In Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, unstable teenager Holden Caulfield recounts his experiences navigating New York while meeting new people after being kicked out of many schools. Holden, after experiencing tragedy with the death of his brother, isolates himself from the world around him, which he believes is filled with “phonies”. Holden’s thoughts and actions along his journey prove Jodi Picoult’s assertion that “if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it’s not because they enjoy solitude. It’s because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” Picoult’s claims are correct because those who pull away from the world do so after failed attempts at reaching out; they instead adjust …show more content…
When feelings of loneliness overtake one’s thoughts, they take drastic measures to fill the void within themselves. Holden sinks to a new low when he calls a prostitute to his room after a night of solitude. When she leaves, the overwhelming feeling of rejection consumes him once again, as he “felt so depressed, you can’t imagine. What [he] did, [he] started talking, sort of out loud, to Allie” (Salinger 98). As his last-ditch attempt to create a bond fails, Holden turns to the only person who has given his comfort all his life, his brother. A loner increasingly relies on a select few people until they cut everyone out of their lives and keep to themselves. One by one, members of an individual’s life fail them until the person is forced to feel completely alone. Vulnerable and lost, Holden turns to Mr. Antolini as a mentor and as someone to take advice from. He reflects afterward, explaining that Mr. Antolini “went to all that trouble giving me that advice about finding the size of your mind and all” (Salinger 195), but in the end, the “pervert” incident overshadowed it. Holden addressed his emotion showing a glimmer of emotional intelligence, but was quickly discouraged from dealing with his problems after the scarring incident with a man he thought he could trust. His attempt at reaching out to get help was a failure, which leads him to close off