Compare and Contrast Essay Example: Catcher in the Rye to a Separate Peace

Do you know anybody that acts differently when they are alone, or with people they do not know, than they do when they are around their friends and family? Perhaps you act this way. A Separate Peace and The Catcher in the Rye are different in the idea that in most cases, while Holden is alone he is very extroverted, but when he is around people he is very introverted. Gene is the direct opposite; when he is alone or around strangers he is introverted and reserved, but when he is with his friends and family he is extroverted and sociable. Holden and Gene act very differently when it comes to women. An example of when Holden was in a club called “The Lavender Room” and he really wanted to dance when he spotted three women. He leaned over to them and asked, “Would any of you girls care to dance? They started giggling again.” Instead of letting that discourage him, he stayed persistent because this was one of the only times that he wanted to be a part of society, and said, “C’mon, I’ll dance with each one of you one at a time alright? How ‘bout it, C’mon!” (Salinger 70). Holden is used to typical phony people doing phony things. But this time he thought they looked somewhat real, and he wanted to be a part of that. Gene on the other hand is more introverted when it comes to women. There aren’t any parts throughout the book where Gene talks or thinks about incidents with women or just girls alone. This shows that either he is afraid of love and getting hurt, or that he has had a relationship in the past that he is having trouble letting go of and doesn’t want to talk about. When it comes to a social life Gene and Holden both have times where they are social and times when they aren’t. Gene was very social when he helped to form The Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session which is a group of friends that get together every night to face danger while jumping into a river from a tree, and/or play games like blitz ball. “I turned back toward the river, moved a