Catcher In The Rye Psychoanalytic Analysis

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The Catcher in The Rye The psychoanalytic lens discusses about an individual ‘s actions based on their conscious and unconscious mind. The novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger focuses around a depressed protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Holden suffers from the death of his young brother Allie and struggles with transition from his innocent childhood to his sophisticated adulthood. This transition eventually influences his mental state of mind causing him to experience loneliness, frustration and alienation. The novel is better understandable from psychoanalytic lens rather then existentialism perspective because of Holden’s conscious actions and unconscious desires which seems throughout the novel. The transition of an innocent imaginative life to the materialistic and shallow life of adults isolates Holden from those around him. This isolation is …show more content…

He wants to be safe and be The Catcher in the Rye in order to protect innocence of children.” Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody”. ( Salinger 212) .The fear of being an adult start a battle of tug and war within Holden. It is a war between infanthood and adulthood , between innocence and phoniness. This battle causes him to live alive of misbelieve, which creates him psychiatric patient. Holden fears landing from his misbelieve, to the world hypocrites which hate the most. Meanwhile, Holden has extremely strong feeling that he will not only loss his protection, but also will be vulnerable to adult’s world. Holden suggested to not share your thoughts with an adult, because they won’t assist a kid to find a resolution but rather they feel you how irresponsible and immature life a child has. Thus, Holden hates phony because they have double standards and hypocrisy, have been interested in worldly

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