Author J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye features Holden Caulfield, a young man who struggles through getting kicked out of multiple private boys schools, society’s expectations, and depression. The lense this book is being analyzed under is psychoanalytic theory. Psychoanalytic theory is the concept of the unconscious part of the human brain contains biological motivators and conditioning from past experiences. The specific part of psychoanalytic theory that is being used is the idea of the inferiority complex. The inferiority complex is the feeling of being inferior or inadequate compared to others around them, along with the desire to be superior. Holden’s family dynamics, as well as his interactions with others, demonstrate an inferiority
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If there's one thing I hate it's the movies. Don’t even mention them to me” (Salinger 2). Because Holden is being outshadowed by D.B., he feels inferior to him, which leads to Holden developing inferior habits and useless tasks as a result. A major habit that he developed is lying, which he can get away with because the 2nd child is not raised as strictly and has more availability to get away with such tasks. Holden’s lying makes him feel superior as it allows him to present a false reality that lets him control the situation and feel in power. Similarly, Holden feels in power around his younger siblings. To describe this, Holden attempted to explain his feelings to his younger sister, Phoebe, about their brother, …show more content…
Don’t you think I know that? I can still like him, though, can’t I? Just because somebody’s dead, you don’t just stop liking them, for God’s sake-especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that’re alive and all” (Salinger 171). Holden thinks so highly of his younger siblings because they provide Holden the feeling of superiority, as he is their older brother and look up to him. Phoebe and Allie were the ones that made Holden feel superior for once, as he felt everyone else in society was more superior than him. Accordingly, when Allie died of Leukemia, Holden felt a loss of power and spiralled deeper into the pit of inferiority. However, the good feelings of superiority were commonly called upon whenever Holden feels depressed. As an illustration of this, when Holden was going through outrageous depression and struggle, he called on Allie as he was crossing streets:
“Everytime I’d get to the end of the block I’d make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I’d say to him, ‘Allie, don’t let me disappear. Allie, don’t let me disappear...Please, Allie.’ And when I’d reach the other side of the street without disappearing, I’d thank him. Then it would start all over again as soon as I got to the next corner” (Salinger
If there's one thing I hate it's the movies. Don’t even mention them to me” (Salinger 2). Because Holden is being outshadowed by D.B., he feels inferior to him, which leads to Holden developing inferior habits and useless tasks as a result. A major habit that he developed is lying, which he can get away with because the 2nd child is not raised as strictly and has more availability to get away with such tasks. Holden’s lying makes him feel superior as it allows him to present a false reality that lets him control the situation and feel in power. Similarly, Holden feels in power around his younger siblings. To describe this, Holden attempted to explain his feelings to his younger sister, Phoebe, about their brother, …show more content…
Don’t you think I know that? I can still like him, though, can’t I? Just because somebody’s dead, you don’t just stop liking them, for God’s sake-especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that’re alive and all” (Salinger 171). Holden thinks so highly of his younger siblings because they provide Holden the feeling of superiority, as he is their older brother and look up to him. Phoebe and Allie were the ones that made Holden feel superior for once, as he felt everyone else in society was more superior than him. Accordingly, when Allie died of Leukemia, Holden felt a loss of power and spiralled deeper into the pit of inferiority. However, the good feelings of superiority were commonly called upon whenever Holden feels depressed. As an illustration of this, when Holden was going through outrageous depression and struggle, he called on Allie as he was crossing streets:
“Everytime I’d get to the end of the block I’d make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I’d say to him, ‘Allie, don’t let me disappear. Allie, don’t let me disappear...Please, Allie.’ And when I’d reach the other side of the street without disappearing, I’d thank him. Then it would start all over again as soon as I got to the next corner” (Salinger