In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield has peculiar behavioral tendencies. The author’s cynical narration presents the story of an emotionally damaged teenager whose cynicism and personal oddities prevent him from conforming to a post-World War II society full of phonies to whom he cannot relate. It becomes increasingly evident that Holden, far from being pragmatic, has clouded judgement as he rides an emotional rollercoaster of mood fluctuations. Thus, it is clear that his wide array of personal flaws including his cynical, depressive, and unreasonable attitudes and thoughts are rooted in underlying emotional problems. Holden Caulfield has extensive psychological problems that are revealed through his depressive thoughts, delusional fantasies, and extreme cynicism.

Holden’s thoughts indicate a personal struggle with depression, a psychological malady that strongly influences him. In many instances throughout the novel, Holden relays to the reader a feeling of deep sadness. Often, this depression is unreasonable and triggered by trivial events and situations. For instance, in explaining his feelings about the Elkton Hills headmaster’s phony and long-winded discussions with well-built and well-dressed parents, he says, “It makes me so depressed I go crazy” (Salinger 19). His feelings about the headmaster are telling, because they reveal that he is so prone to emotional overreaction and depressive thoughts that his emotions cannot simply be attributed to adolescence or typical teenage behavior. Furthermore, Holden even contemplates committing suicide several times. During his short stay in Manhattan, the mere thought of his yellowness and his gloves being stolen at Pencey depresses him to so great an extent that he decides to have more alcoholic drinks after a long night on the town. After a night in which Holden did not have any particular luck in socializing, he feels so depressed that he wishes he was dead. This is pivotal, because it is evident that these feelings are wholly unreasonable, and thus his depression influences his thoughts.

Holden’s constant attachment to unrealistic schemes indicate his struggle with manic tendencies and an exaggerated view of reality. Struggling to remain on topic, Holden has spontaneous and dramatic bursts of insight and ideas that he does not give proper thought to before presenting them to characters in the novel as well as to the reader. At one point in the novel, Holden becomes obsessed with an impulsive plan of his to run away with Sally to a different state. His plan is so bereft of common sense that Sally chides him by giving him a reality check, “In the first place, we’re both practically children. And did you ever stop to think what you’d do if you didn’t get a job when your money ran out? We’d starve to death” (132). Her reason juxtaposed to Holden’s dramatic and fallacious scheming is glaring. It is evident that he lacks the sound judgement and critical thinking skills that others of his age possess. Holden also fantasizes about moving to the West and pretending to be a deaf mute. For no apparent reason, he embellishes this fantasy until he discards of it as quickly as he adopted it. His manic attachment to insensible schemes reveals that he has underlying psychological problems that strongly influence him.

Holden’s extreme cynicism, which he uses to justify his alienation from others, indicates a deep-seated emotional and psychological struggle. Although he is reasonably cynical towards people who are conspicuously phony, such as Marty who overtly lies about catching a glimpse of a movie star, his negativity and scathing criticism of others often extends beyond the realm of reason. When discussing fighting, he says, “I can’t stand looking at the other guy’s face, is my trouble. It wouldn’t be so bad if you could be blindfolded or something” (117). Holden’s negativity is so extensive that it even drives him to irrationally resent the face of another man who is challenging him. This testifies to Holden’s struggle with an unusually cynical outlook. Moreover, he resists the formation of intimate relationships with others, finding flaws too great to ignore in every acquaintance. His history teacher at Pencey, Mr. Spencer, wants to understand Holden’s refusal to do schoolwork. He is sorry that he has to fail Holden and reaches out to him, trying to connect with him on a personal level and influence him for the better. However, Holden dismisses him as senile, phony and pathetic and refuses to engage Mr. Spencer. When he wakes up to Mr. Antolini creepily patting him on the forehead, Holden reveals that similar “perverty” stuff happened to him as a child several times. Thus, he clearly struggles with a natural trust deficit with everyone he meets, which explains his insecurity and the brash cynicism he utilizes to justify his alienation from others. Another example of this is Holden’s relationship with D.B. Although he suggests that they were once close, he now considers D.B. a phony because of his work in the film industry. Thus, he sabotages a potential genial relationship and justifies doing so with his prejudices against his brother’s field of work. Holden’s cynicism and alienation from others reveals emotional damage and psychological problems relating to intimacy.

Some readers have a drastically different understanding of Holden Caulfield’s behavior. They suggest that he is a typical teenager struggling with normal adolescent problems such as fitting in, dealing with failure, and making friends. However, a close analyzation of Holden’s behavior reveals that deep-seated psychological problems lay beneath the surface of his outlandish thoughts and actions. His depression, manic schemes, and unusually invidious cynicism testify to his emotional instability and inability to form intimate relationships with others. If Holden Caulfield was alive today, would he be receiving extensive mental health treatment?