There is a saying that is commonplace when talking about law and justice: let the punishment fit the crime. There is a large variety of punishments for crimes today, ranging from minor jail time and fines, to water and sound torture and even death. However, isolation is perhaps the most impactful punishment used by law enforcement today. While most punishments affect either one’s physical health or one’s mental health, isolation has the ability to affect both substantially if one is sufficiently exposed to it. This can be seen in The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, through the ordeals of Holden Caulfield, and Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, through the trials of Victor Frankenstein and his monster. Complete isolation …show more content…
In the same way, Victor Frankenstein feels very grief-stricken after learning of the events that led to the death of Justine. In reflection, he states, “I shunned the face of man; all sound of joy or complacency was torture to me; solitude was my only consolation – deep, dark, deathlike solitude.” The loss of Justine, who was a very close family friend, combined with the isolation from his family that he had been experiencing up to this point, produces a great deal of distress in Victor. Sadness can come upon a person in many ways: swiftly, gradually, or even immediately. Nevertheless, sadness always takes a toll on one’s mental health and without the unity and resolve of friends and family, it is very hard to overcome those negative effects on one’s own strength. In the same way that isolation can introduce sorrowfulness, it can also establish a sense of despair. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden attempts to break free from his isolation by going on a date with his previous girlfriend, Sally Hayes. Yet his hurtful words conclusively chase Sally away. During the date, Holden says, “’Look,’ I said. ‘Here’s my idea. How would you like to get the hell out of here?’”. Holden’s plea to Sally represents a desperate, yet fruitless effort to escape his loneliness and isolation but her reluctance to listen to what he has to say does the opposite for Holden. In Shelley’s book, the discovery of the
The novel, “The Catcher in the Rye” involves an older teenager named Holden who surrounds himself with his pessimistic emotions, gradually affecting him in tense situations. Often, he refuses to comprehend situations which ends miserably for him. A major role for his reckless actions are caused by his fearful feelings that he has not suppressed, “Contaminated he is, of course, by vulgarity, lust, lies, temptations, recklessness, and cynicism” (Peterson 1). Throughout the novel, his unfavorable emotions were represented as well as the negative outcome of his situations. In that moment of time, his thoughts affect his actions as a result of becoming further depressed than he already happens to be. If he was able to analyze the situation and think logically, he would avoid multiple situations without feeling pessimistic about his choices.
In J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caufield, describes in detail the parts of his life and his environment that bother him the most. He faces these problems with a kind of naivety that prevents him from fully understanding why it is that he is so depressed. His life revolves around his problems, and he seems helpless in evading them. Among others, Holden finds himself facing the issues of acceptance of death, growing up, and his own self-destructiveness.
In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the main character and narrator Holden Caulfeild walks many different paths of life. He jumps around different aspects of his life throughout the book, showing the reader many different sides to himself. This theme is presented through the author’s technique in crafting the characterization and symbolism. J.D. Salinger develops a puzzle of a personality for Holden throughout the book, to show the complexity and multitude of sides to Holden’s character.
In the novel “The Catcher in The Rye” Salinger, the author, uses Holden’s interactions to both criticize society as well as reveal Holden’s symptoms of his psychological problems. In the novel, Salinger presents how unsympathetic people can be towards each other especially if you are like Holden, an emotionally scarred male teenager dealing with past trauma. Salinger also shows us that due to those unsympathetic behaviors and the trauma that comes with dead family members.
1 in 6 people experience depression at some stage in their life. Depression is caused by hormonal changes, Holden is slowly making his way into adulthood and is going through those changes. Depression is something that a lot of people go through at one point or another. Holden commits many actions throughout the book that show he is depressed.
Responsibility is considered to be a natural addition to life as people grow older. Holden Caulfield struggles to accept his responsibility in his life throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye. During the course of the novel, Holden experiences the sudden pressure of responsibility caused by his actions. As his counter attack to the unwanted situations he faces, Holden does what most people would do and rejects the direction his life is now headed. Holden Caulfield shows his revulsion to accept responsibility through his self-proclaimed adulthood, confusion of independence, and being blinded by his own emotions.
Confined prisoners, many of whom are later released at the end of the sentence, are excruciated with a new behavioral deficiency as a result of their time in solitary confinement. This can dangerously affect social orders/groups and it can prompt higher rates of recidivism among these prisoners. As for a psychological aspect, any human contact is critical capacity for keeping the faculties in place and when that human contact is banned or denied, inmates can lose their capacity to work appropriately. Now and again prompt themselves to inflict self-harm as well as harm others in the population. Only one could imagine what this isolation could do to a
As the novel progresses, we realize that ironically Holden's alienation becomes the source of most of his pain throughout the book. Although he never realizes the fact that his pain is being derived from his isolation and lack of human interaction, Salinger places clues in the book that tell us that it is so. With the introduction of Sally Hayes, Salinger is able to craft a relationship that effectively depicts the conflict in Holden. It is loneliness that initially propels Holden into a date with Sally. However, during the date Holden's need for isolation returns, he "didn't even know why" he "started all that stuff with her. The truth is" he "probably wouldn't have taken her even if she wanted to go." Because Sally is unable to recognize the feelings on the "phoniness" of school that he projects, he becomes frustrated and uses a rampaging monologue to upset her and drive her away. The only time in the
In the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield, our protagonist, makes a mental journey in relation to dealing and coping with the grief accompanied with the death of his brother, and we are able to see how his mental status changes and how he needs guidance from loved ones. In this journey, he learns about how to make connections and that staying close to the people he loves can improve his outlook on life and overall mood. During the book, he isolated himself from others and always found the negative in everything, which did put him in a very grim place. In fact, he even becomes clinically depressed, as we can clearly see from our point of view. He soon learns that being with his younger sister Phoebe almost brought
Death affects us all in unusual ways. In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden Caulfield has experienced a significant amount a trauma. He has had unfortunate, traumatic experiences, surrounding death. Due to Holden being so young; his immaturity affects the way he analyzes the traumas and pushes him into the depths of depression. Displaying signs of depression, Holden unknowingly rejects life and is resisting change. He does not show the drive to learn and to grow into an adult; disastrously Holden demonstrates depression and suicidal ideations.
Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye exhibits unusual behavior during the course of the novel. His actions resemble those of one who suffers from Post-traumatic stress disorder. After his younger brother, Allie, dies of leukemia, Holden’s feelings toward the world change drastically. He begins to isolate himself from others. Even when he feels a connection with someone, he finds something to dislike about them and pushes them away. Holden also experiences frequent flashbacks to times when Allie was alive. He holds on to these memories and blocks Allie’s death from his mind. His PTSD also causes Holden to endure anxiety attacks. These attacks further push away the people he loves and makes it difficult for him to cope with his feelings.
Holden’s loneliness was a more concrete manifestation of his alienation. It is both a source of great pain and a source if his security.
Later on Holden recalls when he was attending Pencey College how his gloves were stolen by some crook. He continues describing the situation of confrontation hypothetically, at first with assertion and authority. Eventually he admits to himself, “Only, I wouldn’t have the guts to do it. I’d just stand there, trying to look tough” (Salinger P. 99). Holden goes on to describe to the reader his unaware fear of confrontation and violence, hinting at a dread of vulnerability and a closed off persona, another clear sign of Major Depressive Disorder. When Holden was a younger boy he knew a girl named Jane Gallagher whom he was childhood friends with, they often even held hands and had an emotional bond. Ever since he heard about Stradlator (his old roommate) taking her out on a date he’d been thinking of calling her up. Finally on page 130 he calls her up and her mother picks up. Startled, she hangs up and admits he should’ve asked for Jane, “But I didn’t feel like it. You really have to be in the mood for that stuff” (Salinger P. 130). His inability to feel motivated to make an effort for somebody he once loved shows his social-isolation.
J.D. Salinger uses the motif of loneliness to show how Holden’s struggles affected him negatively and demonstrate what made Holden lonely in this book. For example, the motif of loneliness describes Holden because after his brother Allie died he kept having flashbacks about him he couldn’t believe his brother is dead, for example he says, “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist” (pg.39). This shows how when Holden feels lonely or sad or upset he gets really triggered which causes him to have a negative reaction to the world. Another example of Holden demonstrating the motif of loneliness in the book is when he was thinking about Jane Gallagher, he says “Jane Gallagher. Jesus ... I couldn't get her off my mind. I really couldn't” (pg.32). This shows us that just like Holden’s case with Allie he feels like he misses most of the people he hasn’t seen for a long time and that once he gets flashbacks of the important people in his life it is hard for him to move on. He does not feel safe alone. For instance, at the end of the book, Holden says “Don't ever tell anybody
“She was the only one, outside my family, that I ever showed Allie’s baseball mitt to, with all the poems written on it…I told her quite a lot about him” (101). Holden felt a rare connection and trust towards Jane. He remembers good memories with her to help ease the pain of losing her. Consequently, his pain catches up to him when Stradlater and Jane go on a date. “’If you didn’t go to New York, where’d ya go with her?’ I asked him, after a little while. I could hardly keep my voice from shaking all over the place. Boy was I getting nervous. I just had a feeling something had gone funny” (55). All the pain Holden has kept within seems to burst out. He starts to feel nervous and jealous and this contributes to his negative attitude. We see here that Holden truly cares for Jane and this hints that he has feelings for her. He is in a lot of pain due to losing his close friendship with Jane. Holden feels repentant yet reminiscent of the memories he once had with Jane.