“Many sensitive characters want to experience companionship, but when they cannot achieve this, they become alienated” (Laleh and Rikani, 2016:660). This statement can be applied to the protagonists of both Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince. The Little Prince for example, feeling betrayed by his rose, leaves his planet to find someone worth loving, only to find no one worth being with, which leaves him lonely and isolated. On the other hand, although Holden isolates himself at the beginning of the novel, throughout his whole time in New York he wants to, “give somebody a buzz” (Salinger, 2010:64) but there’s nobody to call. Whilst both protagonists experience social and emotional isolation, the ways in which they attempt to overcome this differs.
As Fred Marcus points out, “when the reader encounters Holden at Pencey Prep, he is already estranged from an accepted social pattern” (Marcus, 1963:7). One of the reasons for this is because Holden does not attend the big football game although it is the final one of the season, and it “was supposed to be a very big deal around Pencey” (Salinger, 2010:2). From this, the reader can already tell Holden is socially isolated from his peers and he doesn’t quite fit in. It can be suggested however, that Holden actually doesn’t want to fit in, and that at this point in the novel, this is a self-enforced type of social isolation. Holden stands at the top of the hill looking down at his peers and associates the scene with “phony slob[s]” (Salinger, 2010:3). This image of Holding looking down on everyone else from his school emphasises his separation from them all. This image also can be interpreted as a metaphor for the way Holden sees himself, as he is often quite condescending to the people around him suggesting he places himself above others. Kenneth Slawenski suggests this image is Salinger’s way of showing Holden as the “outcast, … alienated from those around him” (Slawenski, 2010:206). Salinger also presents Holden as an outsider through the clothes that he wears. His eccentric “red hunting hat” (Salinger, 2010:18), for example, can be described as a symbol of Holden’s alienation as it separates him from the people around him. It’s a strange item of clothing to wear as it is intended for the purpose of going hunting, whereas Holden wears it for most of the novel in many different contexts. It further reminds the reader than Holden sticks out from the crowd and he can’t quite blend in with the rest of the world, leaving him socially isolated.
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Comparatively, in the beginning of the Little Prince’s story, he isn’t socially isolated like Holden. He lived on his own little planet called “Asteroid B-612” (Saint-Exupery, 1995:20) where there is no one but himself and his rose. Whilst this would appear like the Little Prince was isolated, he was happy and content doing his daily tasks such as tearing up the “little baobab shoots” (Saint-Exupery, 1995:26) and spending time with his rose. Only after being betrayed by the rose’s lies, does the Little Prince begin to realise how lonely and isolated he is on his planet. Feeling completely alone and restless, the Little Prince leaves his planet in search for a friend to give his live meaning in a way that the rose once did. Although the rose apologises to him, the Prince still chooses to leave regardless, only to find the adults occupying each of the other planets to be “strange” (Saint-Exupery, 1995:47) and “odd” (Saint-Exupery, 1995:49). This, therefore, leaves him socially and emotionally isolated as after leaving his planet, the Prince cannot form a connection with any of the adults. This is due to their lack of “human perception, love, selflessness and generosity” (Laleh and Rikani, 2016:662) which the Little Prince is looking for in a companion.
Whilst both protagonists choose to embark on a lonely adventure, the Little Prince leaves in search of a new friend to give his life purpose whereas Holden’s departure “can be seen as getting away from society and going toward solitude” (Laleh and Rikani, 2016:663). Holden sees his school as an institution full of shallow “moron[s]” (Salinger, 2010:47), for example the headteacher, “went around shaking hands with everybody's parents …except if some boy had little old funny-looking parents” (Salinger, 2010:14). Holden can see right through all of his peers and teachers and becomes so frustrated with them thats he decides to leave in the middle of the night. His argument with his roommate is the last straw for Holden and so he puts on his “red hunting hat” and shouts, “Sleep tight ya morons!” (Salinger, 2010:56). His harsh farewell emphasises how Holden would much rather antagonise and isolate himself from his fellow peers rather than attempt to fit in with them. Although Holden was isolated at the beginning of the novel, his departure from Pencey Prep is the next step into deeper feelings of loneliness and isolation as he tries to explore the lonely adult world in New York.
Bernard Meyer suggests, “the novels of Saint-Exupery are about himself” (Meyer, 1972:142). Having experienced two world wars, it is no surprise Saint-Exupery’s view of the world changed and he became deeply depressed and cynical. During a mission in 1944 Saint-Exupery disappeared and was never seen again. His disappearance is still an unsolved mystery to this day, and as Laushway reports, “one early theory, put forward by his own mother, was that Saint-Exupery was so disheartened by what he saw as the increasing dehumanisation of the world around him that he fled to a monastery” (Laushway, 1994:38). This suggests that Saint-Exupery felt isolated by the world around him and it can be argued therefore, that he illustrated his own sufferings of loneliness through The Little Prince. There are many similarities between Saint-Exupery and the narrator of his story who expresses his feelings of isolation: “Thus I lived alone, with no one I could really talk to, until I had an accident in the Sahara Desert six years ago” (Saint-Exupery, 1995:12). Like the Pilot, Saint-Exupery was a pioneering aviator who had a near-miss with death after crashing in the Sahara Desert. It can be suggested that perhaps Saint-Exupery based the character of the Pilot on himself and his own feelings of loneliness.
Social and emotional isolation can often lead to madness and insanity; Matz suggests that “madness is a prominent feature of the modern novel, and one reason for its prominence is the modern wish to push modern alienation to its most revelatory extremes” (Matz, 2004:49). Holden often refers to himself as “crazy” (Salinger, 2010:112) or a “madman” (Salinger, 2010:145), most often because he sees all the “phoney” (Salinger, 2010:141) people in the city, and he’d prefer not to live in a society that is so hypocritical and fake. Disappointed with life in the city, Holden’s desire to keep himself separate from the superficial “phoneys” (Salinger, 2010:115) is made clear through his craving to detach himself from society by running away and living in the woods. In chapter seventeen, Holden tries to convince Sally to “get the hell out of here” (Salinger, 2010:142) and stay in a cabin in the woods away from modern society. After she rejects Holden’s offer, Sally and Holden begin to argue until he eventually leaves her alone at the skating rink. Once again, Holden is back to being socially isolated in the city, feeling alone and confused. Throughout the argument, Sally asks Holden to “stop screaming” (Salinger, 2010:143) although Holden claims he “wasn’t even screaming at her” (Salinger, 2010:143). This indicates to the reader that Holden is becoming unaware of his own out of control frustration with society and that his emotional state is slowly heading towards a breakdown.
For the Little Prince, his attempt to overcome his social and emotional isolation was very successful. Whereas Holden wanted to escape from society, the Prince was desperate to find a companion. After travelling to several different planets, the Prince meets the Pilot and they both form a bond that is to each of their advantage. Not only does the Prince help the Pilot regain his perspective of childhood, but he also helps cure his feelings of loneliness. As the Prince’s planet is so small, he says that his star “will just be one of the stars for you. So you will love looking up at them all. They will all be your friends” (Saint-Exupery, 1995:100). As for the Prince, he learns the importance of his rose. In chapter twenty-one, the Prince meets the Fox who teaches him what it means to be tamed. The prince realises that his rose is in fact not just a “common rose” (Saint-Exupery, 1995:74), she is unique to the Prince as she has “tamed” (Saint-Exupery, 1995:77) him. It is at this point in the novel that the Little Prince realises he is “responsible for [his] rose” (Saint-Exupery, 1995:84) and therefore he must go back to his planet and take care of her. The Prince overcomes his emotional isolation by being taught the importance of love and friendship, and realising his own selfishness, the Prince is “refilled with feelings of love for his rose” (Laleh and Rikani, 2016:662). The ending to Saint-Exupery’s novel is ambiguous and has been interpreted by critics in many different ways. In order to fully overcome his emotional isolation and get back to his rose, the Prince must be bitten by the Snake. The Snake possesses a deadly poison that he claims will send the prince back to his home planet and the Prince warns the pilot that it will look “as if I were dying” (Saint-Exupery, 1995:102). Laleh and Rikani argue, “the Little Prince commits suicide” (Laleh and Rikani, 2016:661) which is seconded by Heckel who suggests that the Prince cannot continue to exist with the “insensitivity and meaninglessness that are a part of the behaviour of men on earth” (Heckel, 1974:27). However, it could be suggested that these interpretations come from “grown-ups” (Saint-Exupery, 1995:23) with no imagination and actually the Prince will have transported back to his planet to be happy with his rose, just like he claims. The Prince says, “You shall always be my friend…I shall not leave you” (Saint-Exupery, 1995:84-85), showing how both the Prince and the Pilot managed to overcome their social and emotional isolation as they will both have each other forever.
Holden, on the other hand, doesn’t find it as easy to overcome his social and emotional isolation. In the penultimate chapter of the novel, Holden’s emotional state beings to completely deteriorate. After trying to sleep on a bench in Grand Central Station, Holden admits he feels “more depressed than I ever was in my whole life” (Salinger, 2010:209). Whilst trying to walk down Fifth Avenue, he then begins to get overwhelmed by a sudden fear that every time he steps off a curb he would “never get to the other side of the street” (Salinger, 2010:213). This new fear of Holden’s represents his doubts about his future as he has no idea what is next for him. The other side of the street therefore becomes a metaphor for the uncertainties that adulthood has already begun to throw at him, which he wishes he could avoid. However, Holden meets Phoebe at the museum, and they argue because he refuses to let her go out West with him. It is at this point in the novel Holden is forced into the responsible adult role as he knows it wouldn’t be in Phoebe’s best interest to let her follow him out West. Holden fulfils his desire to be the “catcher in the rye” (Salinger, 2010:186) and protects Phoebe’s childlike innocence by deciding to go back home, and in-turn also protecting himself from complete social and emotional isolation. As he watches Phoebe go round on the carousel, Holden feels “so damn happy all of a sudden” (Salinger, 2010:229) as he knows he has been able to preserve her pure childish innocence and finally, he has been able to deal with a challenge of his newfound adulthood. Whilst this doesn’t mean Holden has fully overcome his social and emotional isolation, the fact he is in a hospital surrounded by a “psychoanalyst guy” (Salinger, 2010:230) and he has intentions to “apply [himself]” (Salinger, 2010:230) when he goes back to school, suggests slowly but surely Holden is working on his emotional and social issues. Therefore overtime, perhaps he will begin to feel less isolated like the Pilot and the Prince.
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