Holden Caulfield Alienation

Can Holden be the Catcher in the rye? What is J.D Salinger trying to convey with his novel about a angsty teenage boy? Is the novel attempting to convey that the intelligent are alienated for their intelligence or that the intelligent alienate themselves, because they’re own self-awareness and understanding of others in their society is too much to handle? The standards and conventions of a society are major factors in the development of a person's psychological and emotional being. Through our everyday surroundings we are molded to be certain people, if the standards and conventions of a structured society are not met, then an outsider mentality is created. The person can view themselves as a vital participant of their society, but if they don’t instead they feel a
In the case of J.D. Salinger's troubled teenager, Holden Caulfield, he finds himself coming off age in a society that is so repressive it is “phony”. This is more than just a case of teen angst, Holden’s general perception about his environment is widely relatable for all age groups. People lose or in many cases do not end up developing their own unique personality, instead the need to conform overtakes originality. As a result the phoniness that Holden often referred to in the novel becomes a dominant quality in how we convey ourselves. The society that Salinger depicts in his novel is a both a world of subdued repression and rejection of human complexity in a raw manner that touches on the very nerves of being an outsider looking inwards. Reclusion and cynicism are a coping mechanism for Salinger’s young symbol of the disenfranchised youth. Holden’s reclusive and cynical nature is his manner of navigating the repressive post-war