Psychoanalytic Reading Of The Catcher In The Rye

Holden has the choice to either act like an adult or play like a child when he comes across a problem. But not surprisingly, he can’t choose which path to follow, so he stays stuck in the middle. This middle grey area of transitioning from childhood to adulthood for Holden is what is causing his problems and what is making his choices and decisions a lot harder. Holden 's past experiences have taken a toll on him and are starting to cause present issues for him. Holden was only thirteen when his younger brother passed away and it hit him hard.

The novel, Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger reveals one stuck between their past and present can cause isolation, depression, and fearfulness for the future. Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year old, who has gotten expelled by a few schools. In the beginning of the novel, Holden describes is background and who his family is. Holden describes his parents as people who are to busy to care about their children.

Throughout the story Holden tries to suppress everything he feels which causes him to spiral out of control and do irrational things but starts to realise people need to grow up but kids also need to be kids.. When Holden 's brother, Allie, died he did this, “I was only thirteen, and they were going to have my psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage. I don 't blame them. I really don 't. 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. I even tried to break all the windows on the station wagon we had that summer, but my hand was already broken and everything by that time, and I couldn 't do it. It was a very stupid thing to do, I 'll admit, but I hardly didn 't even know I was doing it, and you didn 't know Allie.”

The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” was about the journey of a adolescent boy finding his way to adulthood. In the book Holden Caulfield was unsuccessful in finding his way to adulthood. Holden’s attitude in the novel throughout his journey was very immature. He also can't accept the fact that innocence can’t be forever protected. Lastly, Holden calls everyone a phony when in reality he is the real phony.

I keep telling him to go home and get his bike and meet me in front of Bobby Fallon 's house” (Salinger 98). Holden always keeps a spot in the back of his head for his younger brother so he can communicate with him whenever. By communicating with Allie, Holden feels better about himself, as he can recall past events that he shared with his brother. To add, the death and tormenting of Holden’s former peer, James

The adversity Holden and Pudge face exemplifies the hardship that come with the theme of coming of age. In each novel, the main character has to deal with the death of a loved one. Holden constantly reminds the reader of his brother Allie. The struggle he faces to cope with this loss is evident in how he deals with situations:”I’d make believe I was talking to my brother Allie…’Allie, don’t let me disappear’” (Salinger 198).

Holden’s Struggle To Find Himself: Throughout the novel, The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden struggles to find himself and who he truly is in order to be happy. His struggles relate to many things that he does or say in particular. Holden lacks with a social status with women and his family, whether it’s a relationship or being antisocial. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield experiences the complexities and struggles involved with both physical and emotional relationships.

Holden struggles with growing up and facing reality. There are many examples of Holden’s immaturity that are displayed in many forms such as facing responsibilities, his speech, his actions, and etc. Holden’s outlook on adult life is that it is superficial and brimming with phonies, but childhood was all about looking pleasing and innocent. He wants everything to stay the same and for time to stop. As Holden progresses in age, he will discover more about becoming mature in the

Holden must take what he has learned to make comprehensive changes in his life so he can succeed. Holden realizes he is an adult and no longer should participate in activities for children. “Go ahead, then–I’ll be on the bench ”(Salinger 211). The actualization formed here demonstrates how Holden has made an impact while trying to transition into adulthood. While some critics, such as Grace Gianni, suggest that Holden hasn’t made any progress in becoming an adult; reiterating pessimistic points of views on phonies without taking into consideration his actions (Goodreads).

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

How Holden matured People go through rough stuff in their lives, such as losing a close sibling. It seems impossible to pull yourself out of the pain and guilt of your loss. It appeared Holden was in the same predicament, but through his experiences in the novel The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger he learns to grow up. Aside from being very immature, holden refuses to grow up and dislikes people who have grown up.

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.

Holden goes through much pain in his life, even as a privileged teenager with many opportunities. He is from New York City and attends many different, prestigious private schools, but never finds his place in them. Since his favorite person in the world dies, who is his younger brother Allie; from then and on, he is not connected to his life at the various boarding schools he attends since he fails most of his classes. He is very depressed and unmotivated to save himself, regardless of the many lectures he receives from various teachers. He simply feels lousy, depressed, and extremely lonely. Therefore, I gathered a collection of movies, television shows, and books to help him while he is recovering. Holden will not be calling the TV show,

From the outset, I have to say that “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger has been one of the most important and influential pieces of literature I have ever read. At its core, the book is a superb coming of age novel which discusses several extremely powerful themes such as the difficulties of growing up, teenage angst and alienation and the superficiality, hypocrisy and pretension of the adult world. These themes resonated deeply with me and were portrayed excellently through the use of powerful symbolism and the creation of highly relatable and likable characters. One such character is Holden Caulfield whom the story both revolves around and is narrated by.

This describes Holden to-a-t, because of his alienation problem, his conflict with “phoniness” and his struggle of growing up and leaving his small problems behind him. Throughout the novel,