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How Does Holden Caulfield Bildungsroman

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People often enjoy being alone when they feel hurt by something or feel they are going to be hurt by someone to protect themselves from this perceived future pain or pain from the past. Holden Caulfield, the narrator and main character of the bildungsroman, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, goes against human nature and alienates himself from others as a form of protection in almost every chapter. By meeting with many different individuals as the novel progresses, he lessens the degree of this alienation. Compared to Holden, I personally challenge his reasoning that alienation is used for protection in the beginning of the novel, as I believe that having good friends is a much better form of protection than what Holden does. By the end of the Catcher of the Rye, Holden’s views begin to coincide …show more content…

He sees that using alienation as a form of protection is not only disadvantageous to oneself, but self-destructive, and that people who alienate themselves are much worse off in life due to seeing its adverse effects on others. In the beginning of the novel, Holden thinks his alienation is protecting him, but as the novel progresses towards the end, when he sees its impact on Phoebe, he realizes that it is really what has been ruining his life all along. During his encounter with Mr. Spencer, when told that he will be concerned for the future sometime soon, he just “[does not] like hearing him say that.” because “It [makes] [Holden] sound dead or something.” and “it [is] very depressing.” (Salinger, 18). After this, Mr. Spencer also tells him that he is trying to help him and Holden can tell that he truly is, but he also “ just [cannot] hang around there any longer, the way [they] [are] on opposite sides of the pole.” He goes on to describe how Mr. Spencer keeps missing the bed when he throws something on it, how his chest hair is showing, and how there is a smell of Vick’s Nose Drops as other reasons why he cannot stay

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Furthermore, alienation is showed by Holden. He tends to alienate himself from the world because he fears change, he wants love and a sense of comfort. He isolates himself when he didn't go down to the bleachers for the game at and he also isolates himself by constantly getting kicked out of schools. All those changes make Holden feel alienated because he just doesn't fit in. He tends to alienate himself because he doesn't trust anyone, he thinks everyone is fake .

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Then I started doing something else. Every time I’d get to the end of a block I’d make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I’d say to him, ‘Allie, please don’t let me disapper’” (Salinger 108)... These flashbacks and fastforwards show how scrambled Holden’s mind is, it makes the reader think that the story is taking place over the span of a few weeks but instead it starts on a Thursday and ends on a Sunday morning.

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Examples Of Isolation In Catcher In The Rye

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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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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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1436 Words | 6 Pages

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