Catcher in the Rye

A detailed Summary of Catcher in the Rye

Ohana in Hawaii means Family. To the Hawaiians and many others family means that nobody gets left behind or neglected. Everyone can count on each other and communicate freely. The theme of neglect is an important one in J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, has the ill fortune of his 'ohana' leaving him behind and alone. Throughout the book, Holden is not only distressed by the neglect of others but is further isolated by his neglect of his peers and of himself. Beginning with the death of his brother Allie and the subsequent abandonment of his family, Holden begins to feel a greater sense of isolation and solitude. His emotions build up to the point that he becomes clinically depressed.

Holden's detachment from society was instigated by the harsh abandonment of his dear brother Allie. When Holden was twelve, not only his brother, but the one person who in his eyes was pure and innocent, had the misfortune of having his life cut short. Holden not only feels left alone by Allie, but also envies him. He believes that Allie was lucky because he never had to deal with the hardships of adulthood. Allie and Holden were supposed to be companions forever and should have moved on together, but

The troubles which began to build up for Holden as a young child, were enough to make him feel not only isolated and neglected, but as if life is worthless. Holden Caulfield becomes clinically depressed. His retreat from integrating with people in society triggers his self-neglect as well as his hatred for his community. The lesson acting strong is not always being strong is learned in the end by Holden when he comes to the realization that he cannot live alone. All of Holden's thoughts can be summarized in this one quote, "Why should I care, because you weren't there when I was scared, I was so alone, you need to listen, I'm starting to trip, I'm losing my grip, And I'm in this thing alone"

While Holden wants to belong and to fit in socially, everything he tries to do just exaggerates his sense of separation from his peers, society and himself. An example of this is when Holden hires a prostitute but is too nervous, and also felt sorry for her seeing that she was the same age as him. Another example of this is taking up drinking and smoking with the hope of reducing the loneliness he feels. These habits led his hormones to become out of sync and his moods to swing. Many times not only does he feel deserted but also feels anger inside. His anger forces him to further isolate and abandon those around him. Holden finds difficulty even in talki

Some common words found in the essay are:
Allie Holden, Holden Caulfield, SHUT Phoebe, Sally Hayes, Family Hawaiians, Ohana Hawaii, sense isolation, life holden, holden begins, clinically depressed, allie holden, holden feels, holden caulfield,

Approximate Word count = 918
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English