In Holden Caulfield’s time, mental institutions were places where the insane could stay and receive some level of support. Holden’s experiences from the previous school term contributes to his alienation and stay at a mental institution in California. Holden alienated himself by his use of rough language, his inconsideration of others and his negative thoughts about the people around him. Holden’s relationship with the people and world around him illustrates Salinger’s theme of alienating oneself. From the death of his brother, to getting kicked out of multiple schools, to staying at hotels and drinking all over New York, Holden spirals into a deep depression and is placed in a mental institution. First, Holden’s diction pushes away many …show more content…
Holden is the manager of the fencing team. When Holden goes to New York with the fencing team, he “left all the foils and equipment and stuff on the goddam subway.” Holden leaving the team’s equipment on the subway cost the team the match and earned him the whole team ignoring him on the trip back. When Holden’s roommate asked him to write a composition for him about a room or house using lots of descriptions, Holden instead writes about Allie’s baseball glove. When Stradlater gets back from his date and reads the paper he gets furious. Holden takes the paper back and tears it up. Stradlater asks “What the hellja do that for?” and Holden does not even answer, he just throws the pieces in the trash. Holden taking back the paper and tearing it up kept Stradlater from having an assignment to turn in for a grade. Holden’s actions towards others influences the way people react to him. Holden is thoughtless and that makes people not like …show more content…
He refers to most people as phonies, cowards, jerks, snobs, corny and other insulting descriptions. When Holden first describes Pencey, he talks about the man his dormitory was named after. He was an undertaker who made a lot of dough after graduating from Pencey. Holden says “I can just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs.” When Mr. Ossenburger told the students to pray, Holden does not really believe he is sincere or that he does it on a regular basis. Later, when Holden is on his date with Sally, they run into George, a friend of Sally’s. George and Sally had “the phoniest conversation you ever heard in your life” over places and the people that live there, that made Holden “all set to puke.” Holden not being a part of the conversation and George intruding on Holden’s date with Sally caused Holden to belittle George and his conversation with Sally. Holden does not understand that sometimes people lie for good reasons, like not making others feel bad. This makes Holden not want to be around people that he thinks are
Psychoanalysis is a psychoanalytical theory and therapy that aims to treat mental disorders by investigating the conscious and unconscious elements in a human mind by bringing fears to the conscious mind. According to Sigmund Freud, “The unconscious silently directs the thoughts and behavior of the individual” (Freud 95). Holden Caulfield, the main character in J.D Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is sixteen years old and does not act his own age for he is stuck in his own private world, filled with pain and suffering. In the novel, Holden can be observed through a psychoanalytical view, which provides the reader a clear understanding of his unconscious mind. Holden is displayed as a troubled and foolish teenager who is flunking
In J. D Salinger 's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden, goes through many hardships in his journey to self-knowledge. In the beginning, Holden has to deal with being kicked out of school and not having any place to call home. He is also struggling with the unfortunate tragedy of the death of his beloved younger brother Allie. At the same time, Holden is trying to deal with growing up and accepting the adult world. Throughout the novel Salinger addresses the conflicts faced by a young man struggling with the trials and tribulations of growing up while also confronting personal loss and loneliness along the way.
The patient, Holden Caulfield, as he told in his story The Catcher in the Rye, written by J. D. Salinger, shows many signs of mental illness. Holden is a confused teenage boy that lives in the heart of New York City. He attended Pencey Prep until recently when he was kicked out because he was unable to apply himself to school. Holden often seems to struggle in his social life and with his emotions. He has trouble fitting in with other people his age and fights with himself over how he should act and think. These struggles are heightened by a traumatic past and highlight many signs of mental illness. All of Holden Caulfield’s symptoms point to more than just typical teenage struggles but to a mix of Post Traumatic Stress
Despite Holden Caulfield’s passionate hatred of “phonies,” he himself acts like one throughout the book. Holden dislikes phonies because he sees them as charlatans, or people who fake, cheat, and scam their way through life. They pretend to be someone they are not for their personal gain. For example, Holden observes his roommate at Pencey, Stradlater, to be a lazy slob who occasionally requests Holden’s assistance with homework. However, in the presence of the opposite gender, Stradlater becomes an immaculate gentleman, capable of coercing his dates into sex.
Evan Henner Dr. Black English 10-1 Accelerated 12 March 2024 In what ways does Holden Caulfield's mental health contribute to the narrative and the reader's understanding of the story, and why is it important for High School students to connect with Holden’s mental health issues? The Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield struggles immensely with his mental health throughout the novel, which gives the reader a more complex understanding of the story. These struggles that he experiences go beyond and express many deeper problems. These deeper problems are Holden’s isolation and alienation, his loss and grief, and his escapism.
And so, Holden left school planning to spend some time on his own in New York City, where he lives. On the train to New York, Holden meets a mother of his fellow Pencey student. Though he thinks that this student is a complete “bastard”, he tells a woman made-up stories about her son. He lied to the woman. But lying to others is also a kind of phoniness, right? A type of deception that indicates insensitivity or even cruelty. Holden proves that he is just guilty of phoniness as the people he criticizes.
Everyone in this world are not deemed as the perfect normal person. We all have struggles or challenges we go through life for either the good or bad. In the book, Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s personality seems like he does not need to care about anything around him. Holden Caulfield belongs in a mental institution because he can be a danger towards his love one, needs to think about how to make his life different, and fight his demon that are constantly haunting him.
Holden is deathly afraid of conforming, growing up, and having to assimilate into the phony adult world. As a result he comes off as hypocritical as he is the most prominent phony in the novel. He constantly lies, refuses to connect with others and overlooks his own pain, letting it deeply impact his life. Holden is a compulsive liar; he does not have one honest conversation with anyone except his sister and Jane for the duration of the novel. When he is on the train with Mrs. Morrow, for instance, he claims his name is Rudolf Schmidt and preaches about what an amazing guy her son is, even though he is “the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey, in the whole crumby history of the school.” (61) This shows that Holden falls victim to the same social conventions as everyone else. He says exactly what Mrs. Morrow wants to hear, despite the fact that he
Holden's phony addiction gets him into trouble at school. Holden looks for the flaws in everyone and tries to eliminate that person he sees as a threat, such as when Holden decides to face off against the phony Stradlater after Stradlater's date with Jane. Holden also thinks every teacher is a phony who pretends to be helpful to students. If Holden has trouble in school he does not seek help from his peers because he believes that they are phonies. Hence this point is tied into one of the reasons he is kicked out of Pencey, failing four out of five courses. Holden's avoidance of things phony is very strong and he has a one-track mind. It is either his way or the highway, this is another example of how Holden's phony problem hinders his chance at full maturity. Holden is so scared
Later on Holden recalls when he was attending Pencey College how his gloves were stolen by some crook. He continues describing the situation of confrontation hypothetically, at first with assertion and authority. Eventually he admits to himself, “Only, I wouldn’t have the guts to do it. I’d just stand there, trying to look tough” (Salinger P. 99). Holden goes on to describe to the reader his unaware fear of confrontation and violence, hinting at a dread of vulnerability and a closed off persona, another clear sign of Major Depressive Disorder. When Holden was a younger boy he knew a girl named Jane Gallagher whom he was childhood friends with, they often even held hands and had an emotional bond. Ever since he heard about Stradlator (his old roommate) taking her out on a date he’d been thinking of calling her up. Finally on page 130 he calls her up and her mother picks up. Startled, she hangs up and admits he should’ve asked for Jane, “But I didn’t feel like it. You really have to be in the mood for that stuff” (Salinger P. 130). His inability to feel motivated to make an effort for somebody he once loved shows his social-isolation.
Finally, Holden’s overly judgmental and critical. When he sees someone he automatically judges the person because they aren’t in his perfect fantasy. In the bar he points out the “flits” (gay people) and, he thinks that his old roommate Dick Slagle has a inferiority complex just because he didn’t put his suitcases on out to show when Holden did. Holden thinks of Mr. Haas (his “phony” headmaster) as someone "[shakes] hands with them and [gives] them a phony smile (14)." Holden thinks of Ernie the piano player as someone who has been affected by “phoniness” in order to attain fame.
In J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caufield, describes in detail the parts of his life and his environment that bother him the most. He faces these problems with a kind of naivety that prevents him from fully understanding why it is that he is so depressed. His life revolves around his problems, and he seems helpless in evading them. Among others, Holden finds himself facing the issues of acceptance of death, growing up, and his own self-destructiveness.
His former principal Haas’s differential treatment of people’s parents is phony (17), and at the same time Mr. Spencer’s use of the word “grand” (12) is phony. It is a bit confusing. To sum up the possible meanings, a phony can have any of the following traits: insincerity, maturity, conceitedness, poshness, dishonesty, and masquerading. It is interesting that many of these meanings apply to Holden himself. For example, Holden likes to masquerade and lie. When Holden talks to the mother of a Pencey classmate he hates, Ernest Morrow, Holden claims to be named Rudolf Schmidt, and proceeds to have a lot of fun lying extensively about how great of a guy Ernest is. He admits about his lying, “Once I get started, I can go on for hours if I feel like it. No kidding. Hours” (61-65). Earlier in the story, he claimed to be “The most terrific liar you ever saw in your life” (19). Holden is a compulsive liar, a very “phony” behavior. This is one of the most obvious hypocrisies in Holden’s
J.D. Salinger 's "The Catcher in the Rye" portrays a troubled teen in New York City. Over the few days the novel depicts, the boy displays his critical and unhealthy mindset. Eventually he has a mental breakdown. Through psychoanalysis of Holden Caulfield, one may suggest that Allie 's death, social development, and an identity crisis are large contributing factors in Holden 's mental breakdown.
Throughout the novel, Holden attempts to find the true from of himself as he struggles with the social interactions around him. Due to the struggle and confusion that arouses from it,