How Does Holden Connect With Others

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. Holden is unaware of his problem. When people try to help him he tells them there is nothing wrong with him. Holden wonders why he cannot connect with others. He blames it on other people when the source of his problems is himself. Holden’s past holds him back from connecting with others, but his fear of letting go of his past has him limited and scarred from making new relationships and connections. Holden struggled to come up with words to say to people which makes it even harder to connect with people he’s trying to bond with. For example with Jane, Holden clearly has great affection for her but he can never come up with the words to

Holden and the three women both knew that Holden was younger than the women. Holden tries to portray himself as the older man which clearly does not work. He tries to act mature and asks “Would any of you girls like to dance?” (pg.78-79) The girls completely disregard him and start laughing as if his question was a joke. They quickly realized that Holden did not think it was funny or a joke. He perceives himself as the older man by kissing one girls on the forehead. When he does that she thinks it is weird and strange because she is much older than him. Again Holden is trying to connect but at times when it is not appropriate at the wrong times. This leaves Holden very sad and lonely. He wonders why nobody wants to talk and connect with him even though he considers himself a normal, healthy