Isolation In Catcher In The Rye

    In J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher In The Rye, Holden is excluded and isolated from the world, due to his confusion about life experiences, adult world curiosities, and his discontent with society. He says to Mr. Spencer that he feels trapped on "the other side, where there aren’t any hot shots"( Salinger 8). He always attempts to discover his way in the world in which he believes he doesn't belong in. He enjoys being the one that stands out and is distinct standing in an average crowd. He claims that "All morons hate it when you call them a moron"( Salinger 44). He is against most of the people in his life because he believes that they are selfish and stupid. He feels unique by being different from everyone and as the novel progresses, we begin to recognize that Holden's alienation is his method of protecting himself from the world. One example is the red hunting hat, which sponsors his

Holden as a character displays the alienation of himself through his behaviour. Holden is not the same as many people and believes that everyone is a ‘phony’. Throughout the novel Holden realises more and more that he is different and sees the world differently to others around him. Holden has created an identity for himself and doesn’t want that to be diminished therefore he alienates himself from the rest of society to decrease the chances of that happening. Holden’s old school, Pency Prep, has the motto “since 1888 we have been shaping young boys into splendid, clear-thinking men.” (pg. 2) This increases Holden’s motivation to leave the school as it will be shaping his identity into something he doesn’t want to be; a man. Holden is all about protecting those younger than him from the dangerous world of adult hood and by alienating himself he feels he has a better chance of

He is not intensely preoccupied with academic achievement like many more modern teenagers, having failed out of several prestigious preparatory schools, but he is clearly intelligent and tends to dwell on“heavy” topics like death and loss of innocence. His cynicism and sensitivity, in addition to the trauma he experiences from losing his brother Allie, suggest that he has depression or another untreated mental illness, an interpretation which is common among readers and supported by Holden’s visit with a psychotherapist at the end of the novel. Despite the risks he faces through having an untreated mental illness, shown when he is warned that he is “riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall” through self-destructive behavior, the conformist culture and social niceties of the 1950s prevented him from being able to discuss his thoughts for a large portion of the novel. (186) This culture, specifically the “phony” prep schools, is clearly toxic for Holden and likely contributed heavily towards his negative mental state, and therefore the negative image he often has of

Holden does not only suffer from being kicked out of school and anticipation of his parent’s reactions or even punishment, but also his inner feelings on depression as well as maturing. He is shown to be a dreamer and as someone who runs away from struggles (a resolution).

Throughout the novel, Holden's rebellious ways indicate that he refuses to conform to adult's expectations of him. The “phony” adults of society have no right to control him according to Holden. Several examples from the plot show that Holden's experiences with trauma affect his faith in authority figures. One of these traumatic events was the suicide of Holden's roommate, James Castle. According to Holden, James Castle is a very quiet student whose comments irked the wrong clique at Elkton Hills. He mistakenly called a very popular and influential person “conceited”, and that person's friends drove James to suicide. Although Holden despises the fact that they killed James, he is appalled at the lack of legal action taken by the school. He cannot believe that “All they did with the guys that were in the room was expel them. They didn't even go to jail” (188). While James Castle's death mortified Holden, he felt utterly perplexed that society could ignore and disregard the fact that an injustice had been committed. This causes Holden to lose faith in authority, especially in school administrators, to act in an ethical manner. Holden's distrust in authority stems from more than one event, however. His family life could have contributed to his lack of faith in authority figures. Holden tends to distance himself from his parents and tries to avoid them throughout the novel. Holden mentions that "[his]

Have you ever wondered why teenagers are the most vulnerable to committing suicide? Why they are afraid to become adults by taking responsibility for their actions? To shed some light on this particular situation, J.D. Salinger puts this burden on Holden Caulfield, a distressed teenager who struggles to find someone who he can trust after the death of his brother, Allie. He suffered psychologically, which causes him to subconsciously distrust anyone who is an adult, believing that they will corrupt the minds of the children. And even when he does have someone who is willing to trust him, such as Phoebe, his little sister, he decides to run away and confide in people whom he knows will leave his life. In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger demonstrates that the sudden death of a loved one causes teenagers, especially, to isolate themselves from others because they feel as if they might lose another precious person in their life. In order to them realize this, there are people who are not willing to allow them to become more isolated as they already are.

As a boy sat there in a crowded room, observing people laughing, dancing, and having fun, he wished for someone to talk to. The boy wasn't alone but he’s never felt more lonely. This boy can be depicted as Holden Caulfield.

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden has to deal with growing up, phonies, and the ever-changing world. He comes across a lot of difficulty adjusting to this, as he views the world in a way that is quite different than how it actually is. In the novel, Holden has created a worldview that is incompatible with reality; he is still affected by Allie’s death, and therefore cannot call Jane or make connections to other people his age. Holden’s unrealistic worldview makes him unable to call Jane and have connections with others. Throughout the course of the novel, Holden steps into a telephone booth and considers calling Jane but he never does.

Throughout the novel Holden is rejected and exploited by the society around him. As he is conflicted with himself to find a purpose in life he constantly tries to connect with a superficial society. The ongoing failure and fake personas he meets adds to his depression and cynicism. But instead of facing the problems by growing up and to move on Holden uses this negativity and isolation to protect him. Holden tries show that he is better than everybody else as this is the little stability he has left. When in reality Holden is just scared of the interaction of people because they just submerge him with complications he doesn 't know not yet how to deal with. Holden not being be able to cope with the idea of growing up adds to his loneliness which is the core of his pain. When his encounters first interaction in the novel, Holden Caulfield is an uncaring outcast who sees no motivation in life. As he says to Mr. Spencer, he feels trapped on “the other side of life” (Salinger). Holden constant attempt to fit into society is hidden because of his detachment to people. His only stability right now is to search for his own individuality and to face adulthood himself. That is why

Immediately, it is clear to the reader that Holden is a very lonely person. While he is very hesitant towards most relationships he comes across, Holden still craves the company of someone who he can connect to emotionally. This need for connection is seen throughout the novel, particularly when Holden wishes to call up Jane. “I thought maybe I might give old Jane another buzz and see if she was home yet” (Salinger 149).

Throughout, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden feels isolated from everyone. It is due to the fact that he is a 17-year-old boy, in New York City, just wandering around and getting drunk at bars. Also, Holden is a person that has difficulty in being friendly. He may seem nice on the outside, but when you truly get to know him, you realize how nasty he is. He always thinks the worst of people and most of the time he never thinks of others, unless he truly does like you. In chapter 20, Holden thinks, “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

In my graphic novel, I decided to express the theme of isolation in pictures. I wanted to show how despite being near or surrounded by people, Holden is always isolated. To do this, I started out with everything in a monochromatic color scheme besides his red hunting cap. AS the novel progresses, Holden is more and more isolated from everyone else, and I add more and more color to his character. I used the monochromatic color scheme because Holden views society as very different and ever-changing; something negative he must stay away from. However, at the end of the novel, the pictures have more color and not just the monochromatic ones. Since Holden is recovering, I thought it was appropriate to express his recovery by adding more color

Alienation social isolation refers to the feeling of being segregated from one's community and self-protection refers to not putting yourself in position where you can get hurt emotionally. In the Catcher in the Rye, Holden tries to avoid the world has much as he can because he claims their phony and corrupt which he doesn’t want that to happen to him. Which this is to blame for his own alienation. Holden is to blame for his own alienation because he has this dream if protecting himself from the world. Holden is to blame because his dream of leaving his life behind is so childish and he knows he can't actually fulfill that dream.

He loves his parents, especially his mother, but he cannot go to his parents for emotional advice. As a result, when his brother dies, he has no way to release his emotions outside of breaking garage windows, which does not even begin to allow him to cope with the loss (Salinger 107). It is insinuated that his mother may been too stricken with grief to help him through the tragedy because Holden says “she hasn’t felt too healthy since my brother Allie died,” but nevertheless Holden needed his parents for emotional support (Salinger 107). In boarding school, he receives little to no guidance, stating about his current school, “they don’t do any damn more molding at Pencey than they do at any other boarding school” (Salinger 2). The school may attempt to teach him academic disciplines, but Holden is devoid of any true mentors.

Holden’s parents display the dire need for healthy parent-teen relationships by sending Holden away, leading him to a constant feeling of isolation. Holden exhibits a very distant relationship with his parents, displayed when his mother “bought [Holden] the wrong kind of skates—I wanted wanted racing skates and she bought me hockey”(Salinger 58). Furthermore, at the end of the novel, Holden explains that his parents sent him off to another school again as he says, “I could probably tell you … what school I’m supposed to go to next fall”(Salinger 234). Holden and his parents lack a crucial familial bond, displayed as