Holden Caulfield's Mental Illness

The novel written by J.D Salinger and set in the 1950’s tells the story of 16 year old Holden Caulfield's bizarre life. Holden has experienced the death of his younger brother and failed out of multiple boarding schools already but hasn’t seeked any help to cope with what he’s been through leading to further disorders. Holden is to blame for his problems because he appears to suffer from arrested development disorder and attachment disorder due to traumatic events that he has endured and not seeked help for. However, neither of these disorders are actually considered mental illnesses.
The traumatic events in Holden’s life could lead him to developing Arrested Development Disorder. Holden has gone through many of the “Traumas which can interrupt psychological development: separation from the primary care-giver, all forms of abuse, foster care, adoption, neglect, and parental alcohol/drug misuse” (Hosier 4.) Mr and Mrs Caulfield have shipped their son Holden off to multiple schools, even after the death of one of their other young sons, Allie. The neglect and separation from Holden’s parents was obviously distressing to him. Holden was impacted seriously by the death of his little brother and never even got a chance to say goodbye. His parents held Allie’s funeral while Holden was in the hospital having his hands treated after punching multiple windows as a way to cope with his loss. Though he was never actually in foster care or adopted, he was still sent away from home and his family for most of his life, it’s almost as if he was adopted by the schools he attended. Another …show more content…
People who have experienced trauma should find treatment before they develop disorders like arrested development disorder and attachment disorder and all of the complications that come with the