Holden Caulfield Isolation Analysis

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Holden Cawfield’s internal isolation.

“Psychologists have found that younger children express feelings of grief, sadness, and depression, and pretend play with their deceased sibling, while older children act out more, engage in elevated levels of risk-taking” stated Jason Fletcher, Marian Vidal-Fernandez, and Barbara Wolfe from the article Dynamic and heterogeneous effects of sibling death on children’s outcomes. Holden Claufield’s internal isolation in the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is rooted in the death of his younger brother, Allie. This event has caused Holden’s grief and anger, which he often displays by blaming everything on the “Phoniness” of society when in reality he is depressed about his brother's death. Holden has often hinted about the …show more content…
That little lake. By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance?’ I realized it was only one chance in a million.” (60). Holden’s sudden interest in ducks and the frozen lake by the lagoon represents his fear of change. When he asks where the ducks go when the lake is frozen, it shows that he is reflecting on his own life which is full of change to the ones of the ducks living by the lagoon. One of the biggest changes that Holden has experienced in life was the death of his brother, which is the main cause of his alienation from everyone else. So, from this quote we can interpret that Holden is lost and confused in life, and doesn't know how else to handle his brother's death other than to put up a wall between himself and everyone else. The final example of Holden expressing his love and grief for his dead brother is when he begins to talk to him in times of misery, "Boy, I felt miserable. I felt so depressed, you can't imagine. What I did, I started talking, sort of out loud, to Allie. I do that sometimes when I get very depressed" (53). Holden talking to Allie when depressed shows
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