Untitled
Gina Rhim
Mr. Aupperlee
English 10 Honors/Period 5
15 May 2010
Catcher in the Rye Research Paper: Outline
Introduction
Lead Sentence: Reference to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001
"Tens of thousands of people ran�for their lives in fear, were exposed to graphic scenes of death,�or lost loved ones." (Yehuda)
"Post-traumatic�stress disorder (PTSD) will develop in a substantial number of people." (Yehuda)
Connection to the novel: Holden is not that different from these people who saw the horrifying events of death before their eyes, or the people who were faced with the loss of a family member or a friend.
Saw his classmate, James Castle, fall to his gory death in Pencey Prep
Lost his brother, Allie, from leukemia at a young age
Thesis: Holden Caufield from the Catcher in the Rye is to be diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, for he shows several symptoms that has made this diagnosis possible, such as experiencing flashbacks, hopelessness about the future, self-destructive behavior, and showing efforts to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event.
Body Paragraph 1: Allie's Death: Tragic Event
"To be given a diagnosis of PTSD, a person has to have been exposed�to an extreme stressor or traumatic event" (Yehuda)
The first event was when Holden was thirteen years old and his brother, Allie, died from Leukemia.
"He got leukemia and died when we were up in Maine" (pg.49CITR)
Was a tragic even to Holden due to the fact that Holden treasured Allie very much, and held a very high opinion of him
"It wasn't just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest, in lots of ways" (50CITR)
Holden compliments on his brother
"God, he was a nice kid, though" (50CITR)
Shows how Holden viewed very highly of his brother, making the loss even greater to him.
Holden showed self-destructive behavior after this event
"I broke all the goddamn windows with my fist, just for the hell of it. I even tried to break all the windows on the station wagon we had that summer, but my hand was already broken and everything by that time, and I couldn't do it" (50CITR)
Holden breaks all of the windows do the emotional pain he received after Allie's death.
A patient of PTSD would experience "flashbacks-relieving the trauma over and over, including physical symptoms" (NIMH) that one received during the tragic event
Holden also relives these physical symptoms after Allie's death even years later
"My hand still hurts me once in a while, when it rains and all"
Body Paragraph 2: James Castle's suicide & sense of helpless ness
A patient of PTSD would have lived a tragic or horrific event "which he or she�responded with fear, helplessness,...
