Examples Of Isolation In Catcher In The Rye

Friendships are like goals; they are easy to make but difficult to keep. J.D Salinger’s character Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye is a lonesome sixteen-year-old. Salinger’s novel follows the story of Holden as he tries to rescue children’s innocence from being lost to the crippling world of adulthood. Although he perceives his friends as fake, Holden tries to flatter his roommate Stradlater and old friend Sally Hayes into becoming a person like Jane Gallagher: someone that will listen to him.

According to dictionary.com, the definition of the word isolate is to set or place apart; detach or separate so as to be alone. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, there is a dilemma on if it is better to be isolated or a part of the larger society. In many situations, it is better to be a part of the larger society, like in the modern world, but in some situations it is better to be isolated, like in To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel, Boo Radley and the blacks are isolated, but almost everyone else is a part of a larger society. Although the people in a larger society did not have many rumors spread about them, in Maycomb County it is better to be isolated because the isolated people can live by their own standards, had excellent values,

Salinger explores the theme of isolation in Catcher in the Rye. First, on pg 2 Salinger narrates “Anyway, it was the Saturday of the football game. I remember around three o'clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill. You could see the whole field from there, and you could see the two teams bashing each other all over the place. You could hear them all yelling.” Holden is isolated, aloof, and watching people instead of connecting with them. Next, on pg 153 Holden claims “When I finally got down off the radiator and went out to the hat-check room, I was crying and all. I don't know why, but I was. I guess it was because I was feeling so damn “depressed” and “lonesome”. Then, when I went out to the checkroom the hat-check girl was very nice.

Holden shows many instances of isolation throughout the book because he thinks that he is superior to everyone. For instance, Holden was at Ernie’s he was listening to Ernie playing the piano, he started to complain about how pathetic it was that Ernie was playing the piano for a crowd. “Anyway, when he was finished, and everybody was clapping their heads off, old Ernie turned around on his stool and gave this very phony, humble bow. Like as if he was a helluva humble guy… It was very phony- I mean him being such a big snob and all”(110). Holden was jealous of Ernie because people were drawn to him and they like him. Holden immediately concludes that there is a problem with Ernie. He does that because he thinks that he is superior to everyone and that everyone else has the problem and not him. Holden's mindset of

Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden lies many times. Not only does he lie to people that he does not trust, and that he is not close to, but he also lies to his close family members such as Phoebe. When Holden snuck into his apartment after being kicked out of Pencey, Phoebe realized that he was home early. When she told Holden she knew what happened, he lied to her saying, “I told you, they let us out early” (Salinger, 165). Holden does not only lie to people he knows, but also to people he has just met. When on the train to New York, Mrs. Morrow, a student's mother from Pencey, talked to him about school. She asked him about his son, and Holden lied to make him seem like a sweet, smart, well behaved boy, even though according to Holden he is anything but that. He even lied to her saying, “Well, a bunch of us wanted old Ernie to be president of the class. I mean he was the unanimous choice. I mean he was the only boy that could really handle the job” (Salinger, 56). By lying to everyone it makes Holden come across as fake and as a phony. He gets mad at other people for lying yet he says that he lies all the time, and for hours on end.

“There's a tremendous difference between alone and lonely. You could be lonely in a group of people. I like being alone. I like eating by myself. I go home at night and just watch a movie or hang out with my dog. I have to exert myself and really say, oh God, I've got to see my friends 'cause I'm too content being by myself,” (Drew Barrymore). If Holden had been able to realize this idea, his adventures in New York may have had a different outcome. As he left his school, explored new places and met new people, he did not have anyone there to enjoy himself with. Throughout J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield always seems to be alone, but he’s never really able to admit it, describe how it affects him or grasp the reason he’s alone in the first place.

He doesn’t just lie when trying to save someone’s feelings, but it seems that he loves to deceive others. In the whole scene when Holden talks to Mrs. Morrow, he makes up a fake name for himself and proceeds to make up an entire story about how he loved his school and how her son, Ernie, was a real great kid even though Holden thinks that he is a “phony.” Holden tells lies in situations when the truth could be told. This puts not only the validity of the novel in question, but also Holden’s

Holden’s loneliness is a driving force throughout the book. Most of the novel describes his search and desperation for companionship as he reflects from one encounter to another which reminds him of his almost successful attempt at forming a bond or relationship with someone. Although his behaviour indicates his loneliness, Holden consistently shows us how he will avoid getting close to someone and he doesn’t really know why he keeps behaving or doing this. Holden depends on his loneliness to ensure he is detached from the world and to maintain a level of self-protection, he often sabotages his own attempts to end his loneliness. Loneliness is an emotional and traumatic feeling Holden seems to experience, it is both a source of pain and a source of his security. Holden feels more secure, when he is alone, he feels like he cannot depend on anyone or anything nor can he connect with people who would completely understand him.

Holden has never really been a part of his family so he has been shown rejection at such a young age, Leaving him with signs and possibly depression. His behavior and mentality towards life in general makes Holden emotionally unstable and shows possible features of post traumatic stress. With the actions that he mentions in the novel it shows many signs that he has developed many trust issues with every person he is in contact with, due to the experiences he gone through. As an adolescent we are still experiencing life but at Holden’s age he has already gone through many events in the past that left him in distress of life itself. As he soon starts to carry these fears it will be difficult for him to cope

From the beginning of the novel, Holden seems to be, to some extent, isolated from the society around him and victimized by it at the same time. Holden says to Mr. Spencer that he feels himself on “the other side” of life, and he relentlessly attempts to find his own way in a world in which he does not belong. In this way, the theme of alienation is quite prevailing in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. So, this essay will focus on the world where alienated Holden lives and how he would live in terms of current society.

The Catcher in the Rye is a poignant, sentimental, and emotionally charged novel written by J.D. Salinger. The novel features countless literary techniques, such as symbolism, character motivation, and numerous motifs as well as themes. Many themes are explored throughout the novel, yet perhaps the most prominent relates to Caulfield’s childish belief that he must protect himself, and, in order to do so, must alienate himself from any outside influence. Because this idea of Caulfield’s appears many times throughout the novel, readers can acknowledge that Caulfield’s obsession with protecting himself is a recurring theme that states that alienation is not a constructive form of self-protection but instead a source of emotional pain and self-destruction.

It is hard to believe that Jerome David Salinger, the famous author who won millions of people’s hearts, the microphone that spoke teenager’s feelings of all ages, and the embodiment of American Literature, was not at all elated by the rich and fame from his smash hit, but was the catalyst of his shutdown from society. Salinger was afflicted by the vociferous paparazzi for his works, and ironically, the same works were his gateway to sanctuary. He was suffering multiple mental illnesses through his lifetime, as anyone can witness from his literary works. His peculiar demands for solitude, and his adamant pursuit to take legal action against those who would mimic his style or borrow his characters were signs of mental distress. All this is

The harsh reality of life can permanently change one’s view of life. When people experience difficulties in life, like loss and grief and isolation, they sometimes struggle to come to terms with the sadness and truths of those experiences. They may lie to other people and themselves in order to hide their pain, and sometimes they can become stuck. In the classic fiction novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger, Holden is a troubled adolescent, who is unable to move forward in life after witnessing the death of his younger brother, Allie at age 13. The death of Allie ended Holden’s childhood, but Holden’s reluctance to move forward in life cause him to become completely isolated from the world. Holden’s

By this point in the novel, it’s clear that loneliness is at the heart of Holden’s problems. When he arrives in New York, it is already quite late in the evening, but he embarks on an almost manic quest for interaction. His call to Faith Cavendish in Chapter 9 hinted at Holden’s desperation—calling a girl you’ve never met in the middle of the night is not quite normal—but here we see the depth of Holden’s feelings of loneliness and alienation.

At least once in someone’s lifetime, a person may go through a rocky phase filled with tasks and barriers that are challenging to overcome. In fact, if the individual has to fulfill these said duties in such ways that ends up becoming a regular routine, it is possible for one to start questioning about the meaning of life. If one is isolated from their peers, feeling lonely, or believing that regulations set by higher authorities are controlling their individuality, all of these ideas connect with a concept known as existentialism. In J.D Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, it is evident that through Holden’s narration, he is against the societal norms and he cannot form relationships with his peers because of his odd attitude. Since Holden is often mean spirited, along with the way he perceives others, all prevent him from fitting in. Hence, examining the way Holden and the others interact with each other reveals that Salinger wrote the novel with the intention of clarifying the concept of alienation by making Holden express his anti-social behavior to the readers. Salinger expresses Holden’s alienation since his thoughts that he shares are melancholic, how he is constantly trying to form relationships within age groups that are vastly different from his, and that others are annoyed and uninterested with his conversations.