Holden Caulfield Psychoanalysis

J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye shows Freud’s theories of the unconscious and conscious state through the protagonist Holden Caulfield, who is an adolescent who is depressed and alone among other emotions presented to the reader. According to Jeffrey S. Nevid, the author of Psychology Concepts and Applications, Sigmund Freud is the founding father of psychology; Freud is also the creator of the theory of personality which consist the Id, Ego, and Superego. Also that “the mind consists of three levels of consciousness” (Nevid 469) that obtain desires and emotions. Using the lens of psychoanalytical analysis, which Kendra Cherry defines in her article in What is Psychoanalysis as “a set of psychological theories…that have their origin

He seems to have trouble containing control of being in a relationship and in general knowing how to actually communicate with the opposite sex. Freud provides the explanation of Holden not having enough bonding with his primary caregiver, which is his mother as mentioned by Kendra Cherry in her article Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development. The article Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality in the website Boundless defines the Id, which is one part of the mind as claimed by Freud, as the “most primitive…concerned with instant gratification…[with its] needs and urges”(Boundless 6) that in this case, emerges from Holden not connecting enough with his mother. Thus takes over Holden’s unconscious by him taking action on things that are not appropriate for the given time. For example in The Catcher in the Rye it is extremely late at night and he “all of a sudden, [gets] this idea” (Salinger 63) and without thinking of the time or what is going on “[gives] her, [Faith Cavendish] a buzz” (Salinger 63) because Holden is a young man who feels alone and wants the affection he did not obtain as a child; his unconscious holds the desires or feelings that do not have control of what is right. Salinger has this comparison with Holden by him in his childhood not being close to his mother. Also, Salinger is not a person who seems to have healthy

Donald E. Hall the author of Literary and Culture Theory states “Human activity is not reducible to conscious intent” (Hall 105), which goes with Holden imagining what he thinks will happen in situations throughout his adolescent life when he feels that it should go a different direction and is not someone who wants to face reality. For example in The Catcher in the Rye instead of being mature and facing his parents he decides that he “may get a job on a ranch” (Salinger 165), but keep in touch when he leaves. Freud’s look on Holden would elucidate that his “Unconscious thoughts and feelings [are being] transfer[red] to the conscious mind” (McLeod 3) as stated by Saul McLeod in his article Psychoanalysis. Rather than growing up Holden decides to wonder off and do what his Id is leading him to; something as irrational as getting a job in a ranch when he is a city boy and has no actual explanation as to why he should leave. A sense of morality is what Holden barely contains, since in The Catcher in the Rye Holden imagines that he would go and hurt Old Maurice for what Maurice has caused him. Sigmund Freud’s theories defines Holden dealing with not being “fully self-aware and in control of all fears, desires, and conflicting emotions that can propel actions” (Hall 105) throughout his young