Diagnosing Holden Faith Mcgee

Introduction

In J. D. Salingers book, the Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden Caulfield has little care for what happens to him in his life anymore. He seems to be floating, and out of place throughout the whole book. He has a rich family and, a brother who he dearly loved who had passed away, and ever since then Holden has not been himself. He is distraught by the fact that he couldn't protect his little brother. He has no sleep schedule and doesn't feel the same in every situation. When he talks he can go into an angry mode without realizing it, and has no interest in anything except being with someone he loves, who is gone. Because of this Holden shows signs of depression, and depression is the feeling of sadness and worthlessness in a person. In the book, the Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger creates a character named Holden who shows many signs of depression, and two specific symptoms are loss of interest and difficulty sleeping.

Depression

Loss of Interest

National Institute of Mental Health. “Depression.” National Institute of Mental Health, Oct. 2016,

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml. Accessed 29 Jan. 2017. says that depression is, "Depression (major depressive disorder or clinical depression) is a common but serious mood disorder. It causes severe symptoms that affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working." Holden shows the sign loss of interest because at the start of the book Holden is flunking out of school, and that shows he doesn't care about his grades. His trauma was the death of his brother, and his brother could have been the only thing that mattered to him and after his brother was gone he felt that there was no point to try at school or at life. The quote, " He knew I wasn't coming back to Pency."(Salinger 4), and "It is alright with me if you flunk me though as I am flunking everything else except English anyway."(Salinger 12). is my evidence that Holden does not care about the remainder of his life because of his childhood trauma.

Difficulty Sleeping

National Institute of Mental Health. “Depression.” National Institute of Mental Health, Oct. 2016,

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml. Accessed 29 Jan. 2017. says that "difficulty sleeping," is a symptom of depression. Holden experiences this symptom many times throughout the book, particularly when he was fighting with his adversary roommate, he just left and it was very late and was having difficulty sleeping. Holden yelled "sleep tight ya morons!" and then realized "It was too late to call up a cab or anything." So Holden just walked out in the dark. These examples show that Holden doesn't sleep well, and has no sleep schedule. Holden suffered a tough time in his life when he was just a novice in reality, and made him lay away at night slowly driving himself into madness.

Conclusion

J. D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield is suffering from two specific symptoms of depression, Loss of interest and difficulty sleeping my evidence shows that he shoukd be diagnosed with depression. Holden has difficulty sleeping and isn't interested in the things that other 50's kids are into and needs some help and needs somebody to be with him that he cares about. Holden needs to find a purpose in life then he will cured of his disease. I really feel that Holden is sick mentally but can be cured with a purpose in life or sombody to care about.

Work Cited

National Institute of Mental Health. “Depression.” National Institute of Mental Health, Oct. 2016,https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml. Accessed 29 Jan. 2017.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown, and Company, 1951.

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