Like Jeffrey S. Nevid says, “Like an iceberg, which has much of its mass hidden below the surface of the water, most of the human mind lies below the surface of conscious awareness”(468). The evils of loss and tragedy affect people psychologically and change their perspectives towards the real world. Holden Caulfield, the sixteen year old protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, narrates the book as he spends his weekend through New York in the 1950’s. Holden’s life is not an easy walk through the park, as his entire family is still recovering from the tragic death of his little brother, Allie. The psychoanalytical theory by Sigmund…show more content… Knowing that sooner or later Holden would have to confess to his parents that he has been kicked out of school again, he procrastinates on getting home and lives independently through New York for a while. Holden decides to have adventure through the city before facing his parents. Holden takes a bus, cabs, stays in a hotel, meets a prostitute and goes to clubs. We know that this is not what an ordinary teenager would do on a cold weekend. He is not too worried about what his parents will say, he believes they won’t care as much since it is not his first time getting kicked out and they are going through a rough patch. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield expresses, “I felt sorry as hell for my mother and father. Especially my mother, because she still isn’t over my brother Allie yet” (155). Holden’s parents have not gotten over the death of Allie, the innocent child and little brother. The entire Caulfield family was badly affected and is still grieving, which changes the way they think and act. However, Holden tries not to show his true emotions because he does not want people knowing that he is in pain. He uses sarcasm, jocularity and profanity to disguise his true emotions, though they are still obvious to the readers of the classic
