
Does Holden have depression?
Throughout the novel Holden begins to exhibit signs of depression. His depression is driven by the death of his younger brother. In everyday life normal people experience breakdowns, they cannot handle what is being thrown at them. Holden Caulfield attended a prep school known as Pencey, where people are not used to this kind of behavior.
Why does Holden feel the need to lie?
When people try to make personal connections or ask personal questions, Holden lies to avoid such things. He does this because he does not want to feel the same pain he felt after his brother died. To avoid this pain, he avoids getting to close to anybody.
What does Holden say about Phonies?
Technically speaking, a phony is a fake. Holden expands his definition of phony to include anyone who is not 100% genuine at all times or that he doesn't like. People who are charismatic, wealthy, attractive, friendly to others, or superficial are phonies according to Holden. The word 'phony' appears in The Catcher in the Rye about 35 times.
Why does Holden wish to disappear?
Why does Holden wish disappear? Not only does he feel that he cannot relate to anybody, but he doesn’t know how to deal with adult encounters, because they don’t fit neatly into the worldview he has constructed for himself.

What made Holden depressed?
While Holden has no direct experience of war, he relays several experiences from his past that may indicate he is suffering from post-traumatic stress as well. Most important is the death of his brother, Allie.
What depresses Holden in Catcher in the Rye?
Isolation is the greatest source of Holden's melancholy in The Catcher in the Rye. The more Holden connects to other people in The Catcher in the Rye, the more depressed he becomes.
What does Holden suffer from?
While Salinger never provides a specific diagnosis, references to Holden's mental instability are clear throughout the novel, and the reader could easily make the connection that Holden suffers from some combination of depression, anxiety, and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Why does Holden have a mental breakdown?
Eventually he has a mental breakdown. Through psychoanalysis of Holden Caulfield, one may suggest that Allie 's death, social development, and an identity crisis are large contributing factors in Holden 's mental breakdown. Allie Caulfield is an important person to Holden and his death affects him greatly.
What does Holden do when he gets depressed?
When Holden gets very depressed, he sometimes talks "sort of out loud" to his younger brother. He does so after Sunny leaves. His communication with Allie is almost religious, a confession of Holden's boyhood lack of consideration for the kid.
Why does sunny make Holden feel depressed?
She was around my age." Holden is depressed that she is so young leading this kind of life. It saddens him to think of her going to a store to buy the green dress that she has worn for him and that he hangs in the closet so it won't get "all wrinkly," as Sunny puts it, in her child-like language.
Why does Holden have anxiety?
Holden struggles to keep up with life especially at school and his perspective about life is quite negative. It is probably due to his past experience of being emotionally neglected by his family, losing a sibling, witnessing bullying and suicide incident.
Why does Holden suffer from PTSD?
Caulfield may be seen as suffering from a variety of mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This mental state could be a result of a variety of factors, including the death of his younger brother Allie, as well as witnessing the gruesome scene of a classmate's death.
Is Holden in a mental hospital?
Holden is not specific about his location while he's telling the story, but he makes it clear that he is undergoing treatment in a mental hospital or sanatorium. The events he narrates take place in the few days between the end of the fall school term and Christmas, when Holden is sixteen years old.
When does Holden feel suicidal?
Throughout the novel, Holden frequently states that he feels depressed, and often entertains morbid thoughts. For example, after Maurice punches him in the gut, Holden thinks, “What I really felt like, though, is committing suicide.
Why is Holden so pessimistic?
The pressure to succeed and his confusion with the way the World works caused Holden to be very pessimistic. Due to this Holden led his life to a path of self destruction. Holden wants to live in a World of perfection, yet his depression and anxiety are keeping him from doing that.
What is the Catcher in the Rye about?
The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger is about Holden Caulfield. A young curious, lost kid who does not seem to understand the true meaning of life. His transition with adolescents and his curiosity don’t manage well together. Holden is immature he makes many mistakes, and acts as though he has not made any. Holden does not seem like a normal seventeen year old. Holden is classified as an adult, but I do believe that because he is suffering from depression he does not act his age although he may think he is. Holden dislikes the society he lives in and goes on a long pilgrimage to discover himself. Holden is a critical person, judgemental, seems very anxious, has sarcasm, this leads him on a path of self destruction. The way that Holden acts in the novel makes me think he is unstable, and judgemental about everything. I am viewing this novel from a psychological lense but more specifically through depression. Holden’s childhood seemed to have affected him and caused depression. His childhood is what made Holden and due to his childhood he is suffering from depression in his older age,
