Catcher in the Rye
Like many people, Holden Caulfield suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. "Post-traumatic stress disorder occurs when one or more disturbing events create an overwhelming feeling of helplessness or powerlessness."1 In Holden's case, this event in his life was the death of his younger brother Allie. Holden's relationship with Allie was so great that everyone Holden encounters has to fit Allies' model. The fact that Allie was only a kid when he died is why Holden cares so much about Phoebe and why he can't admit to liking Ackley and Stradlater. Allies' death affected Holden in such a way that he has difficulty having a relationship with anyone. Throughout the book, Holden always refers to kids in a delightful manner. This is comparative to how Allie was like when he was alive. In Holden's eyes, Allie was the perfect kid. When Holden was with Allie he felt wonderful and saw the world as a perfect place. When Allie died, Holden lost what he thought to be a perfect world, and returned to reality. Afterwards Holden struggles in school having to transfer from school to school several times. "Adolescents 12 to 17 years of age may exhibit similar to those of adults; problems with peers, antisocial behavior...
Also common are withdrawal, isolation, school avoidance, academic decline."2 This was an early indication that Holden suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. While Holden was writing a composition for Stradlater, we get another direct glimpse of Holden's anxiety. On the day of Allies death, Holden slept in the garage and smashed all the windows with his fist resulting in a trip to the hospital. "Reactions to trauma may appear immediately after the traumatic even...Children 6 to 11 may show extreme withdrawal, disruptive behavior..."3 The damage Holden's fist was so severe that he was still in the hospital during Allies' funeral. 2. Cathleen Henning, "Panic and Anxiety", Child & Adolescent Trauma 1. John Craig, "Healing emotional trauma" Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, 1 Nov. 1996,
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Approximate Word count = 1832
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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