Holden Psychoanalysis
Holden Caulfield entered my office a seemingly controlled, passive young adult. It would become utterly obvious that he was the complete opposite. Exposed to great trauma at a very early age, he desperately tries to control everything in his life: maturation, innocence in others and himself, and various other trivial subjects in life which others might pass by. Ultimately trying to be a "Catcher In The Rye", he wants to control and protect the people he loves. Also showing classic symptoms of a borderline personality disorder, he has a severe inability to experience "middle grounds" of situations, emotions, etc. This is reflected in almost everything he says and does.
To lose something or someone close to you is a trauma at any age. The younger the mind is, and the less experienced, the more severe the effects of the trauma. Holden lost his brother Allie to leukemia. Holden would be the middle child after that loss, leaving him the most vulnerable. His older brother D.B was old enough to accept the terrible events and cope with them. His younger sister Phoebe was too young to have a concept of what was going on around her at the time. This left Holden: young, confused, angry and alone. "I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage." (38-39). Thirteen years of age is just beginning the adolescent years - a time of maturation and change, but also a time of great confusion.
A Freudian theory many of us in the medical community are familiar with is the theory of defense mechanisms. This theory describes different actions the mind has been known to do in response to a trauma. If I were to pinpoint a mechanism here, I would have to say it is a form of Regression. Regression as you know is the return to a state of mind to a time of happiness and security before a trauma. Holden experiences this in a different way. He is developmentally FROZEN at the age of 13. It is as if he were walking
To lose something or someone close to you is a trauma at any age. The younger the mind is, and the less experienced, the more severe the effects of the trauma. Holden lost his brother Allie to leukemia. Holden would be the middle child after that loss, leaving him the most vulnerable. His older brother D.B was old enough to accept the terrible events and cope with them. His younger sister Phoebe was too young to have a concept of what was going on around her at the time. This left Holden: young, confused, angry and alone. "I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage." (38-39). Thirteen years of age is just beginning the adolescent years - a time of maturation and change, but also a time of great confusion.
A Freudian theory many of us in the medical community are familiar with is the theory of defense mechanisms. This theory describes different actions the mind has been known to do in response to a trauma. If I were to pinpoint a mechanism here, I would have to say it is a form of Regression. Regression as you know is the return to a state of mind to a time of happiness and security before a trauma. Holden experiences this in a different way. He is developmentally FROZEN at the age of 13. It is as if he were walking