Analysis of The Catcher in The Rye Through a Psychoanalytic Lens

Mental health is an important aspect of one’s wellbeing that may be significantly impacted by a traumatic experience. The author J.D. Salinger illustrates this idea in his novel The Catcher in the Rye, which focuses on the life of the depressed protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Holden experiences the death of his young brother Allie and struggles with transitioning from his innocent childhood to his materialistic adulthood. This transition eventually influences his mental state of mind, which is evident by his lack of motivation in school, and results in him suffering from loneliness, frustration and alienation. The psychoanalytic lens discusses an individual's actions based on their conscious and unconscious mind. The Catcher in the Rye can be better analyzed through the psychoanalytic lens rather the existential lens, and this is exemplified by Holden’s desire to avoid inevitable change, his resultant isolation and his battle between his conscious and unconscious mind.
Holden has a fear of change and desire to avoid …show more content…
Holden is constantly experiencing an internal battle between wanting to stay an adolescent and transitioning into adulthood. He creates a separate world within his own mind in order to distance himself from the real, adult world. His life of falsehood affects his mental health and isolates him from the rest of society. Holden is a teenager who has been affected by a traumatic event, the loss of his younger brother. J.D. Slinger cleverly illustrates the possible effect on mental stability post-trauma. Many other authors have also explored the topic of mental health in their novels. It is a timeless subject that has, in the past, been incorporated into many successful pieces of