What caused Holden mental illness?

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. He also makes mention of physical and sexual violence which transpired at his all-male boarding school.

Why is Holden mentally ill?

Holden displays many common traits of a person with PTSD following this loss. He has substantial amounts of guilt and depression and struggles to remember the details of events in his life. Holden's emotions seem to be highly unbalanced. His rage is extreme and his joy is more manic.

What is the main cause of Holden's depression?

Why is Holden Caulfield depressed? After Holden's brother, Allie, died his emotional world turns upside down and he cannot grasp reality or the need to grow up. He struggles with loneliness, feelings of suicide, and discontentment with the world.

What causes Holden's 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.

What is Holden's main problem?

Major ConflictThe major conflict is within Holden's psyche. Part of him wants to connect with other people on an adult level (and, more specifically, to have a sexual encounter), while part of him wants to reject the adult world as “phony,” and to retreat into his own memories of childhood.

Holden On - A Discussion About Mental Illness

What is Holden's trauma?

When the novel opens, Salinger's protagonist, Holden, is reeling from two traumas: his little brother Allie has died of leukemia and his parents, in a misguided attempt to protect him, bar him from attending the funeral before shipping him off to prep school. He's expelled from that school, and three others.

Is Holden emotionally unstable?

Holden's initial issue is that he is emotionally unstable. We learn that through the book he has many breakdowns and outbursts of emotion and feelings. Holden says, “He got leukemia and died when we were up in Maine, on July 18, 1946.” Holden says this with deep sadness and sympathy for the death of his brother.

Why is Holden bipolar?

The death of Allie, Holden's younger brother, causes Holden to develop bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder does not have one single source, but a traumatic event like a significant loss constitutes a cause (Nordqvist).

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.

What is Holden addicted to?

Avoidance plays a big role in Holden Caulfield's life one indication is his addiction to childhood and innocence. Holden has many traits, one is his avoidance and his innocence, Holden later on says: “ I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life” (pg.

What is an example of Holden being 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.

Does Holden Caulfield lose his virginity?

Holden is a virgin, but he is very interested in sex, and, in fact, he spends much of the novel trying to lose his virginity. He feels strongly that sex should happen between people who care deeply about and respect one another, and he is upset by the realization that sex can be casual.

Why is Holden happy at the end?

One possible reading would take Holden at his word. This would entail believing that his happiness at the end of Chapter 25 is genuine and that this happiness predicts an eventual, full recovery. Such a reading sees Holden shedding his cynicism about the world and developing warmer feelings about other people.

What is Holden Caulfield syndrome?

Holden Caulfield suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. The fictional cause is the death of his beloved little brother, Allie.

What is Holden Caulfield's diagnosis?

The unhappy protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), brought on by the death of his 13-year-old brother several years before the novel begins. The diagnosis explains a lot: the distressing thoughts, the trouble sleeping, his habit of drinking to numb the pain.

Did Holden Caulfield have schizophrenia?

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.

How is Holden's mental state a result of grief?

Antolini that he hates people more than he likes them. The hat places Holden into the stage of anger within the grief process, as he consistently uses it for inexcusable hatred. Holden has an inflated ego since he always feels that it is other's who cause problems when that is nearly ever the case.

Is Holden immature or immature?

Holden also never learns how to think out his decisions. He makes many choices without putting much thought into them and this hurts himself and others. This shows that Holden is immature and still stuck in his childish ways and never showed much growth in the book.

What personality type is Holden?

Holden Caulfield is an INFP personality type. It's important to him that he stays true to his values. With his sensitive nature and need for authenticity, self-expression is important to Holden Caulfield.

What is Holden's fatal flaw?

Holden's downfall happens because his tragic flaw is that he is hypocritical about himself and doesn't understand himself. Holden has very noble goals, he wants to protect children's innocence.

What is the moral lesson of Catcher in the Rye?

Try to listen to yourself, have a break, when in need of one. Holden gives a great example of courage when he is not stopping and backing off. Do not let sadness and anxiety get to you, face the challenges and you'll get over them. The Catcher in the Rye is not only a beautiful piece of writing.

Why did Holden cry as he left?

After the mother leaves, Phoebe loans Holden her Christmas money, which makes Holden cry.

Is Holden desperate for love?

Throughout the novel, Holden desires the affection of a multitude of things including Jane Gallagher, Allie, and his sister, but is never able to obtain them due to his trapped mental state, highlighting in society people's yearn for love that is not feasible because people always desire something when they are in a ...

Did Holden kiss Jane?

One day, Jane's alcoholic stepfather came out to the porch where Holden and Jane were playing checkers and asked Jane for cigarettes; Jane refused to answer him, and, when he left, she began to cry. Holden held her, kissing her face and comforting her.

Is Phoebe In love With Holden?

Holden loves Phoebe because he can easily connect with her. Not only is she a good listener, but she also has a keen sense of discernment. These characteristics make Holden feel like they are on the same page. For instance, they share an understanding of what makes a movie “lousy” or “pretty good.”