A Perspective on Loneliness in The Catcher in the Rye What should a person do if he or she is kicked out of boarding school? JD Salinger traces Holden, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye, on his lonely path after he is expelled from a boarding school. Salinger writes a tale about the coming of age of a teenager who pushes away all of his friends when he needs them the most. In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger shows how Holden’s struggles with developing and maintaining friendships result from traumatic events in his past. The death of Holden’s younger brother, Allie, causes Holden’s struggles with developing and maintaining friendships. Allie died of leukemia about 4 prior. The reader learns more about Allie from when Stradlater asks Holden to write him a descriptive composition. Holden writes the essay on Allie’s baseball mitt. In the process of writing, Holden describes Allie’s characteristics. “But it wasn 't just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest, in lots of ways. He never got mad at anybody” (Salinger 38). When Holden talks about Allie, he describes only positive qualities about his brother; this is in stark contrast to almost everyone else he describes. This emphasizes how important his younger brother is to him and shows he thought Allie was perfect. It also seems like Allie …show more content…
The theme of loneliness is demonstrated multiple times through Holden’s self destructive behaviors with his friends and family, his fear of rejection, and his rude behaviors and language when he feels rebuffed by a friend. As a result, Holden is confused, he is pushing his friends away, and his emotions are in disarray. Holden’s loneliness in The Catcher in the Rye illustrates what life would be like without friends, and reinforces how important friends are in