Holden Caulfield Sane Or Insane Analysis

Holden is an insane person in what is perceived to be a sane world but to a certain extent. When you are sane, you are mentally healthy and you have a sense of how the world and society is. The world is an insane place itself but since everyone is used to it or only knows this world and society, it is considered “sane”. Holden sees the world in a different light. Because Holden sees the world differently than everyone else he is seen as “insane”. Holden tends to pay attention to what everyone else ignores or doesn’t care about. He also doesn’t like change and he has a very different perspective on life, unlike the average person.

Holden dislikes change so he basically doesn’t like the world or people because they are always changing. In the book, he talks about how he used to love the museum because nothing ever changed. The only thing that was different every time he went back was him. He tells us that “Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone. I know that's impossible, but it's too bad anyway.” Holden needs

He doesn’t like people and he thinks that everyone is a “phony”. In the book he says, "One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies . . . It drives me crazy. It makes me so depressed I go crazy.” This is just one example of him not liking anyone, but throughout the book he calls almost everyone he comes upon a phony. Holden gets depressed and annoyed very easily. He says, “New York's terrible when somebody laughs on the street very late at night. You can hear it for miles. It makes you feel so lonesome and depressed. I kept wishing I could go home and shoot the bull for a while with old Phoebe.” Every little thing makes him feel lonely or upset. Anyone else would not even notice the laugh, but Holden would never ignore something like