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Examples Of Isolation In Catcher In The Rye

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Humans require social connections since they were born. In the Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger conveys the negative impacts of disengaging with society. If one remains isolated for an extended period of time, the person may never find meaning in life. In the novel, Holden's hatred towards his life is a product of his self-imposed isolation. Specifically, Holden cannot make friends, cannot maintain relationships with girls and cannot maintain mental stability. Holden's tendency to protect his isolation eludes him from other people. After Holden finishes talking with Mrs. Morow, he went into a phone both. Holden wanted to give somebody a buzz, but decided not to call anybody after twenty minutes (Salinger 77). Although Holden tries to interact …show more content…

The first girl introduced to have a deep connection with Holden is Jane. When Stradlater said that he is dating Jane, Holden immediatly wants to see Jane. Sadly, Holden missed his chance because he was "not in the mood" to (Salinger, 42). Since Jane is dating, Holden knows that she is no longer as innocent as she were before. To protect his alusions, Holden isolates himself from Jane, making Jane a girl stuck in his past. Even when a girl is right beside him, Holden tends to isolate himself from sex. After Holden pays for a prostitute, he uses his money to talk instead of having sex (Stradlater, 124). This depicts how Holden alienates himself agian, resulting in Sunny viewing him as a madman. Finally, Holden manages to get hislef a date with Sally, but ruins it with a prepostrous idea of escaping society. Sally rejects his idea, and Holden responds, " You give me a royal pain in the ass" (J.D.Salinger, 173). Holden's isolation makes him want to move to a secluded area, however, Sally thinks it is stupid. Holden then loses control and rejects Sally, thereby failing to achieve another intimate relationship. Holden's isolation not only makes him fail to talk with girls properly, he also cannot maintain mental

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