Some themes that “I am a Rock” and Catcher in the Rye share are alienation as a form of self-protection and the hurtful ways of society. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden throughout the book, isolates/alienates himself from other people as a form of self-protection. An example would be how at the beginning of the book, instead of going to the football game that the entire school was attending, Holden decided to to be by himself at the top of a hill, listening to all of the yelling coming from the game. In “I am a Rock”, Simon says, “I am alone gazing from my window to the streets below on a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow”. This quote is saying that he feels left out and wants to be left to himself. The hurtful ways of society, Holden points
