The Psychoanalysis of Holden Caulfield

Psychiatrists: Donnie Kim, William Manzon, Christian Kim

THE SITUATION:
Throughout our extensive conversation with Holden Caulfield, we have come to know him quite
well, as he has revealed to us many of his most intimate thoughts and feelings about family,
friends, relationships, and society. Knowing Holden on this intimate level enables us to further our
understanding of his problems, concerns, and anger with people and society as a whole. We
must look at and care for Holden as if we are the counselors who are responsible for diagnosing
and prescribing for his current predicament.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:
❏ As a team of psychiatrists (groups of 4), prepare a written report (no less than four pages)
that offers your perspectives and conclusions about your patient, Holden Caulfield.
❏ Each section of the report must include a minimum of four examples from the novel with
parenthetical citations for each.(except for the Prognosis section which does not require
any examples)
❏ The report should be written in narrative form, not bullet points, presenting clear
exposition and argument.
❏ Feel free to use professional terminology and incorporate psychological jargon if possible
to establish tone (i.e. “The patient’s behavior in this case indicates that …”).
❏ Use specific details from the “Mental Health Journey” handout for information about the
various symptoms for each condition. Use these details in your report. You may also
research additional disorders using: National Institute of Mental Health (nimh.nih.gov) or
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov).
❏ Then prepare (as a group) a presentation (Google Slides) of findings for other psychiatrists
who are also working on Holden’s diagnosis, highlighting each component of your final
report.

DUE DATE:
 ❏ Patient Report due to turnitin.com before 11:59 pm on Thursday, 3/8
❏ You will present your slide Deck to a small group of other “psychiatrists” on Friday, 3/9
Warriorside Center for Teen Health

2601 W. Addison, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (866) FOR-HELP

Date of Entry: June 10, 1951

Date of Release: July 13, 1951

Name (Last, First): Caulfield, Holden

Age: 17

Date of Birth: January 8, 1933

Present School: unknown

Level of Education: Senior Secondary

PATIENT REPORT

Background (Chris) :
Holden Caulfield’s mental state remains a expedition to discover. Coming from such a troubled
past, it is clear that there is an dilemma within him. 17 years old, he failed to keep up with his
studies at his former school, Pencey Prep. With little to no friends at all, he was obviously
displeased with Pencey, claiming everyone there is a “phony”. With his failing grades, he
knows he is soon to be exiled from the school. In response, he packs his things and trails New
York for adventure. Along the way, he encounters feelings of depression, sadness, anger, fear
and joy. However, where does Holden stand mentally? Of course, there are underlying causes
that factor in to his internal struggle. Of these include, him flunking out of Pencey, his deceased
brother, and his complicated relationships with Sally Hayes.

Background Analysis (Chris) :

With his failing grades at Pencey, the school has decided to flunk him and Holden is removed.
In this event, he does not express it, but is internally stressing over it. By using an analogy of
ducks leaving a frozen lake, he doesn't know where the ducks go. He doesn't know where he
will go either if he is not going to school. Holden also undergoes a few stages of grief. His little
brother, who he admired so, has passed away from leukemia. From time to time, he reminisces
about him. Even reaching out to talk to him as if he was still there. This plays a major role in the
way he interprets others and acts around them. To add to his loneliness, his relationship with
Sally Hayes further complicates things. Telling her about his plans to run to Massachusetts, she
declines and Holden feels all on his own again.

Diagnosis (Donnie) :
From analyzing Holden Caulfield’s personal feelings throughout his life, it is clear that he has
symptoms of Depression. There are several symptoms of Depression, and Holden falls into
about four of the symptoms. The four symptoms are depressed or irritable moods, faltering
school performance, feelings of sadness or self-hatred, and thoughts about suicide or
obsessive fears or worries about death.

Holden Caulfield has often stated that he is depressed and is always in irritated mood. He said,
“I was feeling so depressed I didn't even think. That's the whole trouble. When you're feeling
very depressed, you can't even think” (91). Every time something doesn’t go the way he wants,
he says he feels depressed or lousy. It is normal for someone to feel that way when something
goes wrong, but it’s a symptom of depression if it continues to happen.

Caulfield’s school performance is lacking. When he is talking to Old Spencer, his former history
teacher, Old Spencer asked Caulfield how many classes his taking and how many classes he is
failing. Caulfield is failing four classes out of the five (10). As Caulfield talks to Old Spencer, he
thinks about where the ducks go as the pond freezes (13). Caulfield, failing classes, eventually
gets kicked out of the school. The duck represents Caulfield, and the frozen pond represents
Pencey Prep. When the pond freezes, the ducks now must find a new place to settle, just like
how Caulfield needs to find himself.

Allie, Holden Caulfield’s brother, was one of the only pure persons in Caulfield’s mind.
Unfortunately, Allie died due to leukemia at the age of 11. Holden hates himself for
continuously thinking about Allie and how he couldn’t do anything to help him. Holden said, “I
know he’s dead, Don’t you think I know that? I can still like him, though, can’t I? Just because
somebody’s dead, you don’t just stop liking them” (171). Caulfield is left with sadness because
of Allie’s death. In addition to his sadness, Caulfield has this feeling of self-hatred because he
couldn't prevent Allie's death.

Another case in which Caulfield faces great sadness is when Sally rejects Caulfield and his
ideas on running away. As Caulfield tells Sally about his ideas on running away, Sally tries to
politely decline his offer. Caulfield said, “I was getting depressed as hell again” (133). Caulfield
feeling sad and hating himself shows that he has symptoms of depression. This also isn’t the
first time as Holden said, “again.”

Caulfield often talks about ending his life. Holden said, “ I wasn't sleepy or anything, but I was
feeling sort of lousy. Depressed and all I almost I wished I was dead” (90). He has also said, “If
there’s ever another war, I’m going to sit right the hell on top of it. I’ll volunteer for it, I swear to
God I will” (141). As he said it literally, Holden shows the idea of suicide through verbal wording.
The thought of suicide adds onto the diagnosis evaluation of Depression as it one of the
symptoms.

Prescription (William) :
I Recommend that Caulfield should sleep earlier. Instead of sleeping, Holden is out during the
night as it says, "Even though it was so late, old Ernie's was jam packed” (45). It has also been
noticed several times that Caulfield has been doing other things rather than sleeping. Many
benefits come from a night's well rest, and Caulfield needs anything he can get. For a teen like
him, a recommended 8-10 should be aimed for.

In addition to the extra sleep that is suggested, Caulfield needs to stop the consumption of
alcohol and smoking. Overall, these activities cause negative effects toward the body and can
add on to the depression Caulfield has. Although taking part of these activities provide
temporary “pain” relief, abstaining from smoking and drinking is much more beneficial to his
state of mind and condition. It is stated by Caulfield, “ I was too drunk to give a damn” (82).
This shows how Caulfield uses alcohol to get drunk to bother with his unknown depression at
the time.
Even with these suggestions, Caulfield also needs to start sticking to what he says. It is said by
Caulfield, “I was supposed to be on this diet where you eat a lot of starches and crap, to gain
weight and all, but I didn't ever do it” (58). Caulfield sticking to his schedules would reduce the
risks of him using cigarettes and alcohol as he would be more determined to better himself and
to get over the depression he has. In total, Caulfield needs to get a better night's rest, stop the
consumption and use of alcohol and cigarettes, and create a healthy schedule for himself to
look forward to and follow.

Prognosis (William) :
If Holden follows the advice that has been recommended, Holden will start seeing his life
change for the better. The well rested nights will help keep Holden’s mind clear and ready for
the next day. The scheduling of his day would keep Holden in check as he knows where he
will be during certain times. Abstaining from alcohol and smoking also help reduce stress levels
and show a good example for Phoebe. Since Phoebe looks up to Holden as a role model,
Phoebe would also start doing the things Holden does, ex. Smoking and drinking alcohol, if he
wouldn’t stop. Holden also might not even fully recover depression if he were to continue one
or many of these habits. If Holden follows these advice, then he may end up with a full
recovery and set a good example for his sister, Phoebe.