Holden openly expresses many emotions and reacts to certain events in a way that might possibly indicate that a mental disorder is present. While Holden most definitely has a mangled mental state, I believe that he specifically experiences symptoms tied in with sociopathy and depression. Throughout the book, Holden manifests many dark emotions and thoughts that propose the idea that he is suffering from great internal pain. J.D. Salinger also suggests that Holden in present in a mental institution during his entire retelling of past events. Evidence of this is found at the very beginning (pg. 1) of the book. “I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy.” Another piece of evidence that supports this idea is at the very end (pg. 213) of the book. “I could probably tell you what I did after I went home, and how I got sick and all.” This alone already suggests that he has something wrong with him mentally. Holden demonstrates unique behavior when confronted with a variety of scenarios. He struggles with such problems as family, friendships, relationships, physical encounters, and sexual behavior.

Before I jump to any conclusions on Holden’s mental state, I want to narrow down the possible mental disorders that Holden may be experiencing. After talking with my friend about the book, I immediately eliminated psychopathy. The main reason for dismissing the suggestion was because of Holden’s response to violence. When he is provoked or even attacked, Holden stands his ground but will not fire back. Most of his aggression is transmitted by vocal means and never physical. “No, you’re no crooks, you’re just stealing five-.” Common personality traits of someone diagnosed with psychopathy tend to be chaotic, sadistic, and manipulative. I do not find Holden to match many if any of these traits and therefore I do not believe that he is a psychopath. Though there are many other strange behaviors that Holden demonstrates that can be examined.

Another mental disorder that came up was sociopathy. By comparing the usual symptoms that follow with sociopathy to Holden’s personality, I believe that Holden is likely to be a sociopath. My evidence for this conclusion is the lack of empathy that he has for other characters in the novel. Holden’s interaction with Sally (pg. 133) strongly emphasizes my point. In this interaction, it shows Holden’s lack of care to Sally’s feelings. He understands and identifies how she feels, but does not seem to be affected by it as much as an average person would’ve been. He ends up bringing Sally to tears by saying she gives him “a royal pain in the ass.” After driving her to cry, Holden’s main fear was not for how he hurt her but for her father’s anger that would rise from the situation if Sally informed him. While Holden does apologize, it is more for this reason than anything else. These scenarios and how Holden’s responses to such things tend to be more subtle than the elephant in the room.

The more obvious mental disorder to point to is depression. One of my best pieces of evidence for this claim is brought up from the same occasion mentioned in my previous paragraph (pg. 132). Holden’s unplanned plea for an american dream type situation is openly expressed to Sally. He wants to move up to a small village near Massachusetts and Vermont. He begins to become really excited about his plan and becomes noticeably disconnected from reality during his ramble. This shows how badly he has always wanted to escape his situation through one way or another. After Sally takes the role of the adult in the conversation and grounds Holden back into reality, he is struck with a large wave of sadness and this leads to the argument with Sally. One’s desire to escape reality often could be a sign of depression. Another significant piece of evidence is when Holden expresses ending his life. “I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would’ve done it, too, if I’d been sure somebody’d cover me up as soon as I landed. This quote requires less explanation due to its direct approach. I find the amount of evidence I gathered to be sufficient enough to give a final diagnosis.

In conclusion, I believe Holden’s mental state to be far more elaborate than just stating that he has depression. His layers of problems go far deeper than such a generic term as depression or sociopathy, but these are the best that I have to describe his mental state. Holden has had a plethora of experiences that gives further reasoning to why he would be enduring my suggested mental disorders, the clear one being the death of his young brother, Allie. Most of my statements in this essay are built off of speculation but they all carry remarkable amounts of evidence found in the novel. As far as my personal experience with such a topic goes, I take most of my knowledge from this subject through social interactions and common family issues. Though by learning of the mental disorders Holden may have and how I identified with such feelings, I hope that you will be more likely to recognize these symptoms in the real world and understand when to reach out to someone if you are worried about them.