Defence Mechanisms In Catcher In The Rye

The Catcher In the Rye: Final Essay When coping with a devastating loss, people often turn to defense mechanisms to help heal, or conceal their pain. They sometimes ignore the loss, and rather than reacting to it, they project their thoughts for that person onto someone else. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, shares his experiences regarding high school, adolescence, loss, and independence, and uses projection, and regression as mechanisms to heal his pain. Holden uses the defense mechanism projection, while dealing with the loss of his brother Allie. Instead of facing the the grief of losing his brother, Holden projects his thoughts and feelings towards Allie onto his sister Phoebe. The defense mechanism, projection, keeps Holden from constantly thinking about his brother, but at the same time leaves him obsessed with his sister. Holden uses the defense mechanism …show more content…
When kicked out of his boarding school, instead of maturely going home and explaining to his parents his expulsion, Holden roams New York City and avoids returning home. The entire novel is based on Holden’s regression. He was in complete denial of his expulsion and didn’t see why it was necessary to return home. Holden also reverts to younger behavior when he is upset. For example following Allie’s death, Holden went into his garage and destroyed it “I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it. I even tried to break all the windows on the station wagon we had that summer, but my hand was already broken (Salinger 21)”. He also reverts to regression when he is robbed by a prostitute. Instead of defending himself, Holden completely breaks down and “All of a sudden I started to cry. I'd give anything if I hadn't, but I did (Salinger 56)”. One of Holden’s biggest flaws is that he holds onto the innocence of childhood, leading him to