FREE ESSAY ON CATCHER AND THE RYE

CATCHER AND THE RYE

CATCHER IN THE RYE
FINAL ESSAY
"Loneliness"
Ever felt like there needs to be someone there to talk to, cry with, fight with, or just
need a hug from? Those feelings dwell from loneliness, something Holden Caulfield knows
all about. Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger's main character in the book The Catcher In
the Rye, is young man on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. One contributor to this
breakdown, is the loneliness that Holden experiences. His loneliness is apparent through
many ways including: his lack of friends, his longing for his dead brother, and the way
he attempts to gain acceptance from others.
Holden Caulfield is currently attending Pencey private school; well technically getting
the boot from there for his poor academics, and this is his third school he has now been
through. At Pencey, just as in the past two schools, Holden has troubles making friends.
To Holden, everyone is either corny of phony. He used the term to describe what a person
is if they don't act naturally and follow other people's manners and grace. Holden didn't
like phonies, he thought of them as if they were trying to show off. He didn't like it
when they showed off because it seemed so fake and unnatural every time they would do it.
When Holden was on his way to the bar, he shared his insights about the piano player
Earnie. "Earnie's a big, fat, colored guy who plays the piano. He's a terrific snob and
won't hardly talk to you unless you are a big shot or celebrity or something, but he can
really play the piano. He's so good, he's almost corny in fact" (page 80). Also on page
126, he makes reference to Earnie's playing again. "They [people outside the theater]
acted a little bit the way old Earnie, down in the village, plays the piano. If you do
something too good, then after a while if you don't watch it, you start showing off. And
then you're not as good anymore." Holden does not allow himself to have friendship
because of his "he is corny" attitude. Right away in the beginning of the book, the
reader knows that Holden is lonely when he separates himself from the rest of the Pencey
students by watching the football game from Thomsen Hill and not the grand stands. "..you
could hear them [students in grand stands] all yelling, deep and terrific on the Pencey
side, because practically the whole school was there except me" (page 5). Holden wasn't a
very sociable person partly because he finds himself better than many others. He dislikes
his roommate because of his generic leather luggage. "Its really hard to be roommates
with someone if your luggage is better than theirs, it really is" (page 109), says
Holden. He dislikes his roommate over something so insignificant as luggage. Holden sits
in his room reading, cause he has no friends to be with. A kid named Ackely is his next
door roommate, and he doesn't seem to want a friendship with him either. Holden finds
Ackely's zit crusted face ridiculous and doesn't want him in his room at first. This
should light a bulb in the readers head and signify internal problems with Holden and
shows he has a lot of loneliness. 
Holden's loneliness is apparent in more than just him lacking friends. His loneliness
shines through by the way he misses his deceased brother, Allie. Holden makes several
references to Allie and how the two used to do stuff (page 38, 68, 98, 138, 140, 155,
198, 210). Holden deeply misses his brother and even talks to him out loud (page 98). I
believe Holden misses his brother more than others because Holden never got that final
closure to his brother's death; Holden never went to Allie's funeral, and so I believe
that Holden didn't get to say his good-bye. What Holden did do though, is punch out all
the windows in the garage the night of Allie's death. When Holden gets deeply depressed
and lonely, he just talks to Allie- wishing that Allie was still here to do stuff with.
By not letting go of Allie, it is visible to the reader how lonely Holden Caulfield is. 
Lastly, the final way to detect Holden's loneliness, is portrayed through his ways of
trying to gain acceptance from others. Holden tried all he could to fit in. He drank,
cursed and criticized life in general to make it seem he was very knowing of these
habits. Holden just wanted to be loved. I know he said he didn't care about how people
thought he looked when he wore his hunting cap, but deep inside I believe he wanted to be
loved, and he attempted to do this by gaining acceptance of those around him. This is a
very human behavior, though. I think we have all been guilty of this sometime in our
lives. We have changed our clothing, our language, our lifestyle to be 'normal.' To try
and fit in with the 'popular group.' When we do those things, it comes from insecurity
within. We are insecure with who we are, and we want to change so that we are not an
outsider. To me, Holden is insecure and is crying for help and for someone to comfort
him.
Holden Caulfield has had a rough, disturbing life. During this journey in his life, he
has become very lonely. While reading this 214 paged book, The Catcher and the Rye, the
reader can discover Holden's loneliness by his lack of friends, his mourning of his
younger brother, and his attempts to gain acceptance from others.