Theme Of Insanity In Catcher In The Rye

Insanity in a Sane World
Insanity is a state of mind that prevents normal perception, behaviour, or social interaction. It is when one does something out of the ordinary; yet feels as though it is justified. These perspectives of insanity are likewise portrayed in literature. “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger examines the behaviour and relationships of Holden Caulfield, a young boy who is living with mental illnesses–a perceived form of insanity-in a sane world. This is seen through Holden’s inability to deal with the world, his obsession with irrelevant details, and his overly judgemental and critical nature.
Holden Caulfield is unable to accept the realities of the real world due to the death of his younger brother, Allie. Holden
They are able to continue along with their lives, and Holden will be there to protect them and their innocence. Holden sees this as his fantasy because a catcher would have caught his little brother, Allie, or failing to do so, would have caught him and saved him from his pain and loneliness. Holden understands that what he wants to do with his life is unreasonable but would rather do so then grow up to be a phony. This shows that Holden would rather see the world as his own fantasy than deal with the realities of the world around him. The real world goes on in quite an ordinary and predictable way while Holden immerses himself in his fantasies to escape from these realities. Holden is too caught up in his own fantasies to realize his mind is just not right. Although, the other characters find Holden to be caught up in his fantasies and his actions to be out of the ordinary, Holden feels they are
This is seen for the first time when Holden goes to the house of his history teacher Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer tries to reach out to Holden and provide guidance to him. Mr. Spencer says, “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules” (Salinger 8). Holden disagrees with him and becomes frustrated. He then refuses to engage with Mr. Spencer, not giving him his full attention, and becomes eager to leave. Holden sees him as being senile, phony and pathetic. Holden’s negative attitude prevents him from forming intimate relationships with others. Later, Holden’s judgmental attitude is seen when he meets the three girls in the Lavender Room of his hotel. He says, “At the table right next to me, there were these three girls around thirty or so. The whole three of them were pretty ugly...” (Salinger 69). After calling the girls ugly he then decides that he enjoys the company of one of the girls because he finds her cute. However, he becomes disgusted with all three of them because he thinks they are superficial and do not care about anything important. This shows that Holden is quick to judge based on appearance and his critical nature. Next, his critical nature is seen when talking about his brother, D.B.. Holden criticizes his brother for pursuing his career in screen writing. He says that D.B., “...went out to Hollywood and prostituted himself”