Holden Caulfield Psychoanalysis
According to American Association Suicidology, an estimated 17 million adult Americans suffer from depression during any year-long period, and between 44-70% of them do not receive any treatment. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, displays a perfect example of a teenager going through chronic depression and their use of different coping methods which eventually leads to a mental breakdown. This teenager, Holden Caulfield, psychologically crumbles under manic depression through a series of agonizing events. These events truly affect his psychological state and eventually separates him from his chance of regaining his mental health. Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye fails to overcome his mental challenges and attempts
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When Phoebe asked him what he would like to be in the future, he wasn’t quite sure at first. Then, he came up with an idea being a “catcher in the rye”. He explains, “I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come from somewhere and catch them” (224-225). In other words, he dreams to protect children from losing their innocence and “falling” into adulthood. Because Holden himself is afraid of maturing and losing his innocence, he claims that he desires to help other people from losing their purity too. After traumatic events such as Allie’s death, Holden hated the corruption of innocence and began to think that he can become a “catcher in the rye” and prevent other people from experiencing what others around him did. He believes that he could eternally protect these “children” and himself from the awful reality of maturation. This provides another reason why he tries to avoid situations that require him to act like an adult. Holden wants to perpetually live the life of a “catcher in the rye” and perhaps keep himself too from falling into adulthood. Hence, Holden constantly displays his fear of maturing through avoidance, which contributes to his deteriorating mental
When Phoebe asked him what he would like to be in the future, he wasn’t quite sure at first. Then, he came up with an idea being a “catcher in the rye”. He explains, “I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come from somewhere and catch them” (224-225). In other words, he dreams to protect children from losing their innocence and “falling” into adulthood. Because Holden himself is afraid of maturing and losing his innocence, he claims that he desires to help other people from losing their purity too. After traumatic events such as Allie’s death, Holden hated the corruption of innocence and began to think that he can become a “catcher in the rye” and prevent other people from experiencing what others around him did. He believes that he could eternally protect these “children” and himself from the awful reality of maturation. This provides another reason why he tries to avoid situations that require him to act like an adult. Holden wants to perpetually live the life of a “catcher in the rye” and perhaps keep himself too from falling into adulthood. Hence, Holden constantly displays his fear of maturing through avoidance, which contributes to his deteriorating mental