I want you to be happy. When I read Holdens point of view, I felt that I had some things in common with him. And who can forget phony? If Holden Caulfield Were Alive Today | Psychology Today What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliffI mean if theyre running and they dont look where theyre going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. He is our first representation of ADHD as well as autism on this blog. He asks many adults in the novel where the ducks go, and either they dont have an answer, or they give a nonsensical onewhich shows that adults dont know too much about growing up either. She was depressing. In chapter twenty, Holden is feeling very lonesome so he calls a friend to have a few drinks with. Holden Caulfield. She doesnt always have anything good to say, but she never stops talking. Boy, was she depressing me. Struggling with distance learning? Omissions? She and I kind of have a friends with benefits thing, but I think she wants to be FBO. He even takes notes while he reads it so he can copy what it says. I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage. She just kept dancing, and then asked me for a selfie so she could post it on her profile. If they fall off, they fall off, but its bad if you say anything to them. Depression has a huge impact on ones mental state. I swear to God I am. The result is depression and hospitalization. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Holden Caulfield is a character close to my heart, and I see him as an example of a teenager with a misunderstood brain that no one knew what to do with. I never found out what happened to Carl. Please. ", "Because you dont. They got out of break a little earlier so I could see that she was hanging out at the skating rink with these two other girls. I just finished reading the book, Catcher in the Rye. You dont like any schools. [W]hile I was sitting down, I saw something that drove me crazy. He just keeps falling and falling. It drove me damn near crazy. Holden had a traumatic experience as a child, the loss of his brother, Allie. I also assumed Brian had autism but as the show progressed I felt his odd behavior was more mental health related. Yes, I do think he's an aspie--red hunting cap, inappropriate comments, mimicing adults in order to make conversation, analyzes everything, repetitive (keeps asking the same questions over and over--where do the ducks go in the winter?) Toward the end of the story, Kenneth and Vincent are on the beach. Those goddam pills didnt really do much for me. After this, a noticeable change in his behavior occurs. Fincher and Salinger both utilize numerous strategies so as to feature these difficulties, including setting, the topic of companionship/reliability and imagery. When I got up there I kept my head down and couldnt stop looking at the teachers shoes. She didnt answer me. See ya, doc, I called out. One kid posted a picture of himself that made him look like a goddam model or something. He has a strong connection with certain males throughout the novel. Although J.D. I have always felt like Holden was the same type of alien as me. Salinger's various stories (and one novel) featuring a character named Holden Caulfield do not share a cohesive timeline, and details about "Holden Caulfield" and his family are often inconsistent or completely contradictory from one story to another. No matter how much I text with others or follow their profiles, I just feel lonely. Unlike the similar sequence in the novel, Caulfield is on a Christmas break from school, and, in the story, the interlude with Sally is split into two occurrences. Thoughts of Allie lying in his grave in the cemetery in the rain, surrounded by dead bodies and tombstones, haunt Holden. I think its a parallel showing the otherside of sociopath. WebHolden Caulfield is gay because of the way he speaks about women, his interests, and his overall demeanor. Evaluation Of Holden Caulfield in Catcher In It's all scripted and fake when he speaks. He stops making sexual advances when a girl says "No." Is Holden Caulfield Gay? - Tips For Efficiency While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Possible Mental Disorders of Holden Caulfield He is the most relatable fictional character I have ever come across. Lately, a lot of people on this sub have even been comparing his mannerisms to Connor from the video game Detroit Become Human. The way Holden treats sexuality is reflective of the time period in which the novel was written, when society was just beginning to accept alternative lifestyles. "Life is a game, boy. I was with one of them a few weeks back. He is reportedly "killed during one of the landings in the Pacific". But I dont think you are callous and unemotional. Holden hates this, Grand. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. This shows a lot about Holdens own mental disorders and the mindset he is perpetuating. Holden Caulfield is a troubled character who shows clear signs of clinical depression. But one question that has continued to intrigue readers is whether or not Holden Caulfield, the books main character, is gay. Complete your free account to request a guide. He states, The worst part was, the jerk had one of those very phony, Ivy League voices, one of those very tired, snobby voices. They said that I had to learn to follow directions. This is one of my favorites. Holdens depression has led him to contemplate suicide. Mostly I use my account so I can make comments on my sister, Pheobes profile. WebIhab Hassan, in J. Once home, he is not shown confronting his parents, who, according to the maid, are playing bridge. I felt that both Holden and Brian were on the spectrum - in modern terms they'd both be classed as autistic, but if we were still using older terminology I'd say that Holden shows fairly heavy signs of having Aspergers. Initially, he gave up on reading it after dropping out from Pinole Valley High School when he was 18 years old. I couldnt wait to get out of Pencey. Bye.. He talks all week about the players he thinks are the best and what he thinks are the biggest problems with the other team each week, but I see him read all of that stuff from a blog. On edge because of the play and because of Sallys question about Christmas Eve. Sometimes when this happens, he calls on his dead brother, Allie, for help. Change). Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. He read a couple pages and gave up. These events are being told by Holden from a hospital bed in California. Our writers will provide you with an essay sample written from scratch: any topic, any deadline, any instructions. Youll learn from themif you want to. He probably does this because the words feel good in his mouth or head or because they are words he has learned to say in certain situations, in other words, scripting. WebIs Holden Caulfield autistic? Sure I do. Especially my roommate. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Another symptom attributed to depression is a loss of interest in many things, People typically exhibit multiple of the following behaviors and symptoms Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies or sports, (Depression (Major Depressive Disorder)). He couldn't relate to his peers because he was so far beyond them--like an old soul. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Also, the meeting with Carl Luce is considerably briefer in the story than in the novel. She is in this Benedict Arnold costume and she looks so great. Mitch Prinstein, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Term Professor and the Director of Clinical Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. However, out of all the different psychological disorder symptoms Holdens personality splinters out and touches, I think Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a major one. Holden has some interesting rules in his head about the world around him, such as every Catholic he meets wanting to find out if he is also Catholic above all else. He was singing that song, If a body catch a body coming through the rye. He had a pretty little voice, too. The name Holden Caulfield was initially used in an unpublished short story written in 1941 and first appeared in print in 1945. When Sally compliments him and calls his hair lovely, he doesnt believe what she is saying and thinks, Lovely my ass (Salinger 67). No kidding (Salinger 80). "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." The character, as Holden Caulfield, appears in Salinger's "Slight Rebellion off Madison", published in the December 21, 1946, issue of The New Yorker. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. I started sweating like mad when he said that. In New York City, he calls Sally Hayes, a friend of his, and schedules a date with her. Holden does the same. What a deal that was. He decides to head back to New York City, where he is from, but he doesnt go home. This was the 1940s, when ADHD was unheard of and autism was new, so adults in Holdens life assumed he was a bad kid and punished him. And besides, I dont think I could ever do it with somebody that sits in a stupid movie all day long. In terms of interpersonal relationships, Holden seems to do all right on the surface, being able to name friends and ex-girlfriends confidently. Although Sunny is the more frightening of the two, neither belongs there. Instead Nancy dug into her denial and whisked him away. Often considered a symbol of teen angst, key traits of Holden's include: a feeling of He decides its best if he stays away from home. Tons of girls telling him how hot he looked, like this conceited bastard needed anyone else to tell him how good looking he was. Get your paper done in as fast as 3 hours, 24/7. You cant ever find a place thats nice and peaceful, because there isnt any. Privacy Policy He views many things as phony and he doesnt trust many people. Caulfield also figures as a character in the short story "I'm Crazy", published in Colliers (December 22, 1945), and other members of the Caulfield family are featured in "Last Day of the Last Furlough", published in The Saturday Evening Post (July 15, 1944) and the unpublished short stories "The Last and Best of the Peter Pans" (c. 1942) and "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls" (c. 1945). WebHolden Caulfield is teen angst bull-crap with a pickax. My Dad always was sore as hell. After Holden drops out of school, his roommate Stradlater brags to him about what a good time he had with Jane Gallagher. They were right. For instance, many have speculated that Holdens brother, D.B., is actually Vincent. For example, in The Catcher in the Rye, Allie was the brother of the main character, Holden Caulfield. 2021 Aug 04 [cited 2023 Mar 3]. Holden has suicidal thoughts multiple times throughout the novel. Its full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques.. I cant stand all of the phonies on their profiles with all of their pictures of themselves and all of the comments about how good they look and how they just went to these great places. But I rubbed it out anyway, finally. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. Ive been thinking about it, and he does show some symptoms (special interests he likes talking a lot about, inability to read social cues, and general social unawareness). She said she had to meet her friend. Holdens biggest problem with other people is the lack of authenticity he often encounters. Shes really pretty, but sometimes I cant stand listening to her talk. He has extreme social issues because he feels as if he can't fit in with his peers. Have you ever heard of a hostile attribution bias?. I never did email him, however. into the living room to fetch a cigarette from a small box on the table. I just wish he wasnt there (Salinger 82 83). He was crying and crying. I cant seem to get very interested in them although your lectures are very interesting (Salinger 7). Salinger was published 62 years ago today. Holden Depression (A Complete Guide I couldnt wait to get out of Pencey. But if you get on the other side, where there arent any hot-shots, then whats a game about it? I decided I couldnt take it anymore, so I just packed up my things and left. When people think something is important to them, they just assume that its so goddam important to everyone else. He then asks. WebIts the LXVIIth time theyve met. Throughout the book, we get to see how Caulfield develops and emerges into adulthood and his feelings towards it. Kenneth decides to go swimming and is knocked out by a wave. The fact that he lies about his age specifically might also mean he feels disconnected from his chronological age, which is another ND trait. Corrections? I really am. equinn, Joined: 2 Dec 2006Age: 36Gender: FemalePosts: 408Location: somewhere else. He tells her when he leaves Pencey that he would like to sleep with her in the same bed. WebThe character of Holden Caulfield in J.D. Boy did that guy like to hear himself talk. alt="wiki ommons" style='width:175pt;height:4in;visibility:visible; You dont see what I mean at all. Seems common for most people to go through that "wahhh I hate my privileged lifestyle and family" phase at that point in their lives now. I mean, I just have a Finsta. He was pushed around from school to school, failing and being expelled from the majority of them due to his poor behavior. Holden Caulfield is gay because of the way he speaks about women, his interests, and his overall demeanor. Part of Holden's collapse is due to his inability to come to terms with death. Holden resents the adult world and resists entry into it, but he has little choice. Something went wrong, thoughI dont even remember what any more. He seems to think in strains of associations and will move through them regardless of relevance to the conversation. Despite his limited experience, his attitude toward women is actually admirable and mature. It was late, but I decided to text Sally. In a dialogue between Holden and his sister Phoebe, he confesses his fear of people thinking he is queer: He is very attached to his younger sister, Phoebe. Holden Caulfield In Catcher In The Rye By J. D. Salinger It just didnt make any sense to me. In addition, Ernie the taxi driver seems to be able to understand Caulfield on a deeper level than most people because he senses that Holden is also gay. I could hardly see straight (Salinger 80). Ultimately, it is up to the reader to decide Holdens sexuality for themselves. is alive and working as a writer in Hollywood. D. Salinger: Rare Quixotic Gesture, 1961: On the surface, Holden Caulfield is Salingers typical quixotic hero in search, once again, of the simple truth. It has been suggested that Salinger himself related so closely to Holden that he was protective of the character. This is because some events impact the way the body reacts to fear and stressful situations (Depression). Holden Caulfield, the 17-year-old narrator and protagonist of the novel, speaks to the reader directly from a mental hospital or sanitarium in southern California. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. But assume then your girlfriend disappears one day and leaving you with an untouchable smoothie all alone. Knowing what you value will help you build the most meaningful life possible. In J.D Salingers The Catcher in The Rye, the reader is presented to Holden Caulfield, a 17-year-old whos retelling the story of him at 16 facing rough times. None of Salingers works to date have clarified exactly how many Caulfied children there were or who (aside from the Kenneth/Allie I bet none of them watch a single game as soon as they graduate. The story is set at the Caulfield summer home on Cape Cod. Holden wants to tell what happened over a two-day period the previous December, beginning on the Saturday afternoon of the traditional season-ending football game between his school, Pencey Prep, and Saxon Hall. I dont know why. Joined: 20 Feb 2008Age: 47Gender: MalePosts: 1,919, Joined: 14 Apr 2007Gender: MalePosts: 10,752Location: Turkey, "I dont think he's autistic because he doesnt seem to have trouble partaking in social banter" ", "Like hell it is." When J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye. "Name one thing. It was the third school I had flunked out of, and my Dad was going to be sore as hell. WebHolden Caulfield character explanations intentions communication concepts 03 Share This fall I think youre riding forits a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The way the content is organized. Joined: 12 Nov 2007Age: 65Gender: MalePosts: 7,015. The man falling isnt permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. from your Reading List will also remove any Everyone just started, but no one else went. Holden Caulfield, Sarcastic, Nasty, And Completely Unlikeable Why the hell do you say that? Near the beginning as well as the end of the novel, he feels that he will disappear or fall into an abyss when he steps off a curb to cross a street. That reminds me of my therapist back from a few years ago. Except Carl really needed them to focus his parents told him. What did you just say?. Are you sure you want to remove #bookConfirmation# I think you care deeply about many people, especially children. All of these factors contributed to the mental hardships that he dealt with on a daily basis. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. 2023 EduBirdie.com. The main character, Holden Caulfield (or Holden Cauliflower, as I affectionately call him) is a bit controversial and a bit polarizing. Another short story of note with relationship to Caulfield is "The Boy in the People Shooting Hat", which was submitted to The New Yorker sometime between 1948 and 1949 but was never published. This essay sample was donated by a student to help the academic community. It is sometimes mistakenly reported that the name "Holden Caulfield" was derived by Salinger from a marquee or poster for the film Dear Ruth, starring William Holden and Joan Caulfield, but Dear Ruth was released in 1947 more than a year-and-a-half after Holden Caulfield's first appearance in print, and more than six years after Salinger's first unpublished short story was written using this name for a character. But Im glad he didnt. He viewed Allie as innocent and didnt believe he shouldve died, I know its only his body and all thats in the cemetery and his souls in Heaven and all that crap, but I couldnt stand it anyway. He is most famous for his appearance as the lead character and narrator of the 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye. The community od ppl in the autistic spectrum have been fighting against that word for years now. She is hysterical, old Pheobe. I remember this kid at my first school that was a real pain. Although J.D. To Holden, Pencey and the other prep schools that he has attended represent all that is artificial ("phony" is one of Holden's favorite words to describe this artificiality) and all that is despicable about any institution controlled by adults. He also struggles to grasp the subtleties of communication, such as not getting right away that Stradlater is annoyed with him. Ever. I dont even like to think about it. He doesnt seem to be able to relate to women at all and never asks any questions that would suggest he is interested in them as people. "I'm Crazy" is closely related to the first chapter of The Catcher in the Rye. The schools are filled with lies and cruelty, ranging in degree from the relatively harmless Pencey school motto ("Since 1888 we have been molding boys into splendid, clear-thinking young men.") WebHolden is a highly layered character, and to make a distinction as black and white as him being good or bad diminishes his humanity. He is very untrustworthy of people. Some people see him as a whiny proto-emo, some see him as just a stupid teenage boy, and some see him as a misunderstood anti-hero. Hes sarcastic, nasty, and completely unlikeable. And I was wonderingwhat psychological "disorder" does Holden (main character) have? The dorm was empty. Holden is acting like a duck in the way he avoids having to deal with his issues. But I didnt have the energy to start thinking about that now. Then, just to show you how crazy I am, when we were coming out of this big clinch, I told her I loved her and all. People scream forever like anyone cares what they are complaining about as much as they do. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye was published in 1951, it was an instant success. Afraid to go home to his parents in New York City, he spends a few days alone in Manhattan; he relates his experiences there in vivid and insightful prose. "Yes I do. I thought he was the typical moody middle-classer that we now call emo. Game, my ass. When he goes to his old school and sees a curse word scratched on the wall in chalk, he thinks a "pervert" must have snuck in during the night to write it, when it was most likely another kid. Press J to jump to the feed. -sorry if I went off-topic, Joined: 10 Apr 2008Age: 32Gender: FemalePosts: 272, Thanks for all the replies. I was so hopeful about the therapist subplot because I thought he was finally going to be diagnosed and given help. Im pretty yellow. Holden tends to rephrase things repeatedly and add on signature phrases such as that it did. I felt like jumping out the window (Salinger 57). In particular I thought it was really interesting to watch Holden "mask" trying to learn social cues. He also has a very negative view of homosexuals and calls them perverts and queers. The only good thing, I knew she wouldnt let old Phoebe come to my goddam funeral because she was only a little kid. Try it sometime, I said. The book is narrated as if he is speaking directly to the reader about events in the past, so everything is in his voice. Id just be the catcher in the rye and all. he's a PHONY, a big fat PHONY! The main character of the book is Holden Caulfield, he is also the narrator of the book but he is not very specific about where he is telling this story. I dont know what that has to do with anything, but he seemed to really want to know about how he died and whether I talked to anyone about it. path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> At one point, Holden begins picturing his funeral, I kept picturing her not knowing what to do with all my suits and athletic equipment and all. Holdens rebellion is not against some spooky threat like the establishment or capitalist America, but rather against something far more threatening to teenagers: maturity. And Im standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. He carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Nobodyd move. The novel slowly details Holden's realization that you can't "protect the innocent" and they don't want to be protected in the first place. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then its a game, all rightIll admit that. Thats all Id do all day. Society and his own body are telling him that it is time for him to change. In "The Stranger", published in Collier's December 1, 1945, Babe Gladwaller and his sister Mattie (a proto-type for Phoebe) visit Vincent Caulfield's former girlfriend, now married, to tell her about his death and deliver a poem he wrote about her. Its no secret that he suffers frequent mood swings, specifically bouts of depression and anger Ultimately, it is up to the reader to decide what they believe based on the information presented. All rights reserved, Holden Caulfield and Preserving Innocence in Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield's Journey from Depression to Happiness, Holden Caulfield as the Main Character of the Book Catcher in the Rye, The Challenges of Holden Caulfield and Mark Zuckerberg, Analysis Of Holden Caulfield As A Typical Teenager In The Catcher In The Rye By J.D. Holden Caulfield One of the reasons why it matters that Holden may be gay is because of his unique sexuality. Funny thing was, they were always talking about how much they annoyed the hell out of each other. Yes I do. I remember being a teenager and begging my father to read Catcher in the Rye because I didnt know how else to explain what was happening to me.