English 3
Mr. Lon
The Catcher in the Rye:
The Psychoanalysis of Holden Caufield
Group Members:
Task: Holden Caufield is a young man whose world seems to be caving in on him. He has been kicked
out of school, ostracized by his peers, physically and emotionally beaten, and has serious reservations about
his readiness for the trials of adulthood. While Holden manages to bring some of these problems upon
himself, a great many others come as a result of the feelings of alienation and depression that he
experiences on an almost continual basis. Quite simply, Holden is a sick young man who has a problem
that needs to be dealt with in a professional manner. That is where you come in.
In this interactive group assignment, you and your peers are to act as a team of psychologists who have
taken on the task of analyzing Holden’s depression. First, you must identify those areas which seem to
cause the most angst or depression within Holden, and then you are to make recommendations on how he
should deal with his problems. The groups will need to come to an agreement on the areas of depression
that will be analyzed, but it is the individual responsibility of each group member to record the results of
the study on their own evaluation form. In addition, one member from each group will need to act as the
reporter for their group when the time comes for class presentations of these psychological studies
The Causes of Holden’s Depression
(select five and write a detailed report on each)
Psychological Diagnosis
(what types of advice, suggestions, therapy, etc. can
be given to Holden in order to stabilize his mental
health?)
The Causes of Holden’s Depression
(select five and write a detailed report on each)
Psychological Diagnosis
(what types of advice, suggestions, therapy, etc. can
be given to Holden in order to stabilize his mental
health?)