comparative essay
31 May 2013
Lessons learned from Isolation in A Complicated Kindness and The Catcher in the Rye
Love, sex and drugs; the few things that affect teenagers as they transition to adults. When becoming an adult there is a realization that one can no longer depend on their parents and there are overwhelming responsibilities such as going to school and getting the job. Teenagers are notorious for believing that it is themselves versus the world. The stress of becoming an adult is overpowering, and people cope differently with the change. Some teenagers rebel against their family and friends. This causes them to grow distant from the people they are close with. As a result some teenagers gradually isolate themselves, they confine in their isolation as it is their comfort zone. People can also isolate themselves because they cannot relate to others; this causes them to be excluded. In the novel A Complicated Kindness, the main character Nomi Nickel feels isolated as she does not agree with her community’s rules. To cope with her isolation she decides to rebel against her humble upbringings. Similarly, the character Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye faces isolation, to cope he begins to fail most of his classes. Although Nomi Nickel from Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness, and Holden Caulfield from J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye rebel to compensate for their isolation , both ultimately realize valuable lessons. Nomi Nickel realizes that she is accepts her Mennonite community, whereas Holden Caulfield realizes that people have to change in order to develop character.
The characters Nomi Nickel and Holden Caulfield lose loved ones; in order to cope with their grief they seclude themselves from their surroundings. Nomi is abandoned by her sister Tash Nickel and her mother Trudie Nickel. Trudie and Tash were excommunicated from the town, it causes their departure from East Village. Trudie and Tash were considered defiant to the conservative Mennonite
Lessons learned from Isolation in A Complicated Kindness and The Catcher in the Rye
Love, sex and drugs; the few things that affect teenagers as they transition to adults. When becoming an adult there is a realization that one can no longer depend on their parents and there are overwhelming responsibilities such as going to school and getting the job. Teenagers are notorious for believing that it is themselves versus the world. The stress of becoming an adult is overpowering, and people cope differently with the change. Some teenagers rebel against their family and friends. This causes them to grow distant from the people they are close with. As a result some teenagers gradually isolate themselves, they confine in their isolation as it is their comfort zone. People can also isolate themselves because they cannot relate to others; this causes them to be excluded. In the novel A Complicated Kindness, the main character Nomi Nickel feels isolated as she does not agree with her community’s rules. To cope with her isolation she decides to rebel against her humble upbringings. Similarly, the character Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye faces isolation, to cope he begins to fail most of his classes. Although Nomi Nickel from Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness, and Holden Caulfield from J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye rebel to compensate for their isolation , both ultimately realize valuable lessons. Nomi Nickel realizes that she is accepts her Mennonite community, whereas Holden Caulfield realizes that people have to change in order to develop character.
The characters Nomi Nickel and Holden Caulfield lose loved ones; in order to cope with their grief they seclude themselves from their surroundings. Nomi is abandoned by her sister Tash Nickel and her mother Trudie Nickel. Trudie and Tash were excommunicated from the town, it causes their departure from East Village. Trudie and Tash were considered defiant to the conservative Mennonite
Cited: Birns, Margaret Boe. "A Complicated Kindness." Advanced Placement Source. EBSCO, 2007. Web. 31 May 2013. Lingdi Chen. "An Analysis of the Adolescent Problems in The Catcher in the Rye." Asian Social Science. N.p., May 2009. Web. 31 May 2013. Privitera, Lisa. "Holden 's Irony in Salinger 's THE CATCHER IN THE RYE." Academic Search Alumni Edition. EBSCO, 2008. Web. 31 May 2013. Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print. Toews, Miriam. A Complicated Kindness: A Novel. New York: Counterpoint, 2004. Print.