As defined, isolation is when something or someone is alone or separated. One’s relationship with family and friends can determine how alone or “placed apart” one is. Relationships and isolation tie in together, as isolation is dependent on the relationship one has. In Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Jane is a young girl who has been isolated in many ways. Jane is isolated from friends and family. A lot like jane, Holden from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden is also isolated. The main similarity between both Holden and Jane is them both being isolated. One of the many differences between the two is that Holden is isolated from both friends and family for the entire duration of the book; while, Jane is isolated from her family …show more content…
In the book, Jane Eyre, isolation is one of the main themes. Isolation affects Jane in many ways. Jane has been affected mainly throughout her family; especially by her aunt as Jane says “Me she had dispensed from joining the group saying, ‘she regretted to be under necessity of keeping me at a distance’” (Bronte 11). Jane had lost her mother, father, and uncle Reed, leaving her with her aunt Reed and cousins Eliza, John, and Georgiana. Janes aunt has not necessarily favoured Janes joining of the family, and with this she tends to leave her out of family events. With Janes aunt isolating her comes her cousin’s, John’s, abuse. Jane is used to this type of isolation she has become “Accustomed to John Reed’s abuse, I never had an idea to replying to it: my care was how to endure the blow.” (14). Jane’s cousins don’t think much of her, not only because she’s not from the same set of parents, but because they pick up on their mother dividing her from the rest of the family. As alienation is a main theme this abusive relation increases how much she is isolated from her family. …show more content…
Holden, has failed out of school and as a result, he is distant from his parents. When Holden goes to call the people he cares about, he says “I couldn’t think of anybody to call up. My brother D.B. was in Hollywood. My sister Phoebe… was out … so I ended up not calling anybody” (Salinger 59). Holden’s isolation from his family, more specifically his parents, leaves him scared of calling his siblings. D.B. is a Hollywood writer, so he is unable to talk to Holden as frequently as Holden would like. Along with D.B., Holden’s brother allie passed away, making it quite difficult for Holden to get in contact with him. This leaves Holden’s sister Phoebe and “he damn near gave her his sister phoebe a buzz, though. He certainly felt like talking to her on the phone, somebody with sense and all. But he couldn’t take a chance on giving her a buzz” (66). As seen, Holden going away to school has affected his relationship with Phoebe, the person he was closest with. Holden is not only isolated from his parents, but Allie and D.B., as well as he becomes distant from phoebe. Although Holden is isolated from his family, family still means a lot to him. Holden enjoys being away from his family, although he is depressed “but there was this one nice thing. This family that you could tell came out of some church were walking right in front of me- a father, mother, and a little kid… it made me feel better. It made me feel not so depressed
As the novel comes to a close the depth of Holden Caulfield’s character advances. As Holden comes to terms with his emotions and learns how to deal with them effectively. At the same time, he learns about others’ sentiments and how to react to their emotions. When talking to his sister, Phoebe, Holden withdraws from the conversation as it progresses into more emotional depth than he is comfortable with. Aware that his sister “gets very emotional” Holden shy’s away from the conversation as, at this point in time, Holden has not prepared himself to cope with her emotions (Salinger 182). His unwillingness is due to Holden’s inability to endure his own feelings, let alone the emotions of another person. Later in the novel, Holden insinuates
He has a sweet spot for his sister, Phoebe Caulfield. Phoebe brought him happiness and she gave him a reason to stay in New York. When Holden was around Phoebe, he was more optimistic and caring. She was Holden’s main supporter. Towards the end, he was less selfish to her and cared more about her. When she asked him to stay, he eventually did. Also, he gave her the money back that he borrowed. A line from the book says, “I sort of miss everybody I told about” (214). This shows that Holden is a little regretful for everything. If he misses everyone, he is starting to care more for others and possibly even more for
Although siblings share a very strong bond, his fixation with her is beyond the spectrum of brotherly love and Salinger strongly suggests there is something deeper within Holden as to why. As a reader, we can see that Holden is so absorbed into Phoebe’s life and children in general, for their lack of life experience. Holden doesn’t believe that children have been corrupted by conformity and societal norms yet thus is extremely attached to them as he believes very few people to be innocent. We can draw this conclusion in that Holden can acknowledge Phoebe’s faults but validates them for that he feels as though because children are so young, they simply don’t know better. This is exemplified in that Holden can acknowledge that “She can be quite snotty… It was sort of funny, too, in a way. She sounds like a goddamn school teacher sometimes, and she's only a child” (Salinger 217). Although Holden can see her faults personality wise, he doesn’t view her as a phony like he would in someone who is older or more mature who is acting in the same nature. He views it solely as childhood ignorance thus passes it off. The fact that Holden is able to validate some situations of “phoniness”, proves that he simply has a misunderstanding of innocence and all that it
He still has problems getting over that fact that Allie is dead, as is proved when it is revealed that he asks Allie to not let him “disappear” while crossing a street. The fact that Holden is so against the fact that his younger brother is dead leads Holden to become the cynical person he is. His cynicism is proved when Holden meets his classmate’s mother on a train and contemptuously lies to her, telling her that her son was very popular instead of the fact that he was a “rat”, when she asks him about her son. Holden is close with his younger sister, Phoebe, and they both appreciate each other’s company. This is shown as Holden often thinks about her in the story. Caulfield’s relationships with other people are impeded by his cynicism which ironically causes him to become a phony
But he soon begins to realise that he might have freedom and money, but that can’t get him anyone who will always be there for him. In the novel, he constantly meets up with people he knows, but in the end, he is left alone. This is due to the instability of his environment and the fast pace life he is trying to live. This leads him to begin to think about if he can ever be happy living like this and he tries to find where he is happy. Soon, he sets out to find where he is happy and he is lead to his little sister Phoebe and eventually goes back home in New York in the middle of the night to see her. Upon being with his sister in his home, he feels a sense of welcoming and love because he is in a place where he has people who care about him. This makes Holden realise the importance of how much having someone who cares about him, and the difference it can make in his life. Even after feeling alone and unloved in the heart of New York, he still can find comfort in that same city, just with the right people. This is supported by the quote “New York's terrible when somebody laughs on the street very late at night. You can hear it for
In the excerpt of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte utilizes diction to portray Jane's isolation and restriction. Her word choice creates a bleak and morose tone, further emphasizing the extent of Jane's suffocation.
He meets his sister Phoebe as well as his reaction upon entering his brother D.B.’s room. He “went around the room, very quiet and all, looking at stuff for a while. I felt swell, for a change” (Salinger, 159). The comparison between Holden and D.B. relates to Adler’s inferiority complex where “..neurotic behavior is a result of feelings of inadequacy and inferiority caused by, for instance, being the youngest in a family or being a child who is trying to compete in an adult world” (Adler). In this case, Holden is trying to compete to be like his brother D.B. so that he can be accepted by his family. Holden also imagined, “picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around nobody big, I mean except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff” (Salinger, 173). To relate to Holden’s thoughts, author Bill Knaus claims that “others fail to prioritize their own problems for fear of appearing selfish” (Knaus). This triggers Holden to realize that he was focusing trying to help others but left little time to focus on himself which led him to do poorly in school along with his hasty actions and also caused a personal emotional breakdown for him. Holden’s relation to Phoebe compares to Erikson’s 5th stage of psychosocial development which explores the adolescence identity versus the role
Holden has experienced traumatic experiences in his short lifetime, which have affected his capability to trust and care for others. Holden is still suffering from the devastating loss of his brother and therefore is reluctant to love others again. Holden is scared and traumatized from the death of a very close and special person to him. Despite the fact that he attempts to connect and love his family, he cannot tolerate the pain of disappointing his mother. Throughout his many encounters, Holden has difficulty trusting people and deciding if they are sincere. Holden is cynical due to the disturbing effects of the sudden death of his brother. Holden confesses, “It sounds terrible to say it, but [he] can even get to hate somebody, just looking at them” (120). This statement reveals how he immediately perceives most adults as “phony” and cannot trust them to be genuine. Holden’s recent losses and failures have affected his abilities and desire to gain love in his
In the novel, Holden plans a date with a girl, named Sally, who he feels indifferent towards. Though after going on the date with her, Holden experiences an intense infatuation for her and invites her to live out his fantasy of escaping to Vermont and living in a cabin in the woods. Once Sally rejects his idea by questioning the logic of it, Holden goes on a tirade and tells Sally that she “gives [him] a royal pain in the ass” (Salinger 148). Sally starts to cry and leaves Holden alone, giving him time to reflect on their conversation during which he says “I don’t even know why I started all that stuff with her . . . The terrible part, though, is that I meant it when I asked her” (Salinger 149). His relationship with Sally is just one example of how unstable his relationships are. The symptom is apparent in Holden and Sally’s interactions as Holden first experiences intense infatuation for Sally, and only moments later, he thinks the complete opposite of her. Instability is also prevalent in Holden’s relationship with his brother, Allie. He idealizes his dead brother, often putting Allie on a pedestal. In a confrontation with Phoebe, Holden says “Just because somebody’s dead, you don’t just stop
Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontё, has many themes and motifs throughout the novel; however, the seemingly most prominent theme is the conflict of dependency and love versus growth gained from autonomy. The main character has the issue of dependency through the whole novel, but is only resolved in the events following her departure from her fiance. Jane’s independence assists her in the resolution of her moral journey due to her self-fulfillment gained by breaking the social norms of the time. Although her journey begins in Jane’s early life, the main deciding point for her is the deviation from Mr. Rochester and her inheritance from her uncle that brings about her final growth from both dependency and autonomy.
Like Charlotte Bronte both William Crimsworth and Jane Eyre encountered hardships early in their lives therefore they sought independence. Crimsworth’s need to leave his brother Edward and Hunsden reflected the independence “[sought] by Charlotte in order to pursue her career as a governess.”2 Since Bronte’s mother died when Charlotte was very young her father allowed their aunt to educate and raise the children until they were old enough to seek a career. Their aunt was a stern woman and “was rather content receiving obedience than affection”3 which is similar to the character of Aunt Reed in Jane Eyre. Although Hunsden did not hold any blood relation to Crimsworth the relationship between the men was cold which forced Crimsworth to find separation form ridicule and harsh criticism as did Bronte from her aunt. The novel Jane Eyre further illustrated Bronte’s desires of seeking autonomy as the central character, Jane, represented the romantic relationship Bronte had experienced with her professor at the young age of 18. The storyline between Rochester and Eyre held true to the emotions of Charlotte Bronte because she felt the frustrations, helplessness, and happiness in a romance. “Isolation allow[ed]the heroine’s self-development, but it impede[ed] her romantic yearning to be thoroughly lost in love.”4 Yet, due to the hardships she faced in her romance Bronte still saw the need for separation from her beloved as did Eyre from Rochester and Francis from Crimsworth. Although it was hard for the author to leave her happiness, her frustrations were expressed in Jane Eyre:
The story begins with a young Jane Eyre who is essentially neither loved by anyone nor independent in nature. At this point in the story, the reader discovers that Jane is an orphan and is being supported by the Reed family. This discovery is made through the portrayal of John Reed when he is taunting Jane about her social status. John claims that since it is his family who supports Jane, it is their choice to dictate the circumstances under which she lives. In this case, Jane is not allowed to play with the younger Reed children or read a book that belongs to the Reeds. The fact that6 Jane is an orphan living under someone else's roof displays that she has not yet gained her independence.
Shortly after birth, Jane Eyre Becomes an exile. She physically lives in her aunt’s manor, but she is effectively exiled from the feeling of belonging that can only be found in meaningful familial connections. Her aunt treats her poorly and her cousins, when not ignoring her, openly bully her. She is isolated and, although technically within the boundaries of a stately house, homeless. Jane’s exile from a family and her search for deep human connection drive the plot of the book and is integral to her finally finding a home in her marriage to Mr. Rochester.
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta once said that “loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty” (Costello 20). Throughout the entirety of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë communicates this sentiment effectively. Jane Eyre, orphaned as an infant and brought up by coldhearted relatives, matures into a plain, lowly governess who struggles with a fear of loneliness throughout the course of her life. However, despite the overwhelming evidence (seen specifically in variations of the word “solitude”) of Jane’s severe aversion to loneliness, there are points in the novel where she truly enjoys her reclusiveness. These changes in attitude mostly occur after some of the major events in the novel. Therefore, seen explicitly in the
...es every persons heart. Whether it be a locked room, an animalistic personality, or a setting which removes the reader from reality, isolation is used to embody silent chaos. The theme of isolation is prevalent in many works of detective fiction, and it imprints upon the reader the silent fear that creeps up in the dead of night and does not go away.