The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was written to demonstrate the nature of society through the unique perspective of sixteen year old teenager Holden. In the story, Holden faced a variety of struggles and challenges as any normal teenagers would through discovering the path between innocent childhood and "phony" adulthood. One of Holden's main issues is his alienation from the world.

Throughout the whole novel, Holden isolated himself from others, including the few that he cared about, which are Allie, Phoebe, and Jane. He distanced himself from the surrounding people because of his strong hatred and criticisms towards society. Everything is phony and unlikeable to him to the point where he doesn't have a sense of belonging. During his short visit at Mr. Spencer's house, Holden thought to himself, "If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it's a game, all right--I'll admit that.

But if you get on the other side, where there aren't any hot-shots, then what's a game about it? Nothing. No game." (Salinger, 8) Holden feels as if he is on the other side of life where everybody else is because he's not associating with anyone. Even though he makes it appear as if he is above majority and doesn't require assistance, he is desperate for love and affection. Holden puts himself in miserable situations to attain this desire of attention, such as staying in the club with three older ladies, repetitively contacting Jane, and going on dates that he ends up ruining. He is unable to handle his emotions correctly which is one downfall caused by this alienation. This could also be caused by the loss of Allie at the age of thirteen. If he doesn't let people in, he wouldn't get...