Holden's+Lonliness

People feel lonely because they don't have the required friendships that they need. Poets described feelings of being isolated, lacking social support, feeling invisible, or feeling that no one around understands what that person is going through. So in essence, lonely individuals (like everyone else) need friendships, friends who would take notice of them, understand and empathize with their situation, and provide support when needed. However, lonely individuals seem unable to achieve this required depth of friendship in order to dispel their loneliness. Some of the reasons given for this include:

Being unable to fit in. Closely linked to the previous idea is another idea of being unable to fit in. Sometimes lonely individuals feel as if they are "a black pearl in a box of shining jewels." They feel like a misfit, someone who cannot fit in with the rest of the crowd. Very often there are feelings of wanting to be like everyone else, to be "normal" instead of standing out and being rejected because of it. In some cases, the desire may extend to being popular and well-liked, not only fitting in but being looked up to and admired.

Broken heart or missing someone. Not surprising, in some of the poems I encountered, loneliness was because of a reason break up in a romantic relationship, or just simply missing that special someone in their life. Sometimes when romantic relationships end, there is a feeling of intense loneliness, and this was especially the case for lonely individuals who experienced a break up with a person that they were still in love with. Within all of us is a desire to have special people close to us, and when that special someone is torn away from us, these intense feelings of loneliness can occur.

Holden’s loneliness, a more concrete manifestation of his alienation problem, is a driving force throughout the book. Most of the novel describes his almost manic quest for companionship as he flits from one meaningless encounter to another. Yet, while his behavior indicates his loneliness, Holden consistently shies away from introspection and thus doesn’t really know why he keeps behaving as he does. Because Holden depends on his isolation to preserve his detachment from the world and to maintain a level of self-protection, he often sabotages his own attempts to end his loneliness. For example, his conversation with Carl Luce and his date with Sally Hayes are made unbearable by his rude behavior. His calls to Jane Gallagher are aborted for a similar reason: to protect his precious and fragile sense of individuality. Loneliness is the emotional manifestation of the alienation Holden experiences; it is both a source of great pain and a source of his security.