Quote
"All I did was, I got up and went over and looked out the window. I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead" (Salinger 48).
Context
After Stradlater gets home from his date with Jane Gallagher, Holden asks him how it went. Stradlater doesn't give him much details so he keeps asking him for more information. The two begin fighting resulting in Holden getting a bloody nose. Stradlater leaves and Holden goes into Ackley's room. Out of nowhere, Holden becomes depressed and lonely.
Quote
"You ought to go to a boy's school someday...everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques. The guys that are on the basketball team stick together, the Catholics stick together, the guys that play bridge stick together. Even the guys that belong to the goddam Book-of-the-Month Club stick together" (Salinger 131).
Context
After Holden and Sally's date at the skating rink, they head to a bar. Holden asks her if she likes school or not and later starts talking about how much he hates school. He feels as though everyone is a phony and says to Sally that he is in bad shape.
Analysis
Holden feels all alone at Pencey. He feels as though all the guys there are just phonies who just want to talk about sex and liquor all day. He wants more out of school than just talking about pointless things in order for him to fit into a clique. We can see that Holden likes to be unique as evidenced when he wears his red hunting hat even when it makes him different. However, his individuality separates him from his peers making him an outsider and ultimately making Holden lonely.
Research/Peers' Response
So what exactly is a clique? According to dictionary.com, a clique is a small, exclusive group of people. I asked people at Cap if they thought our school had cliques at all. Most people said that there were but that they were but they're not very exclusive and that you can drift in and out of a clique and no one would think differently about you. Holden struggles to fit in because he wants to be different. I asked if it was more important to fit in or stand out and be unique. One person said that it was easier to get by in school if you fit in, while another person said that originality is all we have nowadays and that we should embrace it. Regardless of whether or not you think you fit in, one person summarized it by saying : "wherever you feel loved and appreciated is where you should be."
Everyone feels lonely at times. Whether you are physically alone or even alone in a crowded room, we can all relate to how it feels like to be lonely. Like Holden, you might feel like no one around really gets you and you're just watching from the side lines while everyone else seems happy. The truth is, the people that seem happy may feel the exact same way as you do: lonely. If you do feel lonely, try doing activities that you enjoy where you will be around other human beings. These situations are a good place to cultivate new friendships because you often find people who share similar interests as you. Focus on developing quality relationships with people and don't be discouraged if one person seems like a jerk, there are 7 billion other people in the world to be friends with.
Song
Jack's Mannequin- Dark Blue
Here's a song dedicated to anyone who has every been alone in a crowded room.
