Examples Of Loneliness In Catcher In The Rye

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Loneliness and Societal Views Individuals are constantly trying to find themselves in today’s world. There seems to be a large correlation between loneliness and society’s concept of reality. Most people miss this association, but loneliness has written its name on every wall surrounding our lives. It continues to be the worst kind of vandalism. The populace, as a whole, is more psychologically disconnected than ever before, we have a desperate longing to fit in with the crowd, and people’s mental state appears to alter the way that they perceive society.
To begin, the populace is more psychologically disconnected than ever before. Individuals tend to believe that no one could possibly understand their situation, so they become closed off. They create a faux reality in order to seem happy. Unfortunately, this isn’t just a single person’s experience. It has become our populace as a whole, and in turn our society. For example, in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden feels closed off from other people. He has a long list of people to call, yet he doesn’t want to reach out to any of them other than his little sister. (Source C). Likewise, in Barbara Ascher’s …show more content…
Something that drives loneliness is the dire need to be like everyone else. Society loves stereotyping and creating a false idea of what it means to be successful -- wealth over poverty, muscular men over weak men, thin women over women with curves, and so forth. The idea that one must never be an outlier applies pressure to each one of us on a daily basis. Our reality is shaped and molded by those around us, so a lonely society paves way towards a lonely reality. Salinger also demonstrates the effect of a crowd on an individual when Holden, the main character of his novel, notices how most of the smart and wealthy men in his life are treated like gold. He despises these men, and he wonders why the world is based around them. (Source
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