Examples Of Isolation In Catcher In The Rye

Holden allows the reader to hypothesize that he is attracted to a girl named Jane Gallagher, by constantly telling of his fond memories of her, but when push comes to shove his tendency to alienation himself from society, to "protect himself from losing his innocence", takes him over. On page 116 of the novel, Holden tells the reader that after he got his sister a record he went to a phone booth and called Jane's house. But when her mother picked up the phone he hung up. Holden tells the reader that he "didn't feel like getting into a long conversation with her mother" so he hung up but in reality Holden's personal preference of alienating himself frightened him and prevented him of making any contact with Jane.

This reveals Holden trying to keep Janes innocence. Which ties in with the theme loss of innocence, which worries Holden. He feels as if Stradlater may take the innocence of Jane which makes him feeling upset. This is due to the that, he likes Jane and feels being innocent makes him like her more and taking that away might affect the way he looks at her.

Jane Gallagher was one of the only people outside of his family whom he had a close relationship with. While he described her to Stradlater, Stradlater didn’t care about the details. Stradlater failed to even remember her name correctly, referring to Jane as “Jean” (35). Being a caring friend, Holden only wants someone who truly cares about Jane to be with her. But more than that, Holden wants to be with her. He’s a teenager, and Jane is probably the only girl he’s made a meaningful connection with. Naturally, he feels attracted to her. In fact, it is heavily implied that he was sexually attracted to her as well. When Holden was horny, he thought about calling Jane(71). Knowing that someone like Stradlater is dating her, who is experienced with women and “gave the time” to many of them (55) makes him scared that Stradlater would have sex with her, too. Holden may also be frustrated that Stradlater was able to get with her, while he repeatedly couldn’t bring himself to contact her, making the excuse that he just “wasn’t in the mood” (37 & 71). Holden’s inability to talk to Jane adds to the theme of alienation, and gives merit to the idea that his constant isolation is of his own

Even Though he can't make that connection with his parents throughout the book he presents us with other outlets like Jane Gallagher as way for Holden to have someone to talk to saying“Jane Gallagher. Jesus” I couldn't get her off my mind I really couldn’t. “I oughta go down and say hello to her, at least.” When this opportunity is presented for Holden to have a connection with a childhood friend when asked “Why the hell don’tcha, instead of keep saying it?”..he replies.”I’m not in the mood right now.”(37)) this perfectly showing how not only does not have opportunities to connect with someone but in the case of Jane Gallagher he refuses to connect with someone. And as critic Mollie Sandock perfectly states in The Catcher in the Rye: Overview Holden's story is “ full of failed attempts to communicate, messages never delivered, uncompleted phone calls, overtures not taken up, appeals repulsed,” this much leading him into the isolated lonely child or teenager (it depends which way you look at it ) that he is.

The Catcher in the Rye In J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the narrator's statements and actions contribute to an understanding of the themes through many different ways. Holden goes through a lot in the novel and gives off many messages about life and people. Three themes where about isolation, phoniness, and innocence. Isolation is one of the themes that get shown through Holden’s actions in the novel. For example he says "People never notice anything".

Stradlater doesn’t know or care. Holden becomes so overwhelmed by the thought of him “giving Jane time,” he gets into a physical altercation with his roommate. After this incident, Holden begins to idealize Jane’s image increasingly, leading to him imagining a fantastic scene after he gets robbed by a pimp, Maurice. “Then I’d crawl back to my room and call up Jane and have her come over and bandage up my guts. I pictured her holding a cigarette for me to smoke while I was bleeding and all” (Salinger 104). This is why Holden can’t talk to Jane; he has created another disjointed image of her in his mind that he uses to rescue himself. Jane saves him; but it’s not really Jane, more likely than not, the Jane in Holden’s head hasn’t existed for years. His image of her becoming more and more warped, and his cowardice in refusing to talk to her, show Holden’s inability to reconcile the past, his childhood, with the present: the fact that he and others around him are growing up. [ADD SOMETHING HERE?]

He even went as far as trying to call up a sexually open girl and arranging a meeting with her for a drink. The action of calling this girl and attempting to meet up with her shows that he realizes his need to grow up, acting older than he probably should, and making rash decisions in his attempts to act like an ‘adult’. His flashbacks serve as a reminder that no matter how hard he tries to forget Jane, he will always have feelings for her. It also serves as a pointer that Holden still desires to be with Jane, as the more he tries to forget her, the more he remembers all of the moments they shared, from the time he first decided to talk to her, to the time he tried to comfort her when she began to cry, to the many times they played checkers or held hand together. He begins to talk to himself about the smaller details of Jane, her interest in reading and sports, the way her mouth is alway just a tiny bit open, the way she lights up when she is interested in something and how her mouth begins to seem to move in all directions as she's talking about it. The memories of his past and the actions he took in what would be considered the present all show that Holden is changing as a person, becoming more accepting of his repressed sexuality, and

Holden’s date with Sally Hayes exhibited his difficulty at cooperating with others. At first he gives us a dire impression of Sally, “I wasn’t too crazy about her, but I’d known her for years.” (p. 105) Later, he wants to marry Sally and says he is in love with her. The biggest mystery of all when it comes to women is with Jane Gallagher. Constantly mentioning Jane, Holden recalls playing checkers with her before he got sent to boarding school. When his roommate, Stradlater, has a date with Jane, Holden asks him a peculiar question, “Did you ask her if she still keeps all her kings in the back row?” (p. 42) Holden, jealous of Stradlater’s date with Jane, longs to see Jane but never has the courage to call her. Interactions with other people especially women perplex and overwhelm Holden. He therefore resorts to isolation, illustrating a characteristic of his mental state.

In the hotel lobby, Holden thinks about Jane and their childhood together.Their families had summer homes next to each other. Holden remembers a time where Jane’s alcoholic stepdad asked her for some cigs’ and she began to cry. Holden and Jane used to hold hands, he states that when this happened he was truly happy. Also, Jane was the first person Holden showed Allie baseball glove too. These thoughts depress Holden and he heads out and takes a cab out to a nightclub in Greenwich Village.

Another time that Holden cares about other people is when Stradlater is on a date with Jane the girl that Holden feels lover for her. Stradlater didn’t know how her name was pronounced and Holden said he was a moron(100) Holden wanted to protect Jane from getting hurt by Stradlater. Holden didn 't want to see her suffer since he really cares about her and he didn 't want just anyone to play around with her feelings. Holden wanted to keep her away from the bad and to not suffer the way she did when she was in her house and started crying because of her dad. Holden wants her happy and will do anything to make it happen. Holden has achieved the need of self actualization and he demonstrates it through his actions throughout the book.

     This is shown when Holden meets Sunny, a prostitute at a hotel. He pays her, but sends her back without having sex with her. He feels depressed and sorry for her. The next morning Holden has a date with an old girlfriend, Sally Hayes.

Later on Holden recalls when he was attending Pencey College how his gloves were stolen by some crook. He continues describing the situation of confrontation hypothetically, at first with assertion and authority. Eventually he admits to himself, “Only, I wouldn’t have the guts to do it. I’d just stand there, trying to look tough” (Salinger P. 99). Holden goes on to describe to the reader his unaware fear of confrontation and violence, hinting at a dread of vulnerability and a closed off persona, another clear sign of Major Depressive Disorder. When Holden was a younger boy he knew a girl named Jane Gallagher whom he was childhood friends with, they often even held hands and had an emotional bond. Ever since he heard about Stradlator (his old roommate) taking her out on a date he’d been thinking of calling her up. Finally on page 130 he calls her up and her mother picks up. Startled, she hangs up and admits he should’ve asked for Jane, “But I didn’t feel like it. You really have to be in the mood for that stuff” (Salinger P. 130). His inability to feel motivated to make an effort for somebody he once loved shows his social-isolation.

To proponents of the novel, their relationship can be symbolized through the iconic line from Big Sean’s song Halfway Off The Balcony, “” These notions about their relationship are falsifiable for a number of reasons. First, Holden consistently treats Jane like she is broken and it is his job to fix her, using her past as an excuse to do so. The only details revealed about Jane’s past are that “” (Salinger PAGE) Most readers tend to counter this fact with the idea that, like Phoebe, Holden actually bothers to describe Jane’s personality. This would be a viable point if every time he did so were not in the context of him remembering these details about her from instances in which he almost got together with her, such as when they were playing checkers and he tried to kiss her, or when they would hold hands during movies.

I think that Holden will go down and say "hello" to Jane because he shows a lot of interest in her. Holden can't stop talking about her while he is having a conversation with Stradlater, after he found out that Jane is Stradlater's date. He remembers a lot of details and information about her. For instance: He knows that she's a dancer, and that she used to practice about two hours a day but she was worried that it'll make her legs thick. He also recalls that he used to play checkers with her and that she would just leave the kings in the back row since she liked the way they looked. It's clear to me that those details seem very important to Holden, However, to Stradlater or to any other person those details seem unimportant and insignificant.

“She was the only one, outside my family, that I ever showed Allie’s baseball mitt to, with all the poems written on it…I told her quite a lot about him” (101). Holden felt a rare connection and trust towards Jane. He remembers good memories with her to help ease the pain of losing her. Consequently, his pain catches up to him when Stradlater and Jane go on a date. “’If you didn’t go to New York, where’d ya go with her?’ I asked him, after a little while. I could hardly keep my voice from shaking all over the place. Boy was I getting nervous. I just had a feeling something had gone funny” (55). All the pain Holden has kept within seems to burst out. He starts to feel nervous and jealous and this contributes to his negative attitude. We see here that Holden truly cares for Jane and this hints that he has feelings for her. He is in a lot of pain due to losing his close friendship with Jane. Holden feels repentant yet reminiscent of the memories he once had with Jane.