HOLDENS LONLINESS AND HIS INABLITY TO GROW UP

A detailed Summary of HOLDENS LONLINESS AND HIS INABLITY TO GROW UP

HOLDENS LONLINESS AND HIS INABLITY TO GROW UP

Holden is essentially a loner. His biggest problem is that he is very depressed because he has no one to talk to. Although Holden is friendly with many people at school, and although he has several friends in New York, he is constantly lonesome and in need of someone who will sympathise with his feelings of alienation. But the question that arises is why is he such a loner. The reason is that he cannot cope with people, with school, or with every day problems that people his age must face. He avoids reality by living a fantasy life, and every forced contact with reality drives him deeper. Holden cannot communicate effectively. On many occasions in the book we observe that Holden can't deal with pleasant situation. This is the reason for half of his problems. He does not take responsibility for his own actions. Teens his age are supposed to be responsible for their actions and conduct but Holden has a habit of never owning up his mistake, instead he always blames some one else for his follies. He has no commitment towards important human relation such as parents, friends, teachers etc. He subjects every one he meets to a probing examination, and almost every one fails. This factor al

We saw Holden having trouble fitting into the world he lived in. From the above examples we can conclude that Holden's problems are self-imposed and not due to anyone else's fault. He himself is to blame for all his miseries. When others try to be friendly with him, he puts them down. He is careless & irresponsible and he is not committed towards important human relationships such as family or friends. These all factors contribute to make him less & less attractive for other people. Thus he is left alone. We can realize his loneliness by this statement; " I sort of miss everybody I told you about. Even old Stradlater and Ackley, for instance. I think I even miss that goddamn Maurice." But instead of realizing his mistake and improving them, he blames others of being phony. He is not ready to adapt to the rules and ways of the real world. In the epilogue when the psychoanalyst asks him if he is going to apply himself when he goes back to school next fall, he says he has no idea. This kind of response shows that he is willing to analyze himself or take any responsibility. Holden is a total failure in the art of effective communications. His mind is mixed up of what to say and what not to say. His inability to judge what to say at a particular time also contributes to his loneliness. But perhaps the biggest culprit in this case is his lack of commitment towards critical relationships such as family or friendship. We observed that throughout the novel he did not have a close and meaningful relationship with anyone except his sister, Phoebe. And he nearly spoiled it too, in the end. In the situation there is nothing anyone can do to improve his condition. It is upto Holden that how much is willing to the possibility of re-entering the society.

Responsibility for one's action and conduct is an integral part of growing up. As a child grows he learns to be responsible and face the facts of life. But in Holden's case it was opposite. In the beginning of the novel we come to know that Holden has just flunked out of his fourth prep school. Because of his age, school should be the most important institution of his life. Instead, he casually remarks, "I forgot to tell you, they kicked me out." And instead of being expelled he said that he flunked because he was surrounded by phonies. Holden's personality is immature as we see in his visit to Mr.Spencer. When Mr.Sencer asked him if he had any concern for his future, Holden replied, "Oh, I feel some concern for my

Some common words found in the essay are:
MrSpencer MrSencer, GROW Holden, Stradlater Ackley, Vermont C'mon, Jane Stradlater, Jane Gallagher, Maurice Holden's, inability communicate, commitment towards, lack commitment towards, read books, sister phoebe, fight stradlater, fencing team, communicate effectively, pleasant situation, concern future, relationships family,

Approximate Word count = 1664
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English