Holden Caulfield

The reader often searches for a glimpse of himself in the characters he is reading about, and this is especially true with the adolescent readers of The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. The author paints a picture of a conflicted youth by emphasizing his idiosyncrasies, and although Caulfield’s traits may seem exaggerated and alien at times, he is a character who is relatable to American youth today. Holden Caulfield has a strong sense of civic duty that is overshadowed only by his suicidal tendencies, is exceedingly sensitive to the evil in the world and prone to angst, yet empathetic to the emotional upheaval other children will experience when entering adulthood.

One of the many reoccurring Holdenisms (a word that Holden the main character in Catcher in the Rye repeats a lot) is “I feel sorry…” or he expresses sorrow towards another person. Holden is a wealthy depressed teenage boy from New York living his days out in many boarding schools back in the 1950s. The title Catcher in the Rye relates to Holden’s feelings of longing to be the catcher in the rye by “saving” children. But in reality he is the one needing to be saved and he is still a child barely getting close to adulthood. His statements of feeling sorry has correlations to Holden not being able to help others even if they aren't asking or seem to need help.

Holden seems to struggle with depression. In many places throughout the novel, Holden describes to us his deep sadness. A lot of times his depression is unpredictable and triggered by tense situations. In one situation while he was explaining his feelings about the Elkton Hills headmaster’s phony and rather boring conversations with well-built and

Teenagers such as Holden who have thought of suicide do not desire to die but they want to escape from the problems in their life that at that particular moment the impression of dying was the only way out. Holden often lies to himself to ease the emptiness and guilt he is living with that even Holden himself tells us that he “really felt like, committing suicide” (104). Even if we did not have the evidence that Holden was depressed through his actions of lying and having suicidal thoughts we still have the profound statement of all. What other way to prove that Holden Caulfield is depressed then Holden himself announcing that life itself “makes (him) so depressed” (75). Every single page of the novel is gorged with Holden telling us he is depressed. Whether it was Holden remembering someone say please and Holden commenting “that’s depressing” (211) or Holden warning us to never sleep in Grand Central, because “it’ll depress you,” (194) it is obvious that Holden is suffering from a mental illness.

Everybody feels depressed at some time or another in their lives.  However, it becomes a problem when depression is so much a part of a person's life that he or she can no longer experience happiness.  This happens to the young boy, Holden Caulfield in J.D Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye.  Mr. Antolini accurately views the cause of Holden's depression as his lack of personal motivation, his inability to self-reflect and his stubbornness to overlook the obvious which collectively results in him giving up on life before he ever really has a chance to get it started.

Holden has several insecurities that are displayed throughout the book that hint at his condition.

Throughout the novel, Holden Caulfield’s reaction to the situations he encounters indicate that he has depression. He has a hard time bonding with others and often feels lonesome, has continuous thoughts about suicide, abuses alcohol, experiences high levels of sexual frustration. All of these are the main symptoms of people suffering from major depression disorder (MDD), which also apply to Holden. Furthermore, Holden eventually being admitted into the mental hospital solidifies the stance that he has a behavioral disorder. A person who has depression can have recurring thoughts of suicide, feelings of worthlessness; have depressed mood and decreased self-awareness (Bellenir). Millions of people suffer from depression. As seen in Holden’s case, MDD can be life-threatening and affects beyond the one suffering from depression. It is imperative to treat the people with depression as soon as possible, by taking them to a therapist, as their case may worsen

All of us have issues, but when it comes to Holden Caulfield, he is on a different level of problems. Throughout Catcher in the Rye, Holden shows signs of many different mental health issues. For example things like depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, etc. These disorders are not uncommon; symptoms include mood swings, fast talking, abuse of rules, and deceitfulness. Holden shows us many signs of a mental disorder, but which one?

One of the greatest American Literature writers, J.D. Salinger, was familiar with a rough childhood by experience. He was able to parallel his experiences to the experiences of Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in Rye. In this novel, Holden experiences conflicts that most youth are not familiar with. The conflicts in Holden Caulfield’s life are caused by various forces and circumstances.

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

In Catcher and the Rye J.D. Salinger tells the reader about a boy named Holden Caulfield who is isolated from society. He is isolated in many ways because he has post-traumatic stress disorder. Holden Caulfield’s younger brother Allie died of leukemia. This tragic event happened when they were both young, but Holden is still affected to this day. Holden has ptsd from the death of his brother which causes him to be isolated from society.

(Switch to next slide) There has been many people who have discussed the topic that Holden was suffering from mental illnesses such as depression and Bipolar disorder, Holden is often seen smoking and drinking to help with his problems. these actions relate closely to those who are dealing with severe mental illnesses, by doing this it has led many people who try to dissect the book and his character to believe that he was in fact

Critics have been dissecting and devouring every aspect of The Catcher in the Rye for decades. Despite that, there is still debate over whether or not Holden Caulfield is mentally ill or if he is simply going through the trials of adolescence. Based on his disposition, it is fair to say that he is somehow affected by a mental disease. In many in-depth studies of the text, writers have diagnosed Holden with a surfeit of diseases. These include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, and many more.

In John Green’s Looking for Alaska and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonists, Miles and Holden, are both students at boarding schools during different time periods. Miles Halter (Pudge) is a new student at Culver Creek Preparatory School and came from a public school where he didn’t have any friends. Holden Caulfield attended a boarding school called Pencey Prep, until he got expelled. Both protagonists change a lot during the duration of the novel.

In the 1940’s and 50’s mental illnesses and personality disorders were a social weakness. Those with disorders were generally avoided and considered outcasts, because many held the belief that those with mental illnesses were dangerous and unpredictable. Throughout the story, we see Holden as an unstable character. His attitude is quick to change, and his emotions hit highs and lows constantly. He also shows strong signs of mental distress, which may connect to a deeper issue, such as a personality disorder.