Holden Caulfield is a young man, slowly losing his innocence through a drawn out, series of unfortunate and almost disturbing events. Holden experiences very similar symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, and shows common reactions of PTSD. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden goes through what appears to be a psychological breakdown over his journey of those few days, which is assisted by the events Holden is going through--similar to a soldier’s,-- Holden’s undermining of his condition, and the ignorance of the commonly reoccurring symptoms.
Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD is a condition that is common among soldiers from combat, people with near death experiences, or other disturbing or scaring events. Some of these other events …show more content…
For one example, Holden is in a diner, eating breakfast and two nuns also come in and eat next to him. He thinks this. “All the two of them were eating for breakfast was toast and coffee. That depressed me. I hate it if I 'm eating bacon and eggs or something and somebody else is only eating toast and coffee” (Salinger 110).
Post traumatic stress disorder was often misinterpreted as a physical issue, rather than psychological ones. “According to psychologist Edward Tick, PTSD has had more than 80 names over the years. Here are just some of them: Nostalgia, Homesickness, Estar Roto, Soldier’s Heart, Neurasthenia/Hysteria, Railway Spine, Shell Shock...”(From “Irritable Heart” to “Shellshock”). One name, “Shell shock,” for example was believed to cause these said issues due to explosives going off near the head, causing the brain to be rattled around in the skull.
This condition was often underestimated about the relevance of the threat. “About 25-30 percent of WWII casualties were psychological cases; under very severe conditions that number could reach as high as 70-80 percent. In Italy, mental problems accounted for 56 percent of total casualties. On Okinawa, where fighting conditions were particularly horrific, 7,613 Americans died, 31,807 sustained physical wounds, and 26, 221 were mental casualties”(PTSD and the Myth of
Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD is a condition that is common among soldiers from combat, people with near death experiences, or other disturbing or scaring events. Some of these other events …show more content…
For one example, Holden is in a diner, eating breakfast and two nuns also come in and eat next to him. He thinks this. “All the two of them were eating for breakfast was toast and coffee. That depressed me. I hate it if I 'm eating bacon and eggs or something and somebody else is only eating toast and coffee” (Salinger 110).
Post traumatic stress disorder was often misinterpreted as a physical issue, rather than psychological ones. “According to psychologist Edward Tick, PTSD has had more than 80 names over the years. Here are just some of them: Nostalgia, Homesickness, Estar Roto, Soldier’s Heart, Neurasthenia/Hysteria, Railway Spine, Shell Shock...”(From “Irritable Heart” to “Shellshock”). One name, “Shell shock,” for example was believed to cause these said issues due to explosives going off near the head, causing the brain to be rattled around in the skull.
This condition was often underestimated about the relevance of the threat. “About 25-30 percent of WWII casualties were psychological cases; under very severe conditions that number could reach as high as 70-80 percent. In Italy, mental problems accounted for 56 percent of total casualties. On Okinawa, where fighting conditions were particularly horrific, 7,613 Americans died, 31,807 sustained physical wounds, and 26, 221 were mental casualties”(PTSD and the Myth of