Re: Split-brain, that grey thing, schizophrenia.
StupiesCuz@aol.com
Tue, 30 Jun 1998 22:43:11 -0400 (EDT)
In a message dated 98-06-30 22:25:31 EDT, you write:
<< Half of Holden's head is covered with gray hairs, while the other side
is fine. I always took this to mean that he is split between growing up
and staying young. But isn't "split-brained" another term for
schizophrenia, or do I just have a confused memory of my psych textbook
from high school? Maybe I'm just reading way too much into this. >>
I do agree with you, Cheryl, on the observation of Holden having a head of
grey hair and also regular hair. I am not a psychology major (someone out
there, I can bet, though, is) but I can say that in my opinion the "split-
brain" term refers to something completely different than schizophrenia. Even
considering that schizophrenia is a mental illness referring to a lost contact
with reality (delusion, hallucination), and a split-brain would be what it is
- a split between the left and the right hemispheres of the brain, damage to
the corpus callosum, which causes severe problems in the functioning of the
hemispheres. I would appreciate if anyone could correct my information, as I
am also trying to recall my high school psychology course right here.
As, I think Valerie pointed out, the bit about Holden walking down the street
and making belief he is seeing his brother Allie, some of us may consider that
a hallucination of some sort.
Either way, if you consider a general trend between the characters of
Salinger, wouldn't you also assume that in all of them, there is probably a
little bit of Salingerness?
-Olga-