Closing of the Novel- Effective Language/Word Watcher

Chapter 26

• In Chapter 26, although he refuses to talk any more about his story, Holden fills in a few key missing details-- he went home; he was sent to a rest home to recover from the breakdown; he’s in psychotherapy; and he’ll go to a new school in the fall. Holden’s defensive tone continues throughout the chapter, which raises the question of whether the novel’s ending will be tragic or not. Holden says he plans to apply himself in school next year and seems contemplative, but he is unable to express his feelings and says that he wishes he hadn’t told so many people his personal story.

Holden’s final statement, “Don’t tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody” clearly suggests that he is still overwhelmed by the same problems he has dealt with throughout the entire novel. His tone suggests that Holden seems scared and alone, and he continues to dread on the troubles of communication. However, towards his final words, Holden states “missing everybody”— as he obviously has begun to value and honor, rather than dismiss and ignore, the people surrounding him.

While finding out that Holden attends psychotherapy sessions, I was eager to know the full definition behind the term...

• Psychoanalysis (Pg. 213) - noun pl. psy·cho·a·nal·y·ses
a. The method of psychological therapy originated by Sigmund Freud in which free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of resistance and transference are used to explore repressed or unconscious impulses, anxieties, and internal conflicts, in order to free psychic energy for mature love and work.
b. The theory of personality developed by Freud that focuses on repression and unconscious forces and includes the concepts of infantile sexuality, resistance, transference, and division of the psyche into the id, ego, and superego.

Jenna S.