In addition to struggling with forming steady relationships with others, those with Borderline Personality Disorder often experience brief psychotic episodes similar to the ones Holden experiences (NIMH). After a scuffle, Holden “[starts] pretending [he] [has] a bullet in [his] guts… [picturing himself]… with [his] automatic in [his] pocket… blood leaking all over the place” (Salinger 104). This same delusion reoccurs when Holden is drunk at a bar. He “[starts] that stupid business with the bullet in [his] guts again (Salinger 150). Another disconnect with the real world occurs as Holden crosses the streets of New York. He felt that “every time [he comes] to the end of a block… [he will] never get to the other side… [he will] just go down,
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Before this admission of abuse it is only insinuated in The Catcher in the Rye. For instance, Holden talks to Ackley, about joining the Catholic church, but decides against it because with “the kind of luck [he has], [he will] probably join one with all the wrong kind of monks in it” (Salinger 50). Holden is referring to molestation and rape incidents that commonly associated with the Catholic church. He often projects thoughts involving sexual assault onto other situations. When his friend, Jane, cries as her stepfather walks in the room, Holden is quick to assume that her stepfather “tried to get wise with her” (Salinger 79). Jane is upset because her parents are divorced, rather than crying due to an inappropriate relationship with her stepfather. Holden’s tendency to project this negative idea onto unrelated situations, stems from his previous sexual assault. As it is the root cause of his mental illness, he has trouble erasing his damaged past. This is demonstrated at his former teacher’s house. Holden stays overnight, and wakes up in the middle of the night to find Mr. Antolini “sitting on the floor right next to the couch, in the dark… sort of petting [him]”, which causes Holden to “[jump] about a thousand
Before this admission of abuse it is only insinuated in The Catcher in the Rye. For instance, Holden talks to Ackley, about joining the Catholic church, but decides against it because with “the kind of luck [he has], [he will] probably join one with all the wrong kind of monks in it” (Salinger 50). Holden is referring to molestation and rape incidents that commonly associated with the Catholic church. He often projects thoughts involving sexual assault onto other situations. When his friend, Jane, cries as her stepfather walks in the room, Holden is quick to assume that her stepfather “tried to get wise with her” (Salinger 79). Jane is upset because her parents are divorced, rather than crying due to an inappropriate relationship with her stepfather. Holden’s tendency to project this negative idea onto unrelated situations, stems from his previous sexual assault. As it is the root cause of his mental illness, he has trouble erasing his damaged past. This is demonstrated at his former teacher’s house. Holden stays overnight, and wakes up in the middle of the night to find Mr. Antolini “sitting on the floor right next to the couch, in the dark… sort of petting [him]”, which causes Holden to “[jump] about a thousand