinger makes sure to portray Holden that way to
Along with Holden’s many health problems, he is also mentally unstable in that he makes very erratic and irresponsible decisions, particularly when it comes
It is most apparent during his date with Sally Fields. When Sally first arrives he’s in love with her, even though he already thinks of her as “the queen of the phonies”. However, as the date continues he realizes how much he truly despises her. Yet, he still invites her to run away with him and when she rejects his offer, he lashes out at her and causes her to cry. He doesn’t know how to feel about making her cry and feels accomplished and sorry.