Inner Isolation

Inner Isolation

Isolation, a state of alienation often enforced to protect one’s self from any unwanted persons and/or societal functions. This protective barrier otherwise known as isolation is usually established when one has not yet resolved their own inner conflicts and is instead accusing society and its members. Isolation is not only a physical state, but a state of mind that can severely impact one’s mentality. In recent years, a professor from the University of Chicago centered his attention on examining the minds of the socially isolated. While conducting multiple cerebral experiments, the professor along with his colleagues discovered that “The brains of lonely people react differently than those with strong social networks.” The human mind is created in a peculiar way, to therefore experience regular communication with others, to be able to share ideas and ultimately create strong social connections. However when the mind lacks these fundamentals on a daily basis, it can have a huge underlying effect on one’s overall persona and can drastically alter one’s view on society and its components. Through protagonist, Holden Caulfield’s character in J.D Salinger’s novel; “The Catcher in the Rye”, readers are able to examine to which extent constant isolation can truly influence and alter one’s moral beliefs and/or personal convictions. In the novel, Holden Caulfield voluntarily isolates himself physically, emotionally and socially, as a method of self protection against what he perceives to be a victimizing world around him. As each chapter progresses, Holden Caulfield is delineated by his constant isolation, eventually leading it to become such a crucial aspect in his life that it ultimately shapes not...

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...minutes or so.” (Pg. 59) As Holden was going through his mind listing each person in his life he could possibly call, he began realizing the extent of his lonesomeness. Holden could have contacted anyone of those people he listed, however he chose not to because he felt as if he was simply an outcast with a burden and did not want to disrupt the orderly lives of others. Holden’s mentality diversifies so greatly compared to others that very few people in the world actually understand him. Holden’s need to physically isolate himself from others is linked directly with his sense of abnormality. His thoughts and actions are consistently misunderstood by everyone around him as he has not yet found his place in the world, a place where he truly believes he belongs. Holden therefore uses his outlook on society and the people in it as being “phony” to justify his seclusion.