One of the most obvious diagnoses for Holden is that he suffers from depression. Throughout the entire book, he is always talking about the fact that one thing or another is causing him to feel lonely or to feel depressed. A lot of the time, he fails to accomplish even the most basic goals. He emerges as a perpetual defeatist, which is one of the classic signs of clinical depression. The fact that he turns to alcohol to try and make himself feel better is just another possible indicator of depression; many people who suffer from that malady turn to alcohol to try and feel…
Holden Caulfield, age 17, was brought to me, Dr. Joseph M. Guerrieri M.D. at Sutter Center for Psychiatry, by his parents as a result of his recent behaviors. Holden is a 6‘2” tall and healthy young man. In multiple therapy sessions he has brought up his family and friends. One family member in particular that was brought up was his younger brother, Allie, who passed away of leukemia when Holden was 13 years old. (Salinger 49) Allie’s death seems to be the root of Holden's behaviors. Since the death of his younger brother, Holden has not been able to cope with the loss and can not find happiness. This is why I believe Holden Caulfield is suffering from Clinical Depression. Clinical Depression is initiated by a sudden lose or major change in one's life. (Depression Center | Symptoms & Treatment 2017) This sudden change was undoubtedly brought upon because of the loss of his younger brother.…
Explanation: By this point in the novel, the reader might gather that Holden has a mental disorder. This is clear to the reader when Mr. Antolini talks to Holden about planning his future and overcoming his condition. Specifically, Holden could possibly have Schizophrenia. According to WebMD, “Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder that distorts the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality, and relates to others” (http://www.webmd.com). All of these…
Traumatic experiences like the death of his brother Allie has not allowed him to move on.“ I know he’s dead….just because somebody is dead you don’t stop liking them..”(171). This shows that Holden has not been able to move on with his life because Allie is still a main focus of his life even though he is not physically there. Holden does not want anything to change, he wants everything to stay the same. That is one of the reasons he likes the Museum of Natural History, because it will always remain the same, it represents stability and security to him.“…every time I’d get to the end of the block I’d make believe I was talking to my brother Allie I’d say to him ‘Allie don’t let me disappears’…when I’d reach the other side of the street without disappearing, I’d thank him”(198). Holden suffers from extreme loneliness, however he does not anyone to get close to him, I believe that, yes , Holden has a problem, but it can be cured by giving Holden support, so he can build confidence within himself, so that one day he can be ready to open up to…
When Holden leaves Pencey Prep and goes out into New York to live in hotels, he has several moments when he had Jane on his mind and wanted to contact her. However, each time he decides to call her, he ultimately does not do so because he is scared of what Jane would think of him now that his innocence is no longer. The most apparent example of this is when Holden got drunk at the whisky bar after he met with Carl Luce, and old school mate of his. After getting so drunk that he could barely see straight, Holden went to the phone booth to call up Jane but he decided not to and to call Sally Hayes instead. “Finally what I felt like, I felt like giving old Jane a buzz and see if she was home yet. So I paid my check and all … But when I got inside…
There were recurring patterns Holden unconsciously fell into that contributed to his depression and then there were events that halted these depressions. The events that contributed to his depression were that he judged people, he judged himself and he did not take care of himself. Of course there were events that halted the depression such as the act of love shown by his sister Phoebe. Love is perceived as forgiveness, peace, living in the moment and happiness. His sister is the only person in the book who shows these characteristics. As for Holden he never doesn’t experience love at all, he is always depressed and is never really happy in the book. Except when he is with his sister, he feels happy and is in the moment.…
This passage clearly identifies Holden’s ego, where the readers can easily depict his concern about his mother spending time and money on a present, yet they were the wrong kind. The concept of his own mother buying him a gift when he is now being kicked out of school depresses him. However, he seems to contradict his own feelings because he makes it clear that he is ready to get away from school without thinking twice. This is exemplified as the id’s manifestation with the thought of knowing how disappointed his family will be known as the ego’s manifestation.…
The strongest proof of this is when Holden himself admits that he is depressed. Also, in one part of the story, Holden was crazy for girl company, but hearing that she went to the movies, de didn’t feel that way anymore. Additionally, he told Sally that they should run away together and live a new life, showing that he is dissatisfied with society and wishes for a better place. Holden also thinks about moving west where he can become a “deaf-mute,” indicating that he wants to be isolated from society. Furthermore, he also finds the mummies, which in a way, are deaf-mute, comforting. This all shows the depression within Holden.…
Holden copes with his problems by running away from places and starting anew. An example of this would be when he left Pencey. Holden had many issues with school there, but the simplest is that he could not grow up like the rest of his school. Holden did not have the responsibility of handling grades, social changes, and everything else that an average 17-year-old would experience. After getting kicked out for failing almost every subject, Holden had a few more days before he had to leave school; with nothing to do, he decides to go to New York for a few days. “...I yelled at the top of my goddamn voice ‘Sleep tight, ya morons!’ I’ll bet I woke up every bastard on the whole floor. Then I got the hell out.” (Salinger 54). Holden escaped from Pencey, all of the people whom he disliked and all of the problems he was convinced it caused him, so he would not have to deal with them. Another example of how Holden does this is when he addresses his idea to run away with Sally. He thinks this because Holden strongly dislikes what he thinks society is, which in turn causes him to hate living. This idea leads to Holden conceptualizing the idea of running away to Vermont or Massachusetts with…
Often times, a death might bring unexpected negative consequences to the grieving people, and cause them to act out or adjust differently to life without them. Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, was the most afflicted in his family by his brother’s death, and he faces the ongoing repercussions of it. Shortly after Allie's death, Holden need a psychanalyst to help him cope, but never fully moved past his brother's passing. Therefore, the death of Allie affects Holden’s depressive behavior, his transition between childhood and adulthood, and finally, his realization of growing up is essential in life.…
Check out all those things that make holden depressed. Do they have anything in common?…
Holden vainly seeks for innocence in society only developing anger and depression as a result. Holden acts disturbingly at the thought of Jane, his childhood friend, having a casual encounter with his room…
The novel The Catcher in the Rye takes place in New York during the 1950's. The main character is a fifteen-year-old boy Holden, he takes the reader through a story depicting the loss of innocence. Holden believes everyone is innocent, but they inevitably loose it somehow by the time they are adolescent. Holden believes innocence is lost in childhood. Holden is extremely concerned about this and believes he can stop the loss of innocence by becoming the "Catcher in the Rye."…
After being with Mr. Antolini, Holden had an anxiety attack. He said, “When something perverty like that happens, I start sweating like a bastard. That kind of stuff’s happened to me about twenty times since I was a kid.”(PDF 95). He vaguely explained why he was sweating and freaking out. It was because at at least twenty points in his life he was sexually abused. The reaction that Holden has, for example the sweating, is a normal side effect to having gone through what he has. For children who have been sexually abused, one of the biggest things that they lose is trust. Especially with family members, the main reason trust can be lost with family is because the victim can blame them for not protecting them or because their abuser was family. By losing trust with the people in the world, one can turn to substance abuse. For Holden he did this, he drank many times till he was completely gone. Also, depression and suicide behavior is common. Both of which Holden encountered. Some could argue that Holden has every right to act the way he does and that it is normal and right to run to substances to cope with what happened. But, no matter what kind of traumatic abuse one goes through in their lives, it is not one’s fault. It is necessary to understand that the person/persons that abused you need to be held accountable for what happened, not oneself. It is never too late in life to begin the healing…
Patient Holden Caulfield demonstrates signs of depression brought out by Allie and drinking, isolation brought out by phonies and lack of social skills, and lying tendencies brought out by his determination to protect his reputation and the innocence of children. The death of Allie promotes Holden’s depressive states, while his drinking behaviors attempt to cover it up but make it worse. Also, Holden’s isolation is enhanced by his hatred towards people who are phonies in society and his lack of communication skills. Lastly, lying is induced by the need to enhance his self esteem and make him look good, as well as his determination to protect children from losing their innocence. By Holden experiencing depression, isolation and lying tendencies,…