Catcher In The Rye Isolation Analysis

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With social media the world is now interconnected, but many people still prefer isolation. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden, the main character, alienates himself. After the death of his younger brother, he doesn't want to become too attached to someone again. Holden struggles to maintain relationships, and he hopes he never has to talk to anyone again . The author, J. D. Sallinger, wanted to be isolated and wanted to stay out of the spotlight. During Holden’s metaphorical journey, alienation and isolation are the cause of his depression. After the death of Holden’s younger brother, Allie, Holden feels alienated. Allie, while vacationing in Maine, came down with leukemia and died very suddenly. Holden, who was very close with …show more content…
Holden dreams of moving out west and pretending to be deaf, so no one talks to him. Holden is annoyed and feels that people talking to him is. A waste of his time “if they wanted to talk to me, they would have to write it down.” This is an unrealistic goal, as Holden often drags on conversation and often socializes with people who have little interest in talking to him. Holden plans on marrying a deaf girl so they don't talk and have little in common. Holden wants to live in an isolated cabin and have only his brother and sister visit a few times a year. J.D Sallinger moved into a cabin in the middle of nowhere to avoid the spotlight, a theme that is also present in Holden. Holden tries to avoid the spotlight and often calls famous people phonies, as he feels they have sold out. Holden’s brother D.B. writes movies and Holden calls him a “prostitute” as he feels his brother is fake. Holden makes a rule that his brother can't write movies in his cabin only books, which shows that Holden wants to be as far out of the spotlight as possible. Holden struggles with his decision “I would live near the woods.” This shows that he doesn't want to be completely isolated, as he will stay have some
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