Psychoanalytic Perspective Catcher Ch Exemplar (projection)

Transcription

1 Psychoanalytic Perspective Catcher Ch. 1-5 Exemplar (projection)

2 Introduction Salinger s stylistic choice of using stream of consciousness in his writing, along with his use of the second person pronoun you, helps the reader to take on the role of a therapist who is intended to psychoanalyze Holden using talk therapy. When approaching the text from a psychoanalytic perspective using Freudian Theory, one is expected to analyze Holden s narration and dialogue in order to gain insight into his psychological state. When this approach is applied to chapters 1-5, it becomes apparent that Holden s ego uses the defense mechanism of projection to combat survivor s guilt. This is evident through Holden s comments about his deceased brother Allie, his insults toward Ackley and Phony people, and his reactions toward Jane. Holden s reflections on these individuals reveal that his identity crisis stems from his suppressed guilt over his inability to live up to his dead brother s image, proving that repressed guilt is made evident through projection.

3 CAUSE: Holden s Guilt (Salinger, 38-39) he had poems written all over the fingers he was terrifically intelligent He was two years younger than I was, but he was about fifty times as intelligent These quotes reveal Holden s views that Allie is the smart one and the literate one. He is the one who died, yet Holden admits that he, the one who survived, is quite illiterate, but I read a lot (18). People with red hair are supposed to get mad very easily, but Allie never did he was a nice kid But it wasn t just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest, in lots of ways These quotes reveal Holden s perfect, innocent image of Allie, along with his admission that he,the one who survived, is not as nice.

4 Psychoanalysis they were going to have me psychoanalyzed ( 39 ). Holden stresses the fact that his parents were going to get him psychological help. This indicates that he was not psychoanalyzed; consequently, he was never given the opportunity to get over his anger and subsequent guilt over the fact that his brother, the smart and kind one of the family, died while he and his imperfections lived on.

5 Comment/Insight Holden has suppressed guilt over Allie s death. Holden attempts to hold on to these idealistic images of Allie by taking them on within himself, and he feels guilt when these ideals can not be fully realized (Allie= smart vs Holden=fails out of schools; Allie=calm and kind vs Holden=can t maintain friendships ) In order to deal with his suppressed guilt over the fact that the perfect, innocent, intelligent brother died and he, the imperfect one, survived he must not acknowledge his imperfections. To avoid acknowledging them, his ego uses a defense mechanism by projecting insults onto others. Defense mechanisms, like projection, occur [w]hen the... the id s demands [become]so insistent, that the ego feels in danger of being overwhelmed (Berger 37).

6 EFFECT: Projects onto Ackley only guy in the whole dorm, besides me, that wasn t down at the game...a very peculiar guy (19). I wasn t too crazy about him...he hated everybody's guts, damn near (19) How bout sitting down or something, Ackley kid? You re right in my goddam light (21) This behaviour parallels when Stradlater says to Holden, You re right in my light...ya have to stand right there? (31)

7 Comment/Insight Ackley is the personification of Holden's suppressed identity. Through Holden s comments about Ackley, the reader becomes aware of Holden s suppressed realization of his own peculiar behaviours and flaws. Salinger confirms that Holden is peculiar like Ackley by showing the parallel behaviours in the effects he has on Stradlater. According to Freud s theory of neurotic projection, the ego perceives dysfunction from 'somewhere' and then seeks to locate that somewhere. The super ego warns of punishment if that somewhere is internal, so the ego places it in a more acceptable external place - often in convenient other people (Straker). In criticizing Ackley, Holden is able to distance himself from the dysfunction he subconsciously knows he has while still revealing it to his therapist. As a result, he avoids the guilt of not living up to the perfect image he feels Allie would have achieved had he lived.

8 EFFECT: Projects Phoniness I left Elkton Hills because I was surrounded by phonies (13) He also calls Mr. Haas the phoniest bastard (13) He also refers to Ossenburger as a Big phony bastard (17) These criticisms are followed by his own phony behaviours: I m quite illiterate, but i read a lot (18) He admits to hating movies, but on pg36 goes to a movie and makes many allusions to movies throughout the text. He says he oughta go down and say hello to Jane (32) but never follows through. Says Don t tell her I got kicked out (33) revealing his insecurity about failing at another school even though he acts nonchalant about school which is revealed in his thoughts when speaking to Mr. Spencer (11).

9 Insight Holden s subconscious is aware of his own phony behaviour, which is revealed through his many contradictions when he recalls the events in his life. He knows he is imperfect. Because of his survivor s guilt, he feels he must live up to the innocent and perfect image of what Allie would have been had he lived. His subconscious guilt over his own inconsistent behaviour (which is in opposition to Allie s perfection) is projected on others when he calls them phony because he can t admit to his own phoniness. This is substantiated by Freud s theory that an individual can often reveal his/her flaws by perceiving others as operating in ways one unconsciously finds objectionable in him/herself (Krouss).

10 CAUSE: Jane talks about how he can t face her (32) and when Stradlater challenges him to face her he looks into the window but you couldn t see out of it, it was too steamy from all of the heat (33) he is fixated on the fact that she wouldn t move any of her kings (33) I kept thinking about Jane, and about Stradlater having a date with her and all...what a sexy bastard Stradlater was (34). Insight: Holden wants to hold on to the innocent image of Jane, the innocent friendship they had, and the innocent and pure image she has of him. He is afraid of corrupting that because he is afraid of corrupting his innocent perception of himself. Subconsciously, as an adolescent male it is difficult to maintain that innocent, childish friendship so he avoids seeing her in person.

11 EFFECT: attacks Stradlater Then I tried to sock him, with all my might, right smack in the toothbrush so it would split his goddam throat open (43). Holden attacks Stradlater to project his anger at his own desires onto someone else. The traditional Freudian view is that guilt resides under the surface veneer of our behavior. The psychodynamic theory of Freud proposes that we build defense mechanisms to protect us from the guilt we would experience if we knew just how awful our awful desires really were (Krouss).

12 Conclusion Holden s identity crisis stems from his suppressed guilt over his inability to live up to his dead brother s image. He is not as smart or as nice as Allie would be had he lived. He is not as innocent as Allie would be had he lived. Holden is unable to face his own corruption because of his survivor s guilt. To avoid feeling this guilt, he refuses to acknowledge his flaws; instead, he projects them onto others. Through projection, his repressed survivor s guilt is made evident.

13 Works Cited Berger, Kathleen, Ross Thompson. The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence. New York: Worth Publishers, Print. Krouss Whitbourne, Susan. "The Definitive Guide to Guilt." Psychology Today. Web. August 11, Straker, David. "Projection." Changing Minds. Web. 6 Mar. 2015