The Theme Of Isolation In Catcher In The Rye

Isolation and Depression: A Vicious Cycle

Grief. Depression. Isolation. What do you think when you hear those words? Holden Caulfield has been through a lot, from being kicked out of several schools to being so depressed he wonders why he should go on living. Holdens family keeps pushing him away and that’s where he learns his tendency to push people away who he cares about. In Holden 's journey, he becomes more and more isolated from the world throughout the book. He isolates himself by choosing to not interact or go out with people. And further, when he does, he only ends up doing things that ruin the interaction with others, and makes himself become more isolated. Holden tries, but is always rejected and unsuccessful with his attempts.

In the novel The Catcher In The Rye written by J. D. Salinger shows that Holden goes through his journey and is depressed because of his isolation from

Holden was in a cab driving and he asks the cab driver “Would you care to stop on the way and join me for a cocktail? On me, I 'm loaded” (Salinger 68). He 's so desperate to hangout with someone that he asks the cab driver who he has known for less then ten minutes and gets rejected. Another example of Holden being so desperate to find someone to hang out with but ends up getting rejected is when he calls up Sally and he meets her. When he and Sally are together, Sally sees someone she knows, another guy. When Holden sees him he has nothing bad things to say about him. He says to Sally “‘Why don’t you go on over and give him a big soul kiss, if you know him? He’ll enjoy it. She got sore when I said that’” (Salinger 141). He says this because he 's jealous and envious of the other guy because Sally wants to hangout with him for a little. Holden makes her upset and kind of mad because the way he said it was sarcastic and rude. Holden doesn’t like him and is mad that he intruded on their date and Holden says, “...he walked about two blocks with us” (Salinger 142). He didn 't like that. When he meets with Sally she is genuinely happy to be with him in the beginning but right when she sees a boy she knows who is more put together then he is and she wants to engage with him instead. When Holden and Sally get to the bar, Holden asks Sally a