In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, why does Holden believe that the world is against him?

Holden Caulfield is grieving the loss of his brother. Back in the 1940s and 1950s, people didn't talk about their feelings or traumatic events in public, and there was a bad stigma toward anyone who sought help from a psychiatrist. Understanding the time period helps us also understand that Holden did not receive the mental health counseling he may have needed after his little brother Allie died of leukemia. Holden was about thirteen when Allie...

Holden Caulfield is grieving the loss of his brother. Back in the 1940s and 1950s, people didn't talk about their feelings or traumatic events in public, and there was a bad stigma toward anyone who sought help from a psychiatrist. Understanding the time period helps us also understand that Holden did not receive the mental health counseling he may have needed after his little brother Allie died of leukemia. Holden was about thirteen when Allie died at age eleven. Here's how Holden dealt with his grief:

"I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam 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. It was a very stupid thing to do, I'll admit, but I hardly didn't even know I was doing it, and you didn't know Allie" (39).

His parents were probably grieving for their younger son, so Holden didn't have anyone to talk to about his own grief. He was shipped off to prep school and forgotten. Holden really loved and admired Allie. It can be argued that the reason Holden thinks the world is against him is that he lost his brother at a very young age, was left alone to grieve, and never found a safe place to land after that. His trust in the world and life died when his brother did. After that, Holden could only see phonies in his life. If he is able to point out a phony, then he can stay away from that person and not feel loss again. It is probably good that Holden ends up in a hospital in California, because he really needs help dealing with his brother's loss and moving forward in a world that he can trust again.