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On the Origins of Holden Caulfield

In todays society of fast-paced change and innovation, it is easy to take advancements in
science and medicine for granted. Many people cant even imagine what life was like without the
internet, let alone how they would survive if there were no such things as vaccines or
antibacterial medication. At some point in time, all discoveries had to have been made. Previous
to that, nobody would have known of their existence. Due of this, many people with certain
disabilities have been misunderstood and shunned because they didnt fit in with society. This
can be very distressing for an individual, and even more so for a person who has difficulty
understanding the motives of others. An example of this could be a person growing up with
Aspergers syndrome before the disorder was first discovered or diagnosed. Aspergers
syndrome is a developmental disorder on the autism spectrum that is characterized by
peculiarities in speech and language problems with non-verbal communication socially
and emotionally inappropriate behavior and the inability to interact successfully with peers, [as
well as] repetitive or restrictive patterns of thoughts and behavior (Aspergers Syndrome Fact
Sheet). Before Aspergers syndrome was discovered, people with the disability were often
disliked because of their lack of social skills. This was usually blamed on the individual with
Aspergers syndrome, and therefore no help was offered to those who needed it. Holden
Caulfield, the main character and narrator in J. D. Salingers novel The Catcher in the Rye,
shows many of the defining characteristics of Aspergers syndrome and the entire novel is about
how he failed to adapt and function in society because of his behavioral idiosyncrasies. In fact,
Holden fits the profile of an individual with Aspergers syndrome so well that Salinger must
have either had Aspergers syndrome himself or known somebody very close to him with it in
order to have created such a character.
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One of the most important characteristics of Aspergers syndrome is an inability to
interact with peers. Holden demonstrates his lack of social skills several times throughout the
novel, with the most prominent one being when he and Stradlater quarreled in the dorm and
Holden got punched in the face. Holden clearly has problems socializing with others, and that is
a major contributor to his eventual psychological collapse. In that same conflict with Stradlater,
Holden insults the other boy continuously despite Stradlaters warnings. Holden repeats the same
words over and over again, both in what he says out loud and in his narration; this is an example
of one of Holdens speech peculiarities, another indicator of Aspergers syndrome. Holden
becomes extremely fixated on the words, and, although to a regular person it may sound
repetitive and childish, to Holden the words take on increasingly significant meanings every time
he says them. Even Holdens failed attempt to hit Stradlater points to Aspergers syndrome;
people with the disorder commonly have clumsy and uncoordinated motor movements
(Aspergers Syndrome Fact Sheet).
Another common characteristic of people with Aspergers syndrome is that they tend to
take idioms and figurative language literally. Twice in the novel, Holden mentions his loathing
for the word grand, saying: Grand. Theres a word I really hate. Its a phony. I could puke
every time I hear it (Salinger 9). Also, when Holden leaves Mr. Spencers house he says: Im
pretty sure he yelled Good luck! at me. I hope not . . . Id never yell Good luck! at anybody.
It sounds terrible, when you think about it (Salinger 15-16). Holden over-analyzes the explicit
meanings of common phrases and decides that they are horrible things to say because they arent
used literally. People with Aspergers syndrome often lack the ability to modulate the volume
of their voice to match their surroundings (Aspergers Syndrome Fact Sheet). When Holden
and Sally Hayes were talking in the bar at the ice rink and Holden starts talking about life, Sally
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asks him: Dont shout, please, Which was very funny, because I wasnt even shouting
(Salinger 130). Holden got excited with the conversation, and was raising his voice without
realizing it. This happens one more time, and Sally has to ask him to be quiet again.
Despite fitting the diagnosis perfectly, the most interesting and informative detail about
Salingers character is not that he clearly has Aspergers syndrome but rather that at the time that
the book was written Aspergers syndrome had not yet been discovered. Hans Asperger, an
Austrian pediatrician, observed a social disability which he called autistic psychopathy in
1944; however, it was not until an English doctor named Lorna Wing published several studies
of children exhibiting similar symptoms which she called Aspergers syndrome in 1981 that the
disorder became widely known. J. D. Salinger submitted a short story featuring Holden Caulfield
to The New Yorker in 1941, and therefore couldnt have known enough about the disorder to so
perfectly replicate it unless he or someone very close to him had it and was the inspiration for
Holdens character.
With that in mind, it is also far more likely that Salinger himself had Aspergers
syndrome. Joyce Maynard, and ex lover of his, said regarding the likelihood of a film version of
The Catcher in the Rye ever being made: The only person who might ever have played Holden
Caulfield would have been J. D. Salinger. This indicates that Salinger was very similar to
Holden, and that he felt a very deep connection with his character. Given Holdens symptoms,
the fact that his character was created before anyone knew about Aspergers syndrome, and the
similarities between author and character it becomes clear that J. D. Salinger most likely had
Aspergers syndrome, and that he based the character of Holden Caulfield on himself and his
experiences living with a disability that nobody yet understood.
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Works Cited
"Asperger Syndrome Fact Sheet." National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
(NINDS). National Institutes of Health, Jan. 2005. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/asperger/detail_asperger.htm>.