Psychoanalytic Reading Of The Catcher In The Rye

Both the poem “Warren Pryor” by Alden Nowlan and the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr express a depressing tone. “Warren Pryor” is about a son who chooses a career that he dislikes in order to please his parents. “Harrison Bergeron” is about a dystopian society where excellence in any way is considered a disadvantage and inequality for others. In both texts, the protagonists all face the barrier of having their nature being stifled; however, the speaker in the poem chooses not to fight back for himself, while the majority in the short story is not even able to realize the barrier that they face. In the poem, the speaker Warren Pryor is under the pressure and high expectation of his parents that he has to choose to work

Just this guy I met who-nothing”. This shows that Ellie does not have the confidence in telling her dad about Jeremiah and admitting that she likes him a bit. In chapter 10 Jeremiah also shows lack of confidence to his parents.

Clean forgot I told him to jump in. Well, I aint done nothing like that no more” (Steinbeck 44). Even George is remorseful for what he has done in the past he still continues to demean Lennie. Which (due to his childlike demeanor) Lennie does not notice when he is being made fun

Salinger’s use of symbolism precisely depicts the turmoil and angst that many adolescents can resonate with to this day as well as accentuating Holden’s depressed state. Through the psychoanalytic theory, the text can unintentionally reflect the author’s own psychological conflict. According to the article, “Psychoanalytic Approaches,” psychobiography is used to analyze the author and his/her life. For example, in The Catcher in the Rye, there are various similarities in Holden’s perplexing behavior and Salinger’s biography. According to J.D.

While his brother feels like he could never truly explain anything to the narrator. Although both characters were different they found an understanding by trying to feel what each other were feeling. Also by coping with their tough childhood and feelings together without directly communicating. Sonny wanted so desperately to please his brother, but couldn’t find a way to avoid Jazz but still get that feeling he craved. Sonny was clearly disappointed and embarrassed by his choice of actions and despite what anyone said, he realized the choice he made was poor and it was time to follow his dream.

Holden’s actions are borderline schizophrenic, a mental disorder which affects the way a person thinks and acts, with no bearing on reality. Pained by the loss of his brother, Holden has delusions that if he tells Allie to join him, then he can change the past and be a better brother. Holden relives his past through schizophrenic episodes in attempt to bring his brother back, however, his mind has been exposed to shattering pain and his life will never be the same

The innocent actions some take later in life will reward some, and deteriorate others. Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger delays his evitable process of growing up partly because of the tragic events that transpired earlier in his life and his ignorance to reality. However , Chris Mccandless differs from Holden in the fact that he fully understands reality but protests to greed of humans and the material possessions of man and still facing the gruesome consequence of his immaturity. Seymour Glass does not relate to the accepted adult community and further isolates himself from his peers. Although he appears immature, he actually is struggling from PTSD from the war and the picture his has for the violent adult man.

Growing up is bad, because people are kinder and more tolerant towards children, and as people grow up, they have to worry more about doing the right thing. Innocence is bliss, and younger people don’t realize all of the negative things around them and the people trying to shelter them from bad things. However, as people grow up, they will notice more negative things and become more skeptical about the way the world works. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger shows that growing up is a bad thing because younger people don’t realize things that they start to notice as they grow older that will make them more skeptical about the world.

He was the kind of boy who did not understand the concept of how to treat people, and being so young I did not fully understand the way he was treating me. My parents were not his biggest fans because I often came home upset because of the things he said to me, and the way he treated me. He was manipulating and often told me that I could not do certain things, like telling me I am not smart, and that I am not as fun or pretty as one of my best friends. From this it made hanging out with my girl friends harder because he made it seem like I should be threatened by them. He made me doubt my self worth which in turn made everything else in my life a lot harder, including school.

I don’t give a damn, except that I get bored sometimes when I act my age. Sometimes I act a lot older than I am- I really do- but people never notice it. People never notice anything.”(Salinger 9) Right now, Holden is struggling to find balance between taking the responsibility of people his age while still having fun and enjoying being