Preview

Reasons Behind Holden's Unusual Behavior

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
711 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Reasons Behind Holden's Unusual Behavior
What is the reason behind Holden’s unusual behavior?

Holden, the main character of the novel “Catcher in the Rye”, is different from a normal teenager. He has trouble paying attention and being focused. He lives in his own world and is very impatient. He cannot stay on topic or do good in school. All these are the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) which begins in childhood and continues through adulthood. It is possible that Holden might be suffering from ADHD.
Children with ADHD “are less likely to have close dyadic friendships” (McQuade and Hoza). During the football game with Saxon Hall, “the whole school except [Holden] was there” (Salinger 2). Holden is so lonely and does not have a lot of friends that is why
…show more content…
Holden is always cursing and often loses his temper (McQuade and Hoza). Holden got so angry when his brother Allie died that he “broke all the windows in the garage” with his “fists” (Salinger 39). People with ADHD are also more likely to “start fights” (McQuade and Hoza). Holden started fighting with Stradlater when he returned from his date with Jane. Holden likes Jane and was worried that Stradlater might have taken advantage of her. Holden “smack[ed]” Stradlater which “probably hurt him a little bit, but not as much as [he] wanted” (Salinger 43).
According to Julia D. McQuade et al., children with ADHD tend to violate camp rules and are annoying to peers. Students “weren’t allowed to smoke in the dorm”, but Holden “did it to annoy Stradlater” (Salinger 41). Holden likes to break rules and do what annoys other people. He was also “horsing around” because he knew it “annoyed” Ackley (Salinger 22). Holden often acts “inappropriate in social interactions” (McQuade and Hoza). Holden “was talking a little too loud” when meeting Luce that he asked him to “keep [his] voice down” (Salinger 147). During his date with Sally Hayes, he started “shouting” in the middle of the conversation, called her “a pain in the ass” and started “laughing” while she was crying (Salinger 130;

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Bus 599 Paper

    • 1454 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Through this paper, one will understand the trends in the global beer market. There will also be the possibility of Modelo’s international expansion. There will also be an assessment about the next foreign market that Modelo should get involved with. A decision about the challenges that Modelo faces from their competition InBev and how Modelo should respond to this beer industry giant is presented in this paper. Last but not least, a discussion about weather or not Modelo should diversify their business is stated in this paper.…

    • 1454 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Holden Caulfield is J.D. Salinger’s main character in The Catcher in the Rye. We learn several interesting things about Holden, however, while learning the these we are not experiencing or seeing what Holden is. We learn about it through Holden’s perspective throughout the entire story like, for example, the death of his younger brother, Allie or the time James Castle committed suicide by jumping out of the school window. Most of these experiences have a significant meaning behind them and we find these out by reading the book. We get to know Holden in a personal way. While reading, comprehending, and understanding Holden’s emotions towards the encounters he has with the characters in this book, which makes it very interesting.…

    • 122 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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…

    • 136 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The handout; “Rebel Without a Cause”, had some information about adolescents’ poor adjustments to reality in the 1950s that relates to Holden’s life in the novel. For instance, the handout mentions that “middle-class women who remained homemakers in the 1950s often expressed unhappiness at the insignificance of their lives”. This relates to Holden’s life because he often expresses the unhappiness of his life throughout chapters one to seven. For one, he absolutely hates phonies that he was surrounded with. For instance, he briefly mentions “one of the biggest reasons [he] left Elkton Hills was because [he] was surrounded by phonies... [He] can’t stand that stuff. It drives him crazy. It makes [him] so depressed [that he’d] go crazy. [He} hated…

    • 206 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Holden, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye spends his whole life with his family until his younger brother Allie died. After that his family becomes broken with grief after losing their youngest son. His parents send Holden to boarding school in hopes that he would be in a better environment. The school only makes things worse, by leading him to alcohol smoking and isolation. Despite his age, he turns to substances to numb the pain. Smoking becomes a regular habit of escapism for him. Holden always looks for someone to love him but at the same time never wants anyone to get close, fearing that they may reject him and he will be hurt. He continues to isolate himself from anyone that could potentially help him and continues to smoke and drink attempting to find solution in that. When Holden arrives at Penn Station he wants to talk to someone but never does: “So I ended up not calling anybody. I came out of the booth, after about twenty minutes or so.” (Salinger, 91) Holden is looking for help but doesn't have the courage to actually go and ask someone for help. Fear of rejection and being hurt again holds him back from asking for the help he needs. He also doesn't have a very strong group of friends or family a key support system to help overcome a loss. He always wants to call his friend Jane to seek comfort, but he never does because he is too worried that she will reject…

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    proves that he is very insulting towards women and the way he perceives them. Another example of Holden being insulting would be when he talked about sex and girls. In the quote: “I mean most girls are so dumb. After…

    • 163 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout the story, Holden isolates himself from everyone else. One way he isolates himself is by wearing a red hunting hat, which he bought all by himself in New York. A red hunting hat alone is an odd and unique hat for a teenager to wear, but Holden even wears it in a weird fashion. Today’s teenagers strive to be different from each other, and one way they express themselves is through their clothes. Another reason for Holden’s isolation is his impulsiveness throughout the whole story. In the beginning of the novel, Holden thinks that his roommate Stradlater took advantage of Jane and gets into a fight with him. After getting a hard hit in the face, Holden tells Stradlater “to go wash his own moron face – which was a pretty childish thing to say, but [he] was mad as hell” (45). Today’s teenagers often get into fights and become impulsive because of the anger built up from their fights. After Sally refuses Holden’s request to run away with him, he becomes annoyed and calls her a “royal pain in the ass” (133). He quickly regrets it, but he is unable to take back what he said. Holden’s inconsiderate words show the trouble he has communicating with others, and give a reason to why he is isolated and friendless. Even today’s teenagers have situations when they say careless things and lose a possible friend. On the night that his little brother, Allie, died, he slept in the garage and “broke all the goddam windows with [his] fist, just for the hell of it” (39). The loss of a loved family member is something everyone can relate to at least once in their lifetimes, and surely it will be a painful experience that will drive one to do impulsive things. Everyone will, is, or has been a teenager in their lives so they are able to relate to…

    • 1244 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfield Misfit

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The initial publisher of Catcher in the Rye thought Holden Caulfield was insane. In the story “Catcher in the Rye” by, J.D. Salinger, Holden was a 16 year old boy who kept being sent to different boarding schools. He had gotten kicked out of a few, before wanting to run away and not go back to the schools. His reason for being kicked out is because everyone in his schools were phony and he did not like it. Holden and society are a misfit, but Holden is the problem in this story. One example, Holden does not think before he does something. He blurts things out without thinking of the consequences of his actions. The second example is, he alienates himself from the rest of the world. He does not like a lot of people because he feels they are phony. Oddly enough, he himself has also been phony in the story. Lastly, he tries to drink his problems away. All of these signs add up to what makes Holden a misfit.…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger writes about a troubled teen named Holden Caulfield who undergoes failing school and travels through New York City at night. Salinger depicts Holden as someone with uncontrollable anger, many anxieties, extreme loneliness, powerful love, and numerous fears. All of this molds Holden into a complex person with an unusual personality and unique traits that make him different and unable to accept most of the people around him. In addition, there seems to be a deep connection between many of the things that he did and his own personality traits. The most prominent traits of Holden Caulfield, displayed through his speech, actions, and thoughts, are that he is judgmental, lonely, and depressed.…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden Caulfield, has strange tendencies that could be diagnosed as a mental disorder or multiple disorders. Thinking like a psychiatrist, this book has plenty to dissect. Reading a classic, such as Catcher, can really draw the reader into the story and make them feel like they are a part of that world. Holden Caulfield’s world has a lot going on.…

    • 948 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the early chapters of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is seen talking with friends such as Stradlater and Ackley. Throughout the book, he is separated further from his friends. Later in the book, Holden meets one of his friends named Luce from one of his old schools, but he “has to tear”. Holden is once again alone. Salinger changes Holden’s interactions with strangers to show his loneliness. Evidence of this is seen when Holden asks a taxi driver if he would like to “stop on the way and join me for a cocktail”. The fact that Holden asks someone he’s never met, and likely never will meet again for a drink, shows his desperation for friendship. Salinger ultimately leaves him with no friends, and only then does Holden “sort of miss everyone”, “even old Stradlater and…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    To begin, Holden had to deal with the loss of his younger brother, Allie. Holden was 13 when his brother passed away, and being his age made it especially traumatic. Holding off and describe his brother as a kind and intelligent person. After Allie's passing Holden reacted with very violent actions. "They were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage" (Salinger 38). In the PTSD article they describe this as being a symptom of the disorder.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Holden is still trying to get a grip at maturity as he is regardless a rebellious teenager, just as shown though our adolescents today. This kind of behavior and attitude grasps onto most high schoolers as they are trying to grow up faster. Most are missing what’s behind them and aren’t realizing what they have left. “Sometimes I act a lot older than I am--I really do--but people never notice it. People never notice anything” (Salinger 22). Holden has been trying to get away from the life he has, and wants to be grown up for all the freedom they are allowed to have. There comes a point in everyone's life where they just become…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Catcher In The Rye Themes

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages

    He has habits to play around when he is bored. He’ll mess around with whoever is near such as his friends. Every once in awhile, he will reminisce about his past like his family. Holden misses his younger brother after he passed away. After Holden is kicked out of Pencey, he doesn’t want to go home early for Christmas break. He most likely didn’t because he didn’t want to get in trouble and have to be disciplined during the break. He acts as if he is a child being afraid before punishment. When he became intoxicated, he acted as if he had been shot in his side (195). He did so while he walked down the street. Another thing was that he is curious about where the ducks go in the wintertime. He doesn’t know so he asks a couple of cab drivers. Overall, he acts childish whenever he can. Salinger made a great effort on making Holden the way he is.…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Holden and Stradlater began fighting because Stradlater "[gave Jane] the time in Ed Banky's goddam car,"(43) which upset Holden because he didn't like the idea of another guy sleeping with the girl he liked. After being hit to the floor by Stradlater, "[Holden] didn't even bother to get up. [He] just lay there on the floor for a while, and kept calling [Stradlater] a moron sonuvabitch. [He] was so mad, [he] was practically bawling."(45) It is very common for teenagers to have an emotional reaction to anger. Holden continues to hide his emotions behind anger, but eventually will become overwhelmed and have mental breakdown at any point. Holden is supposed to mirror the idea of an average teenager. Like most teenagers, Holden is going through the stages of grief due to a big loss. One day "[Holden] started talking, sort of loud, to Allie. [He] do that sometimes when [he] get very depressed...."(98) Holden continues to deny the fact that Allie is dead and expresses that denial by talking so calmly and casually about…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics