Similarities Between Catcher In The Rye And One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Billy’s ordinary world was cluttered with fear which stemmed from an unhealthy childhood. Abraham Maslow, one of the founding fathers of humanistic psychology in the1940’s, created the Hierarchy of Needs. “The lower the needs in the hierarchy, the more fundamental they are...” (Tay, Diener, changingminds). Maslow created a pyramid to model the five most important human needs, “essential for evolutionary survival” (Tay, Diener). Billy’s mother and Nurse Ratched were oppressive and unbalanced Billy’s hierarchical needs by destroying any chances Billy had at intimacy. Billy’s mother forced him to fear human connection and find social interaction abnormal. Billy lived in toxic environments all his life which started with, his mother and continued …show more content…
The novel The Catcher in the Rye follows protagonist Holden Caulfield in his journey from Pencey Prep to the streets of New York. His self alienation is a constant obstacle for the duration of the novel. One night, Holden finds himself with a prostitute. "‘Uh huh. Well, how 'bout it? Y 'innarested?...’ ‘Okay,’ I said. It was against my principles and all, but I was feeling so depressed I didn 't even think. That 's the whole trouble. When you 're feeling very depressed, you can 't even think.” (Salinger, 13. 13-19). A pimp named Maurice offers Holden a night with a prostitute His depression and longing for companionship drive him to agree. Holden is a virgin even though he has been offered sex before because he feels that, “most of the time when you 're coming pretty close to doing it with a girl… she keeps telling you to stop. The trouble with me is, I stop. Most guys don 't. I can 't help it.” (Salinger, 13. 24). Holden respects women and does not care so much for sex but rather emotional love. Holden searches for human connection constantly throughout the novel. “She was very nervous, for a prostitute. She really was. I think it was because she was young as hell… around my age… She had a tiny little wheeny-whiny voice. You could hardly hear her. She never said thank you, either.. She just didn 't know any better… ‘Hey, how old are you, anyways?’ ‘Me? Twenty-two.’ ‘Like fun you are.’ It was a funny thing to say. It sounded like a real kid. You 'd think a prostitute and all would say ‘Like hell you are’ or ‘Cut the crap’ instead of ‘Like fun you are.’” (Salinger, 13. 30-35). As a virgin, Holden has mixed feelings towards sex. His self alienation subconsciously leads him to avoid intimacy unless he can establish an emotional connection first. Sunny’s timidness and shaking suggest her nervousness towards sex and her avoidance of cussing