Isolation is not solely detrimental, and its negative effects have been overstated. The effects of isolation depend upon personality type and environment, and will therefore be different for everyone. Exemplified by characters in Huxley’s "Brave New World," Kesey’s "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest," and Golding’s "Lord of the Flies."

Isolation, personality and environment combine to produce widely differing results. Certain types of isolation, however, tend to be damaging to any personality type in any environment. Forced isolation is the most detrimental type of isolation, as opposed to self-inflicted or social, regardless of personality or setting because it robs an individual of the opportunity to choose the way they live, which is psychologically damaging to the majority of people.

In a world, such as the island in Golding’s "The Lord of the Flies," which fosters intense psychological strain, the importance of self-inflicted isolation cannot be overlooked as a means to control emotions and uncovering truths, which Simon’s actions illustrate.

Simon, sitting alone in the bushes except for a pig head and some flies, offers a unique perspective on the necessity of self-isolation, especially when the community as a whole acts erratically. His time alone provides him with an enlightened perspective on the boys’ predicament and allows him to develop an understanding of what and who the Beast is. His conversation with the Lord of the Flies occurs while he hides in the forest alone; “What are you doing out here all alone? Aren’t you afraid of me?"

Simon shook. "There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast’” (Golding, 143). The Beast and Simon continue to have a Beast-dominated conversation, yet at the end, Simon finds the dead parachutist as a result of the discussion, which liberates him from his fear of the Beast.

When he goes to tell the others, however, Simon does die, yet his death does not result from his isolation. Instead, his death results from the inherent savagery that takes over the boys on the island, a savagery he avoids nurturing in himself by self-isolating. Simon’s self-isolation keeps him from becoming animalistic like the other boys and provides him with a time for contemplation. The positive effects of his self-isolation outweigh the negatives, much like in McMurphy’s social isolation.

McMurphy becomes ostracized from society as a result of his psychopathic tendencies, yet finds meaningful happiness provoking Nurse Ratched in the mental ward. McMurphy’s previous happiness is based on fleeting and less substantial basis, such as sex or money, which gets him in trouble with the law and does not provide him with any long-term goals. Leading a rebellion, however, gives him something to strive for, whether for his sake or for the sake of his newfound friends in the ward. His life gains a previously absent purpose when he is exiled from society, and gives him direction, which he sorely needs. Chief Bromden notices the change for the better; “I was seeing him different than when he first came in; I was seeing more to him than just big hands and red sideburns and a broken-nosed grin” (Kesey 162).

The people around McMurphy begin to see him as someone who has more purpose than causing commotion, as he writes letters and plays cards with the men and helps buoy their spirits. Being put in the mental institution enhances his quality of life and makes him a more cohesive and complete person.

He, like Simon, dies; however, McMurphy’s lobotomy and eventual death at the hands of Chief Bromden are a result of his rebellion against an awful social system. He dies a martyr for a cause he believes in, which illustrates the growth of his character from self-obsessed talker to slightly, less self-obsessed doer. During his isolation from society, he gains a purpose for living that, while resulting in his ultimate death, improves his quality of life, which commands more importance, since everyone dies eventually. Why he dies matters, and his death would be meaningless were it not for the rebellion he champions during his social isolation, which is both similar to and different from John’s rebellion in Brave New World.

John’s violent reaction to the World State and Mond’s subsequent refusal to allow him to leave lead to a sort of reverse forced isolation, which John uses as an excuse to escape as far away as possible in a forced act of self-isolation. His isolation from the community on the Reservation stems from his inherent foreign identity because of his parentage, and in the World State his isolation results from his inherent lack of conditioning. He belongs nowhere, which removes his ability to choose isolation; instead, it thrusts itself upon him. John’s particular breed of forced isolation results from his history; his background forces him into emotional solitary confinement, which strips him of any control over his state. He begins to recognize this early on in his life, on the Reservation, and it results in him leaving civilization to go live by himself; “‘I shall go away tomorrow too….Anywhere. I don’t care. So long as I can be alone’” (Huxley 206).

He does not feel as though he has any choice about his isolation. His birth to a citizen of the World State on a Savage Reservation painted him as a child of two worlds who will never be able to reconcile the two opposing world views he knows. In the end, the weight of his own inadequacies proves too heavy for the young man to bear, and his death represents the desperate act of a truly unhappy and mentally suffocated person.

John does, however, find true happiness in his death, so it is possible that forced isolation’s end result benefits him. In death, he casts off the earthly ties he so despises and makes a statement to the citizens of the World State. Regardless of his unknown, yet possibly positive, state of mind post-suicide, however, John’s intense unhappiness stemming from forced isolation on earth far outweighs the positive effects of escaping such a position. He is absolutely miserable in the World State; “‘So you don’t like civilization much, Mr. Savage.’...‘No.’ He shook his head” (Huxley 185-186). John’s misery while part of the World State overshadows his possible relief at dying. While forced isolation is also beneficial, the beneficial effects occur during or after the escape from forced isolation because of the return of individual choice. Forced isolation in itself hurts John more than it helps him. Therefore, the only real encouraging possibility with John’s forced isolation is the fleeting joy of him having escaped it, which is not nearly as substantial as the benefits attached to Simon’s self-inflicted or McMurphy’s social isolation, especially when compared to the negative aspects.

Robbing a person of the choice of isolation is exceptionally degrading, and inherent in forced isolation is the removal of choice from the equation; therefore, forced isolation is more damaging psychologically than self-inflicted or social isolation. Self-inflicted isolation, such as in Simon’s situation, and social isolation, such as in McMurphy’s situation, are more beneficial than detrimental because of their potential for enlightenment. Simon’s self-inflicted isolation allows him to suppress his inner savagery and think clearly about the Beast. McMurphy’s social isolation gives him an opportunity to grow as a person and a reason for living. John’s forced isolation weighs on him so heavily that he feels the only way out is to take his own life. Forced isolation, such as in John’s circumstance, weakens an individual’s desire to live by removing individual choices’ abilities to impact the future, and as such is the most detrimental. The removal of control does more damage to an individual than simply isolating them because it robs them of an integral part of their humanity, which harms someone regardless of personality type or external environment.