Holden Caulfield is a strange character in the story The Catcher in the Rye. He is first seen this way when he is expelled from a school called Pencey Prep. He is expelled for failing almost all of his classes. Holden then watches his school play at a football game from afar and decides he wants to say hello to his teacher. After that he decides to leave Pencey early and return home to New York. He goes out drinking and hitting on women while he's there and then goes to see his sister, Phoebe. He is very close to his younger sister and really bonds with her. One might believe that this Holden disorder is a bipolar disorder; which shows on several occasions throughout the novel. Bipolar disorder is defined as “a condition in which a person has periods of depression and periods in which he or she is extremely happy or angry or irritable” (“Bipolar Disorder”). Mood swings can occur in patients with bipolar disorder in the form of triggers. Triggers cause factors that induce a type of mood swing. In Holden Caulfield's case, the mood changes from happy and talkative to angry and upset. I believe Holden's trigger may be stress induced by a person who disagrees with him. This disorder is shown several times throughout the novel. The first situation in The Catcher in the Rye in which Holden displays this disorder is when he visits his teacher, Mr. Spencer, to say goodbye. Talk to Mr. Spencer about why he left Elkton Hills. Mr. Spencer asked why Holden had failed Pencey Prep and heard that Holden didn't do well at this school either. Holden then goes on to explain that the reason he left Elkton Hills was because everyone was "fake". Holden says “I can't stand that stuff. He pushes me… halfway through the paper… and when he ventures home to talk to Phoebe. In each of the situations Holden becomes angry or depressed. These types of mood swings are signs of bipolar disorder. Each scenario is also associated with what might be considered the triggers that cause these dramatic mood swings. Holden Caulfield's trigger seems to be whenever he becomes overly stressed by a situation. When this stress comes over him because of what someone says or what someone does, it causes Holden to have these mood swings. These mood swings end with him getting into a fight or him becoming depressed. These are the reasons to believe that Holden Caulfield has bipolar disorder. Works Cited “Bipolar Disorder.” NCBI. United States National Library of Medicine, January 31, 2013. Web. November 10, 2013. Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1991. Print.