He explains that adults are inevitably phonies, and, what’s worse, they can’t see their own phoniness. Phoniness, for Holden, stands as an emblem of everything that’s wrong in the world around him and provides an excuse for him to withdraw into his cynical isolation, a defense mechanism to help him deal with his loneliness. Holden expends much of his energy searching for phoniness in others, yet at the same time, while he is a self-admitted compulsive liar, he never acknowledges his own phoniness. This is not only ironic, but hypocritical, since phoniness is what Holden claims to detest more than anything else in the world. Holden is further hypocritical because while decrying the abhorrent nature of adulthood, he spends much of his energy trying to behave like an adult, as evidenced by his actions such as hiring a prostitute, spending money
Everyone at some point in their lives feels alienated. You feel so isolated from society that you wish you were never a part of it to begin with. But some people take it so far that they completely go against what society has ever told them. The characters that display this alienation, but taken to the next level are Holden Caulfield from "The Catcher and the Rye" and Meursault from "The Outsider". My arguments that I will be discussing are depression that the two main characters show throughout their everyday lives, how they have difficulty in socializing with others and the negative emotional states, differences and struggles that is demonstrated by the two main characters in these novels.
He doesn't abide by society's rules and he certainly does not follow his own rules, seeing that he tends to make them up as he goes along. This forces Holden to act on impulse at times. It is this type of behavior that makes it difficult for people to tolerate Holden or even befriend him. It is also the reason he finds himself lonely very often. ~Throughout the novel the reader witnesses several situations where Holden acted out on pure impulse.
Although Holden thinks his self-imposed alienation is helpful, he is wrong. It causes him to be an uncomfortable, unconnected person; he constantly reflects on how lonesome he feels. Holden is uptight on the topic of sex. He admits “sex is something I really don’t understand too hot” and that he is a virgin. He believes that if you don’t not having genuine, loving feelings towards a girl, you shouldn’t have sex with her.
Due to his mother’s stern moral beliefs, he does not have much interest in sexual relations and has negative views on it. The third problem is Dunstan’s fear of being manipulated in a relationship because, of his mothers firm control over his father. Thus due to the hostile childhood his mother creates, Dunstan can never form a successful relationship in adulthood and this leads to a life of loneliness. Having trust is a major aspect in keeping a continuous relationship. Being trustful though, is a characteristic Dunstan Ramsay lacks and this results in weakened relationships.
He is unhappy with his marriage to Zeena but he never tells anyone how he feels. He just goes on with his life as if nothing is wrong. This is an example of irony because Ethan has the ability to change his life, which he is unhappy with, however, he chooses not to. Meanwhile, he keeps all of that depression and sadness inside. This not only hurts himself, but Zeena as well.
Throughout the text Holden continually isolates himself personally, mentally, and socially. He does this by alienating, judging, and observing others and himself. If he would stop over thinking everything and just bring himself to be around others he could end his isolation easily, but instead he chooses to further pull himself away, and alienate himself. Holden admits he’s depressed at some points, which is not a good feeling, and it’s caused by his
Character Logs for Romeo and Juliet Romeo At the beginning of the play, Romeo thinks that he is not good enough for Rosaline. He doubts himself: “She is too fair…wisely too fair.” Act 1 Scene 1 Line 220. He thinks that he doesn’t deserve such a beautiful and clever girl as she is out of his league. Romeo is so under pressure and depressed that he doesn’t want to think about anything else. This miserable situation is making him feel disconnected from the world, and he cannot handle all the strong feelings he has: “O teach me how I should forget to think.” Act 1 Scene 1 Line 225.
The two main characters George and Lennie both encounter different but somewhat similar acts of loneliness. George had been given the responsibility to look after Lennie, who has mental retardation. George very well appreciates having Lennie as a friend. Although, George gets upset when Lennie’s ignorance gets them into trouble. This happens because when Lennie’s lack of knowledge gets them into trouble;
These views of himself the townspeople have is incredibly hard for Dimmesdale to bear. Almost only Dimmesdale knew that he was living a lie. Because the views people had towards him were so far from reality, it silently killed Dimmesdale inside because he then looked at himself and was completely ashamed causing him to kill himself. How you look at yourself is greatly influenced by who you’re