Examples Of Outcast In Catcher In The Rye

Imagine that there’s two of you. One being the outcast and the other watching yourself be an outcast. In ‘The Catcher in the Rye,’ J.D Salinger shows Holden as an outcast. He’s consistently isolating himself yet tries to find ways to communicate with people; stranger or not. Holden sees that everyone is a phony and fake as an excuse to why he can’t seem to fit in with them. He thinks as if he’s found his place in the world by being in a mental hospital telling his story to a psychoanalyst but in reality, he hasn’t. Holden poorly adapts to situations that he leads himself in and is awkwardly different from others. The novel, ‘The Catcher in the Rye,’ exhibits a fascination with an outcast because Holden is a misfit. Holden never fits in the box. His point of views and actions differentiate him from people which makes it difficult for him to relate to them. Holden says, “People never think anything is anything really. I'm getting goddam sick of it.” (Salinger,172) Holden has a pessimistic take on people. He criticizes people about everything; how they’re insecure and boring. He considers everyone a phony while he thinks highly of himself as if he’s better than everyone else. Even though he already doesn’t fit in, he still isolates himself to certify his superiority. Holden can’t find a way to fit in and find his …show more content…
He finds himself feeling the need to “buzz” a certain someone or the want to just talk to people and tell them about his crazy ideas but this doesn’t last long until Holden feels in solitary. “I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead,” (Salinger, 48). Holden is so lonely that most times he feels as though he’s better off dead. His loneliness is apparent through the lack of friends he has and how he doesn’t accept people who don’t fit in his perception. He brings loneliness to himself because he chooses to be lonely instead of communicating with