Isolation in Catcher in the Rye

I chose the song I am a Rock sung by Paul Simon, the song writer, and Art Garfunkel. I believe it fits at page 45. At this point, Holden mind is still relatively coherent and intact, "like a rock"and "shielded in armor". The "womb" reference at the end fits nicely with Holden Caulfield.

"I am a Rock" reveals the fact that Holden warps reality about himself in his imagination to provide comfort. The lyrics mirror those Holden uses to describe his surroundings before being beat up by Stradlater. Similarly, Holden describes his appearance as "You never saw such gore in your life."(Salinger 45) when all he probably received was a bloody nose. He pretends he fought hard and that his injury was serious, warps the reality of the fight to hide his embarrassment at losing so easily, and even isolates himself further by antagonizing Stradlater. Similarly, "islands" isolate themselves through natural erosion of both itself and mainland, getting farther and farther away. Holden also imagines his images as being devoid of relationships when he is actually desperate for them. This is especially prominent in Holden's last fantasy of running away; "they'd leave alone." (199) and "That way I wouldn't have to have any goddam stupid useless conversations with anybody."(198) are prime examples of how Holden attempts to bend reality to comfort himself in being alone when the opposite is actually true. In reality, Holden wants companions and he wants conversations, but he won't accept he wants them because he hates some people and bends his fantasies accordingly. Holden is so wrapped up by his emotions that he starts to lose his hold on reality. Holden decides to wall himself in with these ideal images of the world that are chipped away by reality, forcing him to retreat even further into himself, becoming "a island" and "a rock"; he is trying to remain unaffected by the rest of the world.