Mental illness and Mental Disorders in Catcher in the Rye...

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about one in four American adults suffer from a mental disorder. This means that 57.7 out of 217.8 million people over the age of 18 are ill; never mind that mental illnesses are the leading cause of disability in Canada and the United States. Holden Caulfield, the controversial main character of J.D Salinger’s novel Catcher in the Rye, spends much of the book wandering through the streets of New York City. Kicked out of boarding school for the umpteenth time, he does many odd things: he calls a prostitute, tries to befriend a taxi driver, drinks with middle aged women, and sneaks into his own house in the middle of the night. While many of these things seem outrà ©, some may even go as†¦show more content†¦I was so damn worried, that’s why. When I really worry about something, I don’t just fool around† (Salinger 40). Holden is trying adamantly to retain the delicate details Stradlater’ s post-date escapades, but he just does not know for sure what took place. He also mentions being â€Å"damn worried†; this leads the reader to believe that he may be suffering from acute anxiety as well. Lastly, Holden shows avoidance in his measures. Holden is afraid to grow up, because he feels that when someone is rushed into maturity, bad things happen. Holden was forced to grow up when he lost Allie, and this makes his believe that â€Å"ignorance is bliss†, and that it is better to lie to yourself and to be a child forever than to grow up and experience pain. â€Å"It is only in Holden Caulfield’s unique world that ducks brave the winter or are hauled in trucks to zoos. It should strike the most casual observer that Holden Caulfield frequently exhibits naivetà ©Ã¢â‚¬  (Foran 977). Holden likes to believe that a perfect, idealistic life can be achieved. He is scarred psychiatrically by his traumatic childhood, and he just wants to be normal. â€Å"You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance? † I realized it was only one chance in a million† (Salinger 60). In this prominent passage, Holden is asking the strange taxi driver about the ducks inShow MoreRelatedA Socially Acceptable Form Of Schizophrenia1055 Words   |  5 Pagesbe acceptable. J.D. Salinger writes The Catcher in the Rye to tell about Holden Caulfield s misadventures in a 1950’s New York. After Holden, the narrator and protagonist, is expelled from yet another boarding school, he hides it from his parents. Mental illness plagues Holden’s life, and at the end of the book, he ends up in a mental hospital in California. Holden Caulfield could be diagnosed with schizophrenia because in The Catcher in the Rye, he exhibits signs of the illness, such as frequentRead MoreMental Analysis on Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger ´s The Catcher in the Rye824 Words   |  4 PagesNation Institute of Mental Health, , almost one in four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year, and one in seventeen adults are suffering from mental disorders that can be considered serious, such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorders, pervasive developmental disorders, panic disorder, and post traumatic stress disorders (Health Care Service Corporation) (The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America). J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, provides theRead MorePsychoanalysis of Holden Caulfield1173 Words   |  5 PagesPsychoanalysis is a psychoanalytical theory and therapy that aims to treat mental disorders by investigating the conscious and unconscious elements in a human mind by bringing fears to the conscious mind. According to Sigmund Freud, â€Å"The unconscious silently directs the thoughts and behavior of the individual† (Freud 95). Holden Caulfield, the main character in J.D Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is sixteen years old and does not act his own age for he is stuck in his own private worldRead MorePost -Traumatic Stress in Relation to Holden Caulfield1181 Words   |  5 Pagescharacter of J.D. Salingers s book The Catcher In The Rye, is depressed. What Is A Depressive Disorder? Depression is a serious medical illness that negatively affects how a person conducts him/herself, and the way he/she think. Depression may include anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, manic depressions. People with a depressive illness cannot merely ‘pull themselves together and get better. About 5% of the population will have some form of a mental illness at someRead MoreThe Mind Changing Disease : From Post Traumatic Stress Disorder1302 Words   |  6 Pagesthe novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger the main character Holden Caulfield Shows Valid signs of suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Holden exhibits PTSD Through his thought process and actions during his journey through New York City until the end of the novel. Holden without a doubt experiences a psychological journey and shows PTSD like symptoms from his departure at Pencey Prep till he ends up at a mental institution. Holden is burdened with this mental illness mos t likelyRead More Post-Traumatic Stress In Relation To Holden Caulfield Essay1179 Words   |  5 Pagesmain character of J.D. Salingers’s book The Catcher In The Rye, is depressed. What Is A Depressive Disorder? Depression is a serious medical illness that negatively affects how a person conducts him/herself, and the way he/she think. Depression may include anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, manic depressions. People with a depressive illness cannot merely ‘pull themselves together’ and get better. About 5% of the population will have some form of a mental illness at some point inRead MorePost Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd )1095 Words   |  5 PagesPTSD in Catcher in the Rye Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is most commonly thought of as an illness men and women acquire from experiences while serving in the wars. Some do not even know what it is or how much it affects people s lives. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger helps to convey what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder really is. PTSD is a curable condition triggered by a traumatic event with many types, causes, and symptoms displayed by Holden Caulfield. All of the peopleRead MoreA Negative View Of Mental Illness1781 Words   |  8 PagesWhen the phrase â€Å"mental illness† is spoken, the immediate thought that pops into the individual’s mind is the extremes such as Schizophrenia, or Bipolar Disorder. However, the majority of mental disorders fall into the spectrum of quite common disorders such as Depression, Anxiety, or Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD). Why should the first thing that people think of be negative? What makes people think this way? Society has a negative view of mental illness because of media portrayal, the attitudesRead MoreEssay Grief and Bereavement in The Catcher in the Rye2485 Words   |  10 Pages      Ã‚   The Catcher in the Rye has been described, analyzed, rebuffed, and critiqued over the years.   Each writer expresses a different point of view:   It is a story reflecting teen-agers talk--thoughts-emotions--actions; or angst.   I believe it is an adults reflection of his own unresolved grief and bereavements.   That adult is the author, J.D. Salinger.   He uses his main character, Holden, as the voice to vent the psychological misery he will not expose -or admit to. If there areRead MoreSimilarities Between Salinger And Harper Lee s The Rye 1987 Words   |  8 PagesIt’s quite evident that in the novels Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird there are striking similarities between these novels and their respective authors’ own lives. It could be said, that these authors simply used their own experiences as inspiration to their novels. However, when taken into consideration that protagonists own conflicts are indistinguishable between their own author s personal struggles. It is feasible in stating that J.D. Salinger and Harper Lee based their novel s’