The Presence of the Psychological Lens in The Catcher in the Rye Anonymous 11th Grade

As a soldier in WWII, J.D. Salinger did not write about the war like his counterparts. He wrote about tragedy, but from a teenage perspective in the shape of Holden Caulfield. Through the psychological theory of trauma in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the psychological lens can be used to analyze while some argue mental illness in adolescence should not be taken seriously because many victims are well-off and experience few other problems, it should be due to how illness results from repressed trauma and causes an identity crisis transitioning into adulthood; unless signs of internal conflict is typical for becoming an adult.

The psychological lens glimpses into the behavior and motivations of characters. The lens concerns expression, personality, and state of mind; it draws on psychology and psychoanalysis. TED Talk “Depression, the Secret We Share” by Andrew Solomon delves into the minds and lives of those suffering from mental illness. Instances within the text reflect experiences in The Catcher in the Rye analyzed by the psychological lens.Through the psychological theory, Holden expresses behavior of repressed trauma from childhood in the novel. Holden Caulfield experienced quite an amount of trauma at an early...