Holden: Insane or SaneThe Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, is a classic novel that depicts the problems a teenager faces as he struggles to come to terms with changes in his life. Holden Caulfield, the novel's main character, tells his story that begins at Pencey Prep and ends just before Christmas. His story fascinates many, but many still debate whether he is crazy. According to the clues given at the beginning and end of the book and his behavior towards Allie, it can be established that Holden Caulfield is indeed crazy. According to the Oxford dictionary, mad is “a state of mind which impedes normal perception, behavior or social interaction; severely mentally ill” (Insane np). The beginning of the book is one of the biggest clues that Holden is mad. This implies that Holden is in a mental institution, due to his mental illness. He says, “If you really want to hear this, the first thing you probably want to know is where I was born, and what my crappy childhood was like, and what they were like. take care of my parents and everything before you have me and everything." David Copperfield is crap, but I don't want to get into that... Also, I'm not going to tell you my whole damn autobiography or anything like that. gender (Salinger 1). From this passage it is clear that Holden is talking to someone. The story of birth, childhood and parents is typically what one tells one's therapist: people treat patients with mental disorders he would like to hear about someone's “lousy childhood” (Salinger 1). Holden then says, “I'll just tell you about these crazy things that happened to me last Christmas, just before I got pretty burnt out and had to come here and… middle of paper…” .titute using the word again “ here". He also says, “A lot of people, especially this psychoanalyst they have here, keep asking me if I'm going to practice when I go back to school next September” (Salinger). A psychoanalyst is a type of therapist whose goal is to help the mentally ill person gain insight into himself or herself. Holden admits that he is seeing this therapist, which is an insinuation that he is mentally ill. Holden has been through stressful and difficult situations. He was expelled from various schools and faced disapproval from his parents and society throughout his life. The biggest stress he went through in his life was the death of his brother Allie. Holden's inability to accept his death resulted in his madness. He is not mad to the point where he cannot be cured but he is mad to the point of preventing him from leading a normal life.