Text Review: Catcher in The Rye

I am sure many of you have read this text, its been historically used as the “summer reading” book for many students going into their sophomore year of high school.  While it has been years since I fully read the entire text, I know doubt remember the impact it had on my when I initially read it.  The story follows Holden Caulfield across a three day time period in Manhattan.  Holden was recently expelled from his fourth school and seemingly doesn’t know where to turn.  Throughout the novel he runs into people form all sorts of backgrounds whether that is a prostitute, elevator operator, or a cab driver.  All of these characters push Holden down even farther than he initially was.  Holden also constantly tries to reach out to figures from his past.  These include old girlfriends, academic advisors, and teachers.  All of these encounters feel pointless, nothing good or bad necessarily come of them.  Holden is wasting away in Manhattan, avoiding going home and accepting the fact that his mistake has seriously derailed his life.  While on the surface I have no obvious connections with Holden, which is probably a good thing.  However, when I first read the novel I felt personally connected with Holden and his inner thoughts.  Throughout the novel he narrates his feelings of pain while growing up and facing the real world, he describes how he pushes away others in order to protect himself in a way.  Holden is a sixteen year old, in New York City by himself.  The personal growth and discovery he experiences over these three days ties in closely with some of the material we have discussed over the course of this semester.  Whether its Deming in The Leavers or Marji in Persepolis.  Holden determines his self identity through his experiences with strangers, old friends, and authority figures.  Much like the Deming and Marji, Holden bases his identity off of their perceived thoughts of the other.  I believe in writing this piece J. D. Salinger wants us to take away the perplexity of growing up and discovering who we really are.  Holdens journey is long and confusing, as I said seemingly pointless at times.  However, you have to remember that every event is a learning opportunity and those are what shape us.  

Context Research Presentation Psychology of moving as a child

Ben Mewhinney

Week 9 Context Presentation – Psychology of moving as a child

Moving is often thought of as one of the most stressful situations someone is placed in. This is stress is only compounded upon when you are a young child, thought to be abandoned by your mama and moving from New York City to a wealthy suburb. While the stress levels are apparent I would like to dive deeper into the psychology of children when they are moving.

Deming is faced with an incredibly difficult situation, his mother never returns from work one day, leaving the young child to think he has been abandoned. One can only imagine the levels of anxiety this would bring on. Moving can ruin important friendships and disrupt a balance that a child may being to form in their life. This effect is even worse for children who, “are introverted and those whose personalities tend toward anxiety and inflexibility” (Darling 2010). Deming certainly faces these issues which only get worse when he moves upstate. Moving is often times something that one cannot control, similar to his mothers disappearance. These types of rash and sudden changes make it difficult for one to form any sort of identity. Moving during childhood raises the chances of mental health problems by nearly three times (Thriveworks 2018). Changes like these tend to make children less resilient and mores sensitive. Stability is vital to a young child, something that Deming is clearly deprived of during his young teenage years. These situations lead to fewer high quality relationships, lower life satisfaction, and lower sense of personal well being (Thriveworks 2018).

Deming not only faces the stress of moving to the suburbs during The Leavers. He also faces the added stress of his missing mother, continued pressure to forget his cultural roots, and discrimination within his new community. Regardless of the situation before the move, this sudden change in Deming’s life certainly affects him on a scale that you may have not already assumed.

References:

Darling, Nancy. “Moving Is Tough for Kids.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 11 July 2010, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/thinking-about-kids/201007/ moving-is-tough-kids.

Guest. “Moving Is Tough for Kids and Can Potentially Impact Their Mental Health: Here’s How You Can Make It Easier for Them – Thriveworks.” Counseling and Life Coaching – Find a Counselor, 3 Feb. 2020, thriveworks.com/blog/moving- tough-kids-impact-mental-health/.