Overcoming Trauma in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye

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Overcoming Trauma in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden is in a rest home, where he speaks about his past and discusses his thoughts and feelings of his memories. Holden tells about his life including his past experiences at many different private schools, most recently Pensey Prep, his friends, and his late brother Allie which led to Holden’s own mental destruction. I believe that Holden Caulfield is mentally disturbed and shows many signs of it throughout the novel. Problems in Holden’s life that have led him to this rest home are the death of his brother Allie, his multiple failures throughout his academic career, and his distress about moving on in life. Holden deals with these problems by drinking and smoking throughout the novel. He also shows depression throughout the novel by being kicked out of multiple schools and being over-critical of people when he describes them. I feel that he is very disturbed and had not been able to deal with his problems before. Unfortunately his feelings such as the loss of Allie ha...

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