Catcher in The Rye

Many people in the world today suffer from mental illnesses. In the novel, The Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a teenager who just got kicked out of his private prep school. Throughout the novel, Holden demonstrates many qualities of a person suffering from some kind of mental illness. Many times throughout the novel, Holden deliberately lies to people. He considers himself a “terrific liar”. One example of when Holden …

…realize that Allie can’t help him because he is dead. He feels that the reason he reached the corner without disappearing is because Allie saved him. Many times Holden calls him self “crazy”, and on one occasion, Carl even told Holden that he should get a psychoanalysis. But what if Holden really isn’t crazy, but just a ‘different’ kid. Since the story is told in his point of view, we will never know.