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The Role Of Isolation In Catcher In The Rye

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John Joseph Powell once wrote, “It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.” This ties into the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger. This novel is set in the 1950s. Holden Caulfield, the narrator, is a teenage boy who has gone to, and been kicked out of many boarding schools. After failing 4 out of 5 classes at Pencey Prep, he was kicked out. He decides to leave the school early and travels to New York City before returning back home to his family. Holden found himself thinking of reaching out to old friends and old teachers, but would never open up to them. Emotional and physical isolation can lead one to shut out others. Emotional isolation can affect people's lives. In Holden’s case, his isolation is very premature, “I was only thirteen, and they were to have me psychoanalyzed and all because I broke all the goddamn windows with my fist...I don’t blame them...I slept in the garage …show more content…

Holden signals early on in the novel how he physically isolates himself, “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...practically the whole school except me was there,” (Salinger 4). While everyone is at the biggest game of the day, Holden decides to hide away on the hill. He has a matter-of-fact tone as if not to care, however, his swearing and strong diction show otherwise. When Holden references, “Standing way the hell up on top” he is showing how he is removing himself from interacting with his fellow classmates, by standing where no one is. He accepts that he is isolating himself and continues to do so throughout the

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Imagine being in a rest home, where people don’t care about you. They think you're different because you're crazy. Even though you might not even be crazy. Just like Holden the main character is J.D Salinger's book Catcher in the Rye. Holden does not belong in a rest home, because he is not crazy.

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The Catcher And The Rye by J.D. Salinger is an epic novel where our main character Holden Caulfield faces many challenges that challenge him as a young man such as growing up, rebellion, and love. Holden like most teenagers is rebellious but to an extreme nature. After flunking out of his fourth school the last one being Pencey Prep he refuses to tell his mother and father. In wanting to avoid this confrontation he leaves three days earlier taking a train back to Manhattan. Where he goes on adventure that turns him into a young man.

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When he wandered the city, he attempted to make “friends” with prostitutes, cab drivers, and random people. He stayed at hotels and never communicated with his parents. When he was missing his sister, he snuck into their house to see her, a thing he wouldn’t have to do if he’d told his family in the first place. Holden didn’t give care much for the future, and this shows in the last chapter when he states he might not want to return to school once he is well. Holden’s only desire or career plan was to be a lowly farmer; not exactly a great career choice when your parents prompt you to attend boarding school after boarding school to ensure you have a good career and future.

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The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” was about the journey of a adolescent boy finding his way to adulthood. In the book Holden Caulfield was unsuccessful in finding his way to adulthood. Holden’s attitude in the novel throughout his journey was very immature. He also can't accept the fact that innocence can’t be forever protected. Lastly, Holden calls everyone a phony when in reality he is the real phony.

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