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Examples Of Isolation In Catcher In The Rye

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“ I feel like no one knows how to make me feel better. I am all alone”( Writerchic11). In the Catcher and the Rye, main character ,Holden, is trying to connect with people. Although Holden attempts to connect with other people, he do not think that he fit in with people around him. Holden thinks that he do not belong in a group with the majority of people. “In The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D.Salinger, there are lots of unsuccessful attempts ,which Holden makes to try to connect with people. From all those failed attempts, they create isolation between Holden and other people. Isolation happens through the beginning of the novel, Pencey Prep, to the ending of the novel, New York City. It seems like Holden is trying to leave a group, An example …show more content…

When He gets into a cab after he goes to the the phone booth, he gets into a conversation with the cab driver. ‘“Well- take me to Edmont then,” I said, “would you care to stop on the way and join me for a cocktail? On me. I’m loaded.”(60). This quote inform us that Holden really want to find a companion to share his feelings. Also, it shows us that Holden is really outgoing. He can talk to a random cab driver and invite his driver to join him . Holden seems to have a tone full of excitement.We can see how passionate Holden is to talk to other people. This quote contributes to the thesis that Holden fails to get his belonging with other people. THe cab driver refuses to get drink with him. Equally important, when Holden is having a date with Sally, he tries to fit in with her. After ice-skating, Holden and Sally go to the bar next to the ice-skating place. Then, they have a conversation. “‘You’re probably the only reason I’m in New York right now,or anywhere. If you weren’t around, I’d probably be someplace way the hell off. In the woods or some goddam place. You are the only reason I’m around, practically.’”(131). Salinger inform us that Holden is seeking a isolated life . Also, he is searching for partner to go with him. This quote relates to the thesis that Holden is trying to fit in with a friend. In the same time, he tries to isolate with

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In Chapter 9-14 Holden Caulfield leaves Penecy Prep and heads to New York City. Where he will stay for a couple days before winter vacation starts and he will head home. Delaying breaking the news to his family he got kicked out of school for as long as possible. These chapters are where Holden’s loneliness becomes abundantly clear. The reader is subjected to many long rants by Holden about the company he wants, though he attempts to settle several times.

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The isolation experienced by Holden Caulfield in Chapters 1 through 4 of "The Catcher in the Rye" has contributed significantly to his negative mindset. Throughout the book, Holden is portrayed as a lonely individual. He has been expelled from his school Pencey Prep, and has nowhere to go until his parents expect him to come home for Christmas vacation. This sense of isolation is shown with his interactions with others.

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Humans require social connections since they were born. In the Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger conveys the negative impacts of disengaging with society. If one remains isolated for an extended period of time, the person may never find meaning in life. In the novel, Holden's hatred towards his life is a product of his self-imposed isolation. Specifically, Holden cannot make friends, cannot maintain relationships with girls and cannot maintain mental stability.

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The Catcher In The Rye, Loneliness is the main topic of the book. Holden Caulfield is an outsider from the beginning , which makes it easier for him to feel lonely. The author wanted his readers to somehow connect with the book by making him a young teenage boy who is in a stage in his life where his is lonely. Just like how our youth today goes through stages of loneliness in their

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In the novel Catcher in the Rye, Holden the main character has gotten expelled from his fourth high school. He decides to go around New York to find himself. He starts to go downhill and becomes depressed from his past and present. Over the course of his journey Holden had gone through ups and downs, but by the end of the book, Holden realized what he needed to do with his life, and how he was going to turn it around. Isolation can cause depression and sadness for a

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Throughout “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield shows great difficulty making long and meaningful connections with other people. Holden believes he is the normal one but it is actually the other way around. He holds on to a deep emotional road block of the death of his innocent brother Allie. Holden keeps this dragging around with him which causes him to veer from connecting and having a long term relationship with others.

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During a large part of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is alone. The extreme solitude may contribute to his depression.

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Throughout the novel, Holden is seen trying to make friends to feel a sense of belonging after a long time of isolation. For example, the direct speech, “yeah. I was defending your goddam honor. Stradlater said you had a lousy personality. I couldn’t let him get away with that stuff.”

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Self-protection causes humans to isolate themselves from the outside world, we keep our eyes open and fear what the world has in store for us. Throughout The Catcher in The Rye, it is shown how experienced trauma and in stability throughout ones life can cause isolation from the outside world. J.D. Salinger portrays the alienation of a young-adult in the Big Apple, that fears human contact, but longs for a meaningful connection with someone. The Catcher in The Rye displays Holden Caulfields alienation as a form of self-protection, through his human interactions, speech and clothing.

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Holden attempts to assert himself above everybody else in society and essentially portrays that he is better than everyone. Isolation is a major characteristic in Gothic writing because it forces the audience to solely focus on the protagonists and his everyday struggles with fitting into society. Holden isolates himself from everyone by the judgment he places on people in society. This isolation correlates to him immaturity and the reason he doesn't connect with anyone. When Holden comes out of the theater and sees the phonies in the mist, he states, “At the end of the first act we went out with all the other jerks for a cigarette.

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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.

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Alienation as Self-Protection in The Catcher in the Rye Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye, there are many themes, motifs and symbols that emerge and develop along with Holden, the protagonist, and the plot. Though the most significant theme is alienation as means for self-protection. In many instances, Holden isolates and alienates himself from his peers and the world in order to protect his morals and his self-imposed superiority. The first evidence of this alienation occurs when Holden speaks to his history teacher, Mr. Spencer. While talking about Mr. Thurmer’s lecture, Holden begins to ponder the “right side”, stating “if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s the game about?”

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“I have a feeling that you’re riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall. But I don’t honestly know what kind…It may be kind where, at the age of thirty, you sit in some bar hating everybody who comes in looking as if he might have played football in college. Then again, you may pick up just enough education to hate people who say, “It’s a between he and I. ‘ Or you may end up in some business office, throwing paper clips at the nearest stenographer. I just don’t know…

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Holden’s Struggle To Find Himself: Throughout the novel, The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden struggles to find himself and who he truly is in order to be happy. His struggles relate to many things that he does or say in particular. Holden lacks with a social status with women and his family, whether it’s a relationship or being antisocial. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield experiences the complexities and struggles involved with both physical and emotional relationships.

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Loneliness is a state many have experienced, but it is scarcely felt to the point of insanity and utter hopelessness. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield’s loneliness is a self-defense mechanism from socializing with others, making it the greatest source of his pain. Though his loneliness is caused by uncontrollable external forces, it is only overcome by his own choice of introspection. Initially, Holden did not chose to be lonely.

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