Alienation

In the ‘Catcher in the Rye’ and ‘The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Nighttime’ both books involve a teenage boy who is somehow separated from the rest of the world. In Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime the protagonist, a fifteen-year-old boy Christopher Boone is faced with the challenge of battling his autism and the repercussions that come along with the mental illness. Christopher, due to the fact he is autistic, filters information much differently than most and reacts quite illogically to shocking news. Throughout the story Christopher is faced with countless incidents in which he responds quite oddly. For Christopher and Holden from J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in The Rye, the path away from social isolation is tough due to the fact both characters have been face with social isolation there whole lives. Holden Caulfield is a sixteen-year-old boy who is caught in the transition from childhood to the adult world. Holden has to undergo many situations in the novel in which affect him physically but more so mentally. Holden is emotionally trapped and confused due to the fact he suffers from depression that leads to his loneliness, ultimately setting up Holden’s social isolation. In Mark Haddon’s story ‘The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime’ and J.D Salinger’s ‘The Catcher In The Rye’ Christopher and Holden’s backgrounds and environment and very different but in both stories the characters experiences with death, mental illnesses and their journeys to independence all lead to Christopher and Holden’s social isolation.

Christopher and Holden’s Experience with death eventually ends up in their social isolation. The death of Christopher’s mother unknowingly leads to his social isolation. To illustrate, Christopher comes home from school one day and no body is home which is unusual, when his father gets home he then says to Christopher that his mother is in the hospital, and later goes on to say his mother has died.