Holden Caulfield Case Study

Superior Essays
Register to read the introduction… It can be characterized through various symptoms. The individual must have suffered from at least one manic episode, which is an abnormally long portion of a persistent expensive, irritable, and excited mood. Typically, it takes at least one week for it to be considered; however, Holden’s hospitalization and subsequent psychological evaluation allowed for there to be a shorter time period in conclusion. Depression also happens to be a symptom of this disorder. Depression is not normal sadness; inadequacy and hopelessness accompany normal sadness and that produces depression. The other conjecture that was made was that Holden also suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder (hereby referred to as “OCD”). This disorder, oft misunderstood, is characterized by “obsessions” and “compulsions.” Obsessions are frequent, uncontrollable, intrusive thoughts that are involuntary and unwanted. Compulsions are constant necessary behaviors. Compulsions tend to follow obsessions and are done in an attempt to get rid of these obsessions. One well-known example to describe OCD is the obsession of feeling dirty and always believing that one’s self is contaminated, and the compulsion would be to wash one’s hands constantly to get rid of the obsession. After a compulsion is performed, relief will be felt; though, relief will never last. The next section will cover how Holden fits these …show more content…
If listening to the subtleties, then from the beginning of Holden’s narrative, a flood of important details would be noted. He mentions his parents and his family, his childhood and talks about himself all within the span of about one long sentence. These details provide us that he had, a “lousy childhood,” “okay” parents, and that he deemed himself to be a burden on his parents (Salinger 1). This is indicative of a low self-esteem and a history of frustration. Furthering supporting the claim of Holden’s long-term frustration is his grey hair. He mentions that he’s had it since he was a kid (Salinger 6). So there must’ve been something going on when he was a child, some unmentioned difficulty. This might be sexual abuse. Holden talks about sexual abuse he suffered as a child in a subtle manner (Salinger 195). These are all possible origins of Holden’s mental illnesses but the actual symptoms he exhibits have not yet been discussed. The aforementioned danger signs for these illnesses are ubiquitous throughout Holden’s

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Holden fears the possibility that he may spend the rest of his life as an outsider looking in. Although Holden attempts to change his social position, his mindset is out of place, preventing him from relating to how a normal individual would feel. Therefore, Holden struggles immensely in terms of making lasting connections with others, mainly because he cannot see eye to eye with them. “He focuses on the danger and potential death instead of love and a personal relationship” (Edwards).…

    • 1541 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    His depression may be a result of his bereavement. He shows depression by constantly saying things make him depressed and sad. Holden shows signs of depression when the girls he was hanging out with at the bar leave because they have to get up early and watch the first show at the Radio City Music Hall and he says, “It makes me so depressed I can't stand it. I'd have bought the whole three of them a hundred drinks if only they hadn't told me that” (Salinger 85). Holden feels depressed after they tell him this.…

    • 1749 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    An additional symptom of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that Holden Caulfield exhibits is flashbacks, also commonly referred to as re-experiencing, to traumatic events. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, re-experiencing can take the form of flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive memories. In flashbacks, the individual feels as if they’re experiencing the event as if it was the first time. In nightmares, the person has dreams with content related to the traumatic event. In intrusive thoughts, an individual may be talking when a memory of the event will surface and distract them.…

    • 186 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Holden Caulfield Symptoms

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Over the course of the novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield, experiences symptoms which effect his mind and body. I am diagnosing Holden Caulfield with clinical depression based on the following observed symptoms. According to WebMD, the symptoms of depression include sadness, trouble sleeping, increased fatigue, thoughts of death or suicide, mood swings, and increase in purposeless physical activity. Holden displays many of these symptoms in his behavior. Holden feels that he is on the "losing team" of the world, which causes sadness.…

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This leaves him in a hopeless state of mind because he was left to face life on his own. One can argue that it is in fact not Holden’s fault for his powerless state of mind, but rather society’s fault. It is for this reason that Holden’s clinical depression, abnormal hatred towards people, and his absurd thoughts is why he belongs in a rest home. To begin with, illness and abandonment are major causes to Holdens depression,…

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Following Sigmund’s footsteps, she introduced her own ideas based on the ego and some of its defense mechanisms. In her list of defense mechanisms, one that can be observed in Holden’s actions was regression. Regression occurs in a person who is frightened or becomes childish. For example, after the scene when Sunny, the prostitute, and the elevator man gave him a surprise visit, he admits,“ I pictured myself coming from the goddamn bathroom, dressed and all, with my automatic in my pocket, and staggering around a little at a time” (pg. 104). Holden’s mind takes him back to fantasy world, where he gets revenge on the man from the elevator.…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    ( Chapter 4, Page 147) When Holden went to Mr. Antolini home Holden awoke to find Mr. Antolini “patting… (him) on the head and all” and “making a flitty pass at” him, Holden may have been sexually abused because “that kind of stuff has happened…to (him) around twenty times since (he) was a kid”, which could also be a reason for the patient 's anxiety and BPD. (Chapter 25, Page 215) Holden began to over analyze a magazine article and “started getting worried about… (his) hormones”, which is an indication of anxiety. While Holden is walking to Phoebe 's school a feeling overcomes him where he “came to the end of the block and stepped off the goddam curb… (he) had a feeling that (he) never get to the other side of the street” and he began asking his dead brother Allie not to “let… (him)…

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Alienation’s Apparent Aspects Society. People. This is whom we live with, how we interact with one another, and most importantly, it defines the person we are. We live in a world full of good and bad people, but something about seventeen-year-old Holden Caulfield, whether his discontent in society or not, causes him to see impostors, or so-called “phonies,” everywhere he goes. He hates these phonies because they are constantly telling him to grow up.…

    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    [Holden] had trouble with him… Do [Holden] look like [he is] under twenty-one… Bring me a coke… Can’tcha [Bartender] stick a little rum in it” (Salinger 78). Not only does Holden beg and lie consistently for alcohol in other bars in New York knowing that what he is doing is against the law, he continues to drink. Therefore this is another evident example of why Holden can only suffer from…

    • 1334 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The novel written by J.D Salinger and set in the 1950’s tells the story of 16 year old Holden Caulfield's bizarre life. Holden has experienced the death of his younger brother and failed out of multiple boarding schools already but hasn’t seeked any help to cope with what he’s been through leading to further disorders. Holden is to blame for his problems because he appears to suffer from arrested development disorder and attachment disorder due to traumatic events that he has endured and not seeked help for. However, neither of these disorders are actually considered mental illnesses.…

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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.…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield often pushes people away and gets upset over unusual things. He sometimes gets angry, upset or depressed at for abnormal reasons. Many people push him away in return to his uncommon behaviors. They blame Holden for just being rude but that is not the case. Even though Holden comes off as moody teenager, his post-traumatic stress disorder makes him have abnormal reactions to many situations and people.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the two novels, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, loneliness and isolation are components that were undeniable for the characters of Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield. Loneliness and isolation are caused by yearning for something you cannot have, which turns people’s lives for the worst. Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, was socially isolated even though he constantly surrounded himself with people, longing to make up for his loneliness. All Gatsby wanted in life was Daisy Buchanan. He threw large, extravagant parties with hundreds of people attending, all in hopes that Daisy would arrive.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I am not sure exactly what illness he is suffering from, although it is very clear that Holden is different from us and definitely going through a…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    An inescapable aspect of growing up is that parts of life will change. Though one may not like these changes or want to accept them, they must. These changes, like the death of family members or people around them, can mold a person dramatically, and shape the way that they think of themselves and the world around them. The Catcher in The Rye exemplifies this idea perfectly through the main character’s, Holden’s, experiences as he recounts his life and his actions and experiences before being admitted into a mental hospital. Through the character of Holden Caulfield and the idea of death, J.D. Salinger provides a narrative about how the realities of life and modern society can shape a person as they develop and accept those concepts.…

    • 2075 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays