Whats+Wrong+With+Holden+Caulfield?

Throughout the book holden experiences a variety of issues, one main issue Holden experiences throughout the book is the impact of death of a family member. When Holden was thirteen his younger brother Allie who was eleven, passed away from Leukemia. Holden and Allie were very close and he admired his brother greatly. Without his parents there to help him get through it, and by kicking Holden out away to multiple private schools along with Allies death ,tore Holden apart.



When a sibling dies it may feel as if part of the self is lost too. Psychic trauma follows a sudden and unexpected event which exeeds the capacity of the idividuals coping skills and phychological defenses, so that they become temprarily helpless. This may result in distorted memories, lack of trust, a pessimistic attitude towards lfe and a low self esteem. At the worst a childs greif is pushed underground and may result in disorders of conduct, such as the use of drugs and alcohol, poor school performance, loneliness, a tendency to withdraw from relationships, low seld esteem, depression, and dificulty making long term commitments.