Examples Of Isolationism In Catcher In The Rye

Throughout our lives, all human beings are forced to navigate from the world of our carefree simplistic childhoods to the more terrifying complex world of adulthood. For most people, this journey is fearsome and full of struggles and obstacles that they must overcome in order to venture to the other side. No matter how difficult this journey is, growing up and becoming an adult is necessary for our life experience. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden Caulfield struggles with the concept of becoming an adult and leaving his childhood behind. Like most people, Holden tries to find an outlet for releasing his fears about growing up. One of Holden’s most important coping mechanisms is isolating himself from others. In his conversation with Sally Hayes, Holden Caulfield’s demonstration of trying to isolate himself from the world around him, connects to the novel’s main theme of isolationism as a form of protection. In Holden Caulfield’s conversation with Sally Hayes, Holden …show more content…
Salinger 's novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield has difficulty accepting the fact that he must transition from childhood to adulthood. In order to avoid his fate, Holden tries numerous times to isolate himself from the world around him. He tries to lure an old school companion to run away with him and even conjures up a world of what he imagines his ideal life would be like if he ran away. Throughout the novel, Holden is wandering around in a state of limbo, stuck between refusing to grow up while at the same time being forced to do so. Towards the end of the novel, Holden, for once, experiences genuine happiness while watching his younger sister go round and round on a carousel. For him, this moment contains a profound amount of innocence. Though this point in the novel may seem like Holden has had a change of character, this is not necessarily the case, because a week later Holden is in a mental