Alienation in The Catcher in the Rye and The Grapes of Wrath :: essays research papers

The theme of alienation is relevant in two The catcher in the Rye and The Grapes of indignation. It is an thought process presented very prominently in both books, expressed through characters, actions, and events. The Catcher in the Rye focuses on Holden Caulfield, a socially inadequate, sixteen year old boy who distances himself from others as a display of mental superiority driven by the idea he possesses that every unmatched is a phony, while he appears to be the only one who has remained genuine and authentic in todays society. Like The Catcher in the Rye, a significant subject of The Grapes of Wrath is closing off from groundbreaking culture. The Joad family, upon their arrival in California, argon estranged and avoided because they are labeled as Oakies on account of their origination from Oklahoma. They are regarded as dirty, unwanted populate, on a quest to take advantage of prospering California. They are hard-boiled as though inferior mainly because of their socioe conomic status, which is considerably trim than the farmers of California. Though Holden Caulfields alienation from others is intentional, while the Joad family is inadvertently segregated, the motif of isolation is still pertinent in both novels. Holdens dissociation from his some friends and anyone else he encounters is based on his belief that everyone is a phony and he is above them on some level because he is capable of notice this phoniness and avoiding it, and the Joad family is discriminated against because of their being from Oklahoma. The motives of the Joad family and Holden, however, are completely opposite. The Joads strive for acceptance in California from anyone who thinks poorly of them, when Holden s intentions are to be cynical and to inattention the phonies with his eccentric personality. Another significant difference in both The Grapes of Wrath and The Catcher in the Rye with regard to isolation are the forms of isolation, which are presented. Holden is ment ally isolated, avoiding social situations and even when in them, distancing himself from people with the conviction that whomever he may be associating with is not worth his time, while the Joad family is physically outcast. The law force in the area turn them away when they ask for financial aid and burn their camps as a display of superiority and as a way of physically secluding them from California natives. Again this presents the point that Holden chooses to estrange himself as the Joads would much rather be received by people without hostility and the intention of driving them away.