While some believe that a teenager acting rebellious is a symptom of a mental disorder, there is evidence to suggest that they rather are just developing and act that way due to how their brain works. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, is a fiction novel that places the main character Holden Caulfield in New York City for majority of his journey during the 1940’s. Two different articles “The Adolescent Brain” by Harvard Mental Health Letter and “Anxiety Disorders” by D’arcy Lyness are sources that provide information on the adolescent brain and scientific reasons as to why they act how they do. Holden is a typical teenager because he participates in normal teenage behaviors like stating his independence and being rebellious, lying, and …show more content…
normal doses of anxiety when called for in everyday life. Holden participates in normal teen activities when he displays his independence and disobeys his parents’ wishes.
In the article “The Adolescent Brain” by Harvard Mental Health Letter, it states that teens “need to assert their independence and explore their limits, by taking risks . . . and rebelling against parents”. One can say that Holden participates by going against he’s parents frequently and asserts his independence. For example when Holden leaves Pencey early to take time off for himself, “When I was all set to go . . . I yelled at the top of my goddam voice, ‘Sleep tight, ya morons!’ . . . Then I got the hell out.” (Salinger 52). Showing that Holden felt no guilt for leaving and becoming independent from his boarding school, where as a younger child might feel afraid to go out on their own and see the world alone like that. Furthermore, Holden also shows that he is excited to leave he’s normal environment and go test out the world around him by not showing any regret in his decision to leave.Some might say that Holden leaving campus early is a symptom of depression or some other form of mental disorder, as stated in “Bipolar Disorder” by Ann Marie T. Sullivan that behavioral changes occur with symptoms of “Increasing goal-directed activities, such as taking on new projects”. However Holden doesn’t view he’s leaving as taking on a new project, he views it as taking a break from the situation that he is in currently and then back to what he had previously started, …show more content…
which is talking to his parents about his grades. Therefore, acting rebellious and showing independence demonstrates typical behavior for a teenager like Holden Caulfield. Lying has been a trend of human nature for a very long period of time, lately it has been most prominent in the teenage years, Holden Caulfield is an example of a teen who participates in the activity of lying. In the article “The Adolescent Brain” by Harvard Mental Health Letter, it states that teens participate in “breaking rules.” Although this can include more than just lying, it’s very obvious that Holden partakes in this by his overall behavior towards others, especially lying to them. In the novel Holden’s lies can be seen when he is on the train speaking with Mrs. Morrow and when asked his name he states its “Rudolf Schmidt” (Salinger 55) and then while they continue their conversation he makes up lies and states that he “started shooting the old crap around a bit.”(Salinger 55). This could mean that he started playing around with her in attempts to make her happier, even though what he was saying wasn’t exactly true. For Holden to lie in this situation was very uncalled for considering he would most likely never see this women again in his life, but it does show he participates in everyday teen culture by lying for the fun of it, and not to just get out of trouble. He can also be seen lying when he is in an everyday situation like the one just presented, whether it be talking to a complete stranger or to someone who he already knows. When Holden was on the phone with Faith he lied about his name there as well, most likely because he had felt embarrassed about the whole matter. Holden is a normal teen by allowing himself to lie to others to save himself embarrassment or just for fun, which is traditionally practiced in teen society. Anxiety is apparent in normal society; it is an emotional response to nervousness of tests, projects, or even performances.
In the article “Anxiety Disorders” written by D’Arcy Lyness it states that “Anxiety can be described as a sense of uneasiness, nervousness, worry, fear, or dread of what’s about to happen.” This can easily be seen in Holden by his sense of awareness for those around him and those he cares about, although he doesn’t always have anxiety when it can be applied, like to school work. For example Holden was extremely worried about his sister phoebe when she was riding around on the carousel, because he thought that she might fall off. “I was sort of afraid she’d fall off the damn horse, but I didn’t say anything or do anything” (Salinger 211). It shows that Holden is afraid for his sister and people that he cares about, but in normal cases because she was standing up on a moving machine, which is a typical thing to be worried about when dealing with younger people. Also Holden can be seen having slight anxiety by leaving school early to go and be in NYC for a couple days on his own, he was too afraid to face his own parents because he knew they would be angry with him, so instead he decided to just take some time for himself and attempt to sort things out. Some might say that Holden is suffering from a more serious disorder, like bi-polar disorder because of his “impulsive behavior” (Bipolar Disorder) however Holden’s impulsive behavior is just a reaction to
his normal anxiety that is found throughout everyday life, and in typical teens. Holden Caulfield has small doses of normal anxiety that can be found in normal teens across the world. Holden Caulfield is a normal teen who is not suffering from any form of serious mental disorder. Holden displays typical teen behavior like lying, asserting his independence and rebelling against parents, and small amounts of anxiety when appropriate. Holden was experiencing a difficult time in life and decided to handle it by leaving his school, and taking time for himself to decide the best way to handle his issues. But doing this does not make him have a mental disorder or any different from what a typical teen would be. Many teens have to deal with mental disorders but luckily because of modern medicine and support from their families and friends they don’t have to face it alone.
Holden experiences agitation and irritability towards dealing with people he perceives at phonies. HIs agitation comes with the experiences he has had with people such as Ackley, Stradlater, his parents, and others he can interpret as fake or that have done things in the past to irritate him. His irritation among people is very common and repetitive throughout the book where it could be identified as a symptom of PTSD. For example, a scene Holden demonstrates agitation is when he talks to Phoebe about what his parents might do to him since he had gotten kicked out of yet another school; Pencey. “No, he won’t. The worst he’ll do, he’ll give me hell again, and then he’ll send me to military school.” (Salinger 166). Holden’s agitation comes from
Holden’s childhood was far from ideal, with Allie dying, his dysfunctional parents and the revelation that he had some “perverty” stuff happen to him when he was a kid. Due to this, he isn't ready to step into adulthood and leave his childhood behind. This is why Holden is mostly alienated from adults and connects more to the innocence of children like the girl at the park and his sister, Phoebe. However, Holden is disillusioned with both adulthood and childhood. He already knows how it feels to be an adult; drinking alcohol, being independent, living by himself and caring for Phoebe, but isn’t ready to immerse himself in it.
Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.
Holden’s apparent desire to be separated from the majority of his family and friends appears to have been triggered by the death of his younger brother Allie. From Allie’s there has been a downward spiral in Holden’s relationships, as he begins to avoid contact with others and isolate himself more. The reason I believe this is because we can see how immense his anger is after Allie’s death, ‘I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist’. The death of Allie has become like an awakening to Holden, and has alerted him how precious childhood innocence is, when Holden comes to this realisation he convinces himself to do everything within his power to protect the innocence of himself and those around him, to protect them from what he sees as a false adult world. Although Holden clearly fails to protect himself, as he falls into all sorts of situations which hardly boasts of innocence and virt... ...
Do you ever wish you could return to the early time of your existence where the innocence and purity of childhood enveloped you on a day-to-day basis? These were the times when committing wrong doings were not only met with meager consequences, but also expected of you by the parental guardians or guides in your life. In "The Catcher in the Rye" , written by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, expresses his yearning for this feeling continuously throughout this detailed depiction of a struggling young man who craves nothing more than to make the dream he has given his entire being to, into a reality he can physically experience. A simpler way to help readers understand his complex idea is to compare his dream to the dreams of the fabled "Fountain of Youth" that countless stories are written about. Instead of the physical attributes that staying young would give an individual, the mental ideals of innocence and purity are the cause of Holden's tireless pursuit and inability to interact and function in every facet of society. The tragedies and socially awkward life that Salinger's character endures would be extremely damaging to most any human being's, already precariously balanced, mental health. The symptoms of popular health disorders such as bipolar disorder, anti-social disorder, and anxiety disorders are expressed prominently by Holden Caulfield throughout the entire novel.
As Holden Caulfield interacts with others and meets new challenges, he reveals his innermost feelings throughout The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Some may interpret his behaviors as teenage angst, but others find that Holden reveals traits of a mental disorder. Specifically, Holden suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder “is a serious mental illness marked by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships” (NIMH). He often experiences uncontrollable rage that results in altercations and behaves on impulse when handling money. He also shows signs of addiction when consuming alcohol. Additionally, Holden has trouble maintaining positive relationships with
Adolescence a period of life when a child develops from a child into an adult. It is the stage of development in which psychological changes occur and efforts towards creating an identity begin. Clearly, it is an emotionally straining and stressful period. In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger we are introduce to an adolescence boy. From first impressions would let one to believe Holden Caulfield is just any other teenager going through a phase of rebellion. The truth of the matter is that Holden’s angst arises from a deeper problem. He detains himself from accepting adulthood and latches on to a perfection that results from child-like innocence. By gripping on to the idea of maintaining permanent innocence Holden becomes a more than a rebellious teenager, he becomes lost and further problems emerge.
Before this book was written in it's time frame, Holden deals with some struggles that change and impact his life quite a bit. The author portrays Holden's personality through his actions for the audience to understand him. Some of the actions are going back to visit the museum, calling and visiting Phoebe at home, visiting the park, keeping Allie's baseball mitt, wearing the red hunting hat, and asking about the ducks. These examples all play a part in showing that Holden is afraid of change. Holden is starting to grow up and make the transition into an adult, but the audience can tell Holden is struggling. Holden's decisions such as smoking, drinking constantly, buying a prostitute, and staying out late at night show his attempts to face adult life. However, when faced
Throughout the book, he experiences many random crying spells. “I was sort of crying. I don’t know why” (59). He in this instance, is crying because he is overwhelmed and wants everything in his life to stop changing. He is a teenager, who takes his emotions to the next level, and overreacts over things he cannot control. Worrying is one Holden’s pure talents, because he does it almost all the time even about things that does not apply to him. “I don’t want to interrupt my worrying to go” (40). He worries so much that it prevents him from going out and doing something worthwhile in his life. His teenage sense of overdramatics kicks in, to the point he cannot stop his negative dwellings to even move. This dwelling on the negative, tends to get him in rough situations all due to his constant
However, his feelings suggest that the true reason for his depression is his loss of Innocence. When he was 13 years old, he lost his little brother Allie to leukemia. Allie meant a lot to Holden. He even becomes a symbol in the book. Allie is the one who keeps Holden from falling of the cliff, he’s the reason that he hasn’t lost his innocence yet. “Every time I came to the end of a block and stepped off the goddam curb, I had this feeling that I'd never get to the other side of the street. I thought I'd just go down, down, down, and nobody'd ever see me again. Boy, did it scare me. You can't imagine. I started sweating like a bastard—my whole shirt and underwear and everything. Then I started doing something else. Every time I'd get to the end of a block I'd make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I'd say to him, "Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Please, Allie." And then when I'd reach the other side of the street without disappearing, I'd thank him.” (Sallinger) In this part, Allie plays the role as the Catcher in the Rye and keeps Holden from falling of the cliff. This is why i believe that Holden wants to become a “ Catcher in the Rye”. He wants to help people like Allie has helped him. He feels that it's what he’d meant to do with his
Difficult situations are a part of life, and people everywhere must cope with difficult circumstances such as conflict in out lives. See Appendix 1 (Depression). But occasionally, people experience an event, which is so unexpected that it continues to have serious affects, long after it has happened. Like depression in general these events may include a traumatic event involving actual or threatened death to themselves or others. Also learning that a close friend is in danger or has died can cause this type of anxiety disorder (What Is A Depressive Disorder?). This condition is one of several known as an anxiety disorder. One significant event in Holden’s life that is a factor for his mental illness is the death of his brother Allie. When Holden found out, “[He] was only thirteen and they were going to have [him] psychoanalyzed and all, the night [Allie] died, and [he] broke all the windows with [his] fist, just for the hell of it” (Salinger 39).
It is a mental illness that can sometimes occur in teenagers as a response to a sudden traumatic experience or abandonment. Symptoms of depression that directly relate to Holden’s behaviour include: loss of appetite, depressed or irritable mood, failing relations with family and friends, faltering school performance, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness or self-hatred and obsessive fears or worry about death. Holden lost his younger brother Allie to cancer when he was only thirteen years old. An event such as this is can be traumatic to a young person and cause feelings of sadness and/or depression. Thoughts about suicide is another common symptom of depression. Holden expresses thoughts about committing suicide in Chapter 14 after Maurice assaults him: “What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would've done it, too, if I’d been sure somebody’d cover me up as soon as I landed. I didn't want a bunch of stupid rubbernecks looking at me when I was all gory” (Salinger,
Protected by a cocoon of naiveté, Holden Caulfield, the principal character in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, therapeutically relates his lonely 24 hour stay in downtown New York city, experiencing the "phony" adult world while dealing with the death of his innocent younger brother. Through this well-developed teenage character, JD Salinger, uses simple language and dialogue to outline many of the complex underlying problems haunting adolescents. With a unique beginning and ending, and an original look at our new society, The Catcher in the Rye is understood and appreciated on multiple levels of comprehension. The book provides new insights and a fresh view of the world in which adolescents live.
Holden has delusional thoughts. “Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around––nobody big, I mean––except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff [...]” (page 191). Holden’s dream is to keep kids from growing up, to keep them young and innocent. Holden’s views of this stems from his fear of maturity and growing up. The idea of keeping children young is a delusion thought because he, in theory, wants to control whether or not the children grow to become adults or become mature. Holden has a strong dislike towards “phonies” and anything having to do with them. In Holden's mind, as people grow older, they become “phonies”. Holden has shows signs of depression throughout the text, specifically on page fifty-four it states, “I got up and went over and looked out the window. I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead.” Holden’s old roommate from another school had died after jumping out a window, and Holden had seen it happen. Holden was triggered into remember the event, causing him to feel lonely and depressed. Depression may be the cause for Holden's addiction to alcohol and smoking as well as his low appetite, low sex-drive, and insomnia. Holden shows many other psychological signs of schizophrenia, but the most predominate are delusional thoughts and
... fact he speak to a number of adults to answer his peculiar question and “touchy" topics. Most likely Holden’s parents are conservative folks that disapprove with Holden’s behavior. His parent weren't great at raising Holden because they weren't there for Holden's needs. All they did was send out Holden to a school for years rather than looking for a solution to his problem. Another observation, he doesn't want to go home after being kicked out of school, which is usually a place you want to go to because home is safe and comfortable but instead, brings Holden anxiety and distress. His trouble with his parents probably has to do with his younger brother's death, Allie. After Allie’s death, his parents probably put the rest aside to grieve his son’s death. The parents didn't realize that Holden was affected by Allie’s death and might of neglect him for years.