Holden Caulfield Psychology

In J.D. Salinger’s novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” it is nothing less than evident that the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is suffering from various psychological matters. When Holden first presents himself to the reader he uses words such as crap, goddamn, lousy, and hate (Salinger 1). His aggressive tone immediately warns the reader that he is not all that fond about talking about his life and he is not interested at all in telling them his “whole goddamn autobiography or anything” (Salinger 1). This exhibits Holden's remarkable feature of rebelliousness. Throughout the novel, Freudian theory can be applied to give the readers a better, more explicit, understanding of how and why he behaves as he does (Psychoanalytical Approaches). It is

most certain that Holden has a battle with his id, ego, and superego.
To begin with Holden has a substantial complication following orders and fitting into the rules and regulations society had. This presents Holden with a conflict with his superego. The superego is known for having “an embodiment of parental and social values… and forces rules” (Psychoanalytical Approaches). The superego is also the moral part of the mind which operates according to the morality principle; since Holden does not wish to abide by society’s rules and regulations, he is repressed by society. An example in which Holden is faced with authority figures is in school, “They kicked me out…they gave me frequent warnings to start applying myself - especially around midterms… but I didn't do it” (Salinger 4). In this example, society represents the superego, but more specifically the school faculty is repressing Holden’s superego. The majority of the time he represses the id and that is when authority figures step in and try to bring Holden back to morality and have the superego repress the id. Due to the repression of the superego, he lacks motivation and leads him to not applying himself in school. This leads to conflict between the id and superego.
The id can be defined as “containing all the basic needs and feelings, and is the source of the libido (also known as psychic energy)” (Psychologic Approaches).

Moreover, the id operates according to the pleasure principle In this case the id manifest itself in Holden’s attitudes and decisions, it is most noticeable when he flees from everything he dislikes and represses him. For instance , when Holden tells Strandlater of his decision about leaving Pencey, “I’d get the hell out of Pencey…” (Salinger 51). This clearly shows how his id is trying to get immediate gratification and trying to quell his repression (Nevid). Further on, his need for immediate gratification continues when he states that he needs a little vacation (Salinger 51). He continues on and states that he will “get the hell out of Pencey” (Salinger 51). This shows how the id is the one driving, blocking out the superego, and making all the decisions for him. Another characteristic that shows Holden being dictated by the id is his constant lying and deception. Holden himself claims lying and deceiving is a part of him and he doesn't so easily without taking into account the feelings of others: “ I’m the most terrific list you ever saw in your life” (Salinger 16). No matter the setting or circumstances Holden is always lying, he simply cannot avoid lying. Essentially, this also reveals that he is fixated on Freud’s oral stage on psychosexual stages of development due to his lying and lack of trust he has on the people he communicates with

(McLeod).
On the other hand, Holden's ego, is very much lively in his behavior. However, there is a vigorous conflict between his id ( all the instantaneous decisions he makes) and his ego (growing awareness of everyone and everything surrounding him) (Nevis). The ego makes Holden aware of who he really is. However, the id tries to get the ego to join and come together. An example of the ego brining awareness to Holden is when he is packing and getting ready to leave Pencey: “…packing depressed me a little. I had to pack these brand-new ice skates my mother had practically just sent me…that depressed me…” (Salinger 51). Here, it is evident that the ego triggers him to feel concerned for his mother’s feelings despite the fact that the skates were not the right ones. This also shows how he will not let his id gain any control over his ego. While he is fully aware of who he really is in this setting and ware of the situation and the possible toll that it will have on his mother, he is preparing to leave Pencey forever. The id’s presence is telling him to act now and get out of Pencey.
In Holden, the ego respects the superego. His ego is present in matters concerning his family, but also when it comes to society and its rules which essentially is the manifestation of the superego. Holden has an aversion of society’s customs, but he is aware of the consequences. The superego is the big repressor, in order to survive in society and not be punished. Holden's awareness of some customs of society are visible when he meets new people. For example, “I’m always saying ‘Glad to’ve met you’ to somebody…if you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though” (Salinger 87). Even though it seems that his id is the dictator of his mind, it hardly ever succeeds. Society – which works as the superego is frequently successful in repressing his desires.
The reason for so much substantial conflict in Holden's life, particularly with his id, ego, and superego is due to his childhood that has affected his adolescence. What severely affects him the most is his brother Allie’s death, which took a major toll on him. Especially since he never got proper closure of his brother’s death. Allie’s death plays a major role in his psychological breakdown. Holden's mental state is severely damaged and has led him to suffer from depression; everything and everyone around him depresses him. His depression is also the cause of his insane thoughts of suicided on a few occasions “what I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out a window” (Salinger 104). Holden also feels haplessness and isolation in chapter thirteen when he is about to have an affair with a prostitute, he refuses to go through with it and insists that he only wishes to have someone to talk to. Then he goes on and says he is “ a real sex manic” (Salinger 107). Looking at Holden from an Eriksonian perspective, Erikson would say that in his stages of psychosocial development he substitutes intimacy for identity at adolescence. At this stage of adolescence the age is twelve through eighteen. The job of the adolescence is to achieve a solid sense of identity and not substitute identity for intimacy. Holden not having any goals is also related to his identity crisis. He is confused for trying to establish intimacy instead of identifying himself. For certain Holden does not have any goals in his life. When asked by Phobe if there was anything he likes, he was unable to think of anything.