Throughout the Catcher in the Rye, Salinger, is able to capture the hardships of a teenager’s unstable mental life, and portray it to the readers with ease. Salinger's use of having a relatable character; he allows the audience is able to connect and identify with Holden as a struggling hero, who is on his downfall. Though, the relatability of the character can conceal different hidden traits, that Salinger gave Holden.
From the start of the novel, it is clear that Holden is mentally unstable as he reveals his past. After the death of his younger brother, Allie, he was no longer able to communicate with others; this was the start of his mental breakdowns. Soon following, Holden had failed four different boarding schools, where his issues …show more content…
As Holden’s writing progress, he starts to display more signs of abnormal behavior. “What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of good-by. I mean I've left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel even worse” (Salinger 8). Holden wants to make connections with people showing that he is emotionally invested in everything and one that he encounters; this ends up depressing him. 4)This ends up turning into periods where he displays alternating periods of severe depression. “Children with both OCD and BPD have higher rates of obsessions and impulses regarding to sex, anger, religion, control, and arranging" (Joshi 1). His behavior has displayed obsessive impulses. "Sex is something I really don't understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away. Last year I made a rule that I was going to quit horsing around with girls that, deep down, gave me a pain in the ***. I broke it, though, the same week I made it - the same night, as a matter of fact" (Salinger 54-58). "Girls with their legs crossed, girls with their legs not crossed, girls with terrific legs, girls with lousy legs, girls that looked like swell girls, …show more content…
Holden’s choices are affecting his life, making it harder for him to function in a “normal” environment. "'Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all"(Salinger 173). Holden here is pretending that he can be a savior, to save children from falling into adulthood. Although, he can not deny the fact that this is what he thinks he is “destined” to do. Holden shows signs of behavioral symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder and hyperresponsiveness. Holden has been displaying signs of anxiety, by not being able to relax, putting things off because of the feeling of being overwhelmed, and has been avoiding situations that make him anxious. "Then I started reading this timetable I had in my pocket. Just to stop lying. Once I get started, I can go on for hours if I feel like it. No kidding. Hours" (Salinger 58). “'It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a
From the start of the novel, it is clear that Holden is mentally unstable as he reveals his past. After the death of his younger brother, Allie, he was no longer able to communicate with others; this was the start of his mental breakdowns. Soon following, Holden had failed four different boarding schools, where his issues …show more content…
As Holden’s writing progress, he starts to display more signs of abnormal behavior. “What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of good-by. I mean I've left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel even worse” (Salinger 8). Holden wants to make connections with people showing that he is emotionally invested in everything and one that he encounters; this ends up depressing him. 4)This ends up turning into periods where he displays alternating periods of severe depression. “Children with both OCD and BPD have higher rates of obsessions and impulses regarding to sex, anger, religion, control, and arranging" (Joshi 1). His behavior has displayed obsessive impulses. "Sex is something I really don't understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away. Last year I made a rule that I was going to quit horsing around with girls that, deep down, gave me a pain in the ***. I broke it, though, the same week I made it - the same night, as a matter of fact" (Salinger 54-58). "Girls with their legs crossed, girls with their legs not crossed, girls with terrific legs, girls with lousy legs, girls that looked like swell girls, …show more content…
Holden’s choices are affecting his life, making it harder for him to function in a “normal” environment. "'Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all"(Salinger 173). Holden here is pretending that he can be a savior, to save children from falling into adulthood. Although, he can not deny the fact that this is what he thinks he is “destined” to do. Holden shows signs of behavioral symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder and hyperresponsiveness. Holden has been displaying signs of anxiety, by not being able to relax, putting things off because of the feeling of being overwhelmed, and has been avoiding situations that make him anxious. "Then I started reading this timetable I had in my pocket. Just to stop lying. Once I get started, I can go on for hours if I feel like it. No kidding. Hours" (Salinger 58). “'It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a