Holden Caulfield Psychoanalytic

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Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory argued that human behavior was composed of three fundamental parts of the mind such as the id, ego and the superego. The protagonist in the book the Catcher in the Rye depicts some traces of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. In the narrative The Catcher in the Rye the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is a perturbed adolescent who isolates himself from the world and has a difficult time being a part of society, much like the author himself. Holden begins his psychoanalytical experience the day he got kicked out of school. “Im not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything. I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last christmas just before i got pretty rundown and…show more content…
Holden’s logical thinking is controversial throughout the narrative in various circumstances. Holden develops a world within his mind as if he has the future prepared, “Here’s my idea… we’ll stay in these cabin camps and stuff like that till the dough runs out. Then when the dough runs out, I could get a job somewhere and we could live somewhere with a brook and all” (Salinger 132). Holden fantasizes a life where he can escape from society’s issues, his own issues and operate happily without having any concerns. From a Freudian psychoanalytical perspective Holden would seem to fit under the unconscious part of the mind with his impulsive decision. A theory by Sigmund Freud states “... the id (literally “it”) operates only in the unconscious:The id contains our baser animal drivers and instinctual impulses… The id stirs us to action to ensure that our basic biological needs are met. Freud called the pleasure principle, the demand for instant gratification without regard to social rules or customs… the id wants what it wants when it wants it” (Hartford 470). Holden’s bizarre behavior that seems to unattached to the moment would reflect a psychological state attached to his unconscious self which can be used to convey Holden’s perspective towards the fantasy world he has planned for himself. Similar to Holden’s view of the future, the author J.D Salinger also

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