Holden Caulfield's Psychological Profile

Depression can have serious psychological repercussions. Such is demonstrated in the character of Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. While residing in a mental hospital in California, Holden explains the events that led to his downfall. Within his story, all the reasons for his extreme unhappiness are revealed. Holden's severe depression is made apparent through his inward emotional turmoil, phoniness, ... human, albeit dehumanized, and constitute a fair average of what the culture affords" (Aldridge 2). Almost everyone he meets is unrightfully labe...

• Word Count: 1855
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to run away from school is the result of his desperation to escape the realities of his oncoming adulthood. Through the innocence of his youth Holden views the world as hypocritical and corrupt. His fondest memories are of playing checkers with Jane Gallagher and dancing with his sister Phoebe. Among his ... Wicked This Way Comes, the carousel represents an escape from getting older. Similar to Ray Bradbury's book, retaining one's youth comes at a great cost. Holden does not want to leave Phoebe and the rest of his family to pursue his irrational dream. As he watches Phoebe, he is overco...

• Word Count: 704
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... most adults he knows are phonies, that is, people who claim to be something they're not (Alsen 13). Such is the case when Holden enters the night club; he immediately feels the phoniness in the room and suggests his hatred for conformity by stating, "It's one of those ... highest I.Q. of any boy at Whooton--and I thought he might want to have dinner with me somewhere and have a slightly intellectual conversation (Sallinger 136). While Holden mentions that he wants to have a "slightly intellectual conversation" with Carl Luce, he also states, "That's the trouble with these intellectual g...

• Word Count: 2186
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... that in general there are three types of intelligence; biological intelligence where the emphasis is on the structure and functioning of the brain, psychometric intelligence in which standardised psychological tests are used to measure intelligence, intelligence here is defined as whatsoever these tests measure, and social or contextual intelligence wherein intelligence is defined in terms of adaptive ... to minimise the impact of socio-economic and educational deprivation on test results. The dilemma with this is that the tests include nonverbal items, which do not give a holistic pro...

• Word Count: 8469
• Approx Pages: 34
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Generation Holden Caulfield The teenage years are, without argument, the most confusing and formative years of a person's transition into adulthood, and the onus of an anxiety filled ... thrown out of the proverbial window, so to speak, by this politically correct epoch. Teenage anxiety and teenage depression are the new politically correct labels of the adolescent psychological forefront, and these two problems, so ubiquitous they might as well be the standard rule of normal "not the measure of a problem, influence the lives ... "with children, keep in mind, indicates plenty about the curren...

• Word Count: 1938
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

... his current school that he is being expelled from, Pencey Prep. His roommate there, Stradlater, and another boy they live next to, Ackley, stress Holden out a lot. Holden doesn't enjoy the company of many people, only his younger sister, Phoebe. He once had another very strong connection with his brother, Allie, but he ... had died a few years prior. Allie's death took a major toll on Holden and he began a downward spiral into mental illness. Before Holden was to be sent home from Pencey for good, he decides to leave early and be on his own in New York City ... for a few days. With a d...

• Word Count: 840
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... believe you also had some difficulty at the Whooton School and at Elkton Hills" (pg.13). Holden continues to get kicked out of every school he attends to. This passage interprets a significant sign to Holden's mental and emotional breakdown because he fails to apply himself and socialize without becoming a phony, despite how ... much everyone else in his life tries to encourage him about school and his grades. For example, Holden's history teacher, Mr. Spencer tries to help him, "I'd like to put some sense in that head of yours. I'm trying to help you, if ... his breakdown, like he feels...

• Word Count: 834
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... so upset at the time that he punched out the garage windows and permanently crippled his hand. This caused Holden to miss the funeral and a chance for closure. Holden never does let go. Allie's poetic baseball mitt reminds Holden of what a wonderful person he was. Holden cannot stand to hear Stradlater make fun of the essay he wrote about the glove for Stradlater, so ... or even call home. After his week of drinking and spending, he finaaly sneaks in and wakes her up. Phoebe puts many things in prospective for Holden. Most importantly, she assertively states that "Allie's dead"(p.171). ...

• Word Count: 598
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... others "phony-. For instance, he is angry with Stradlater because he doesn't even remember if his date's name is Jean or Jane. However, Holden himself admits although he doesn't particularly like Sally Hayes, he tells her he loves her. He complains that Ackley only stops cutting his nails all ... other young people like her have already started to prepare themselves for adult life by completely accepting society and trying to fit in. Unlike her, Holden does not want to turn into a money and success driven New York City workaholic. He has different values in life: for him, happiness is .....

• Word Count: 1038
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School