The Catcher in the Rye

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Americans today tend to believe that normalcy is expected, while individuality is often rejected. Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. by J.D. Salinger, the author exposes the reader to the character Holden and his tale of coming of age. Holden wants to keep his life simple with his own individuality by not conforming to what society considers normal. Even though society expects people to behave in a "correct way", personality and individuality play an important role in allowing oneself to learn from the decisions and actions one may make in life.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, conformity means the actions that replicate the acts of the majority of people in a society or group; the condition of obeying or agreeing with. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden faces situations that force him to make his own decisions. He often rejects making a decision based off what others believe is correct. For example, Holden buys a hat but does not wear it the way someone would usually wear one. In chapter three, Holden states, “The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around to the back—very corny, I’ll admit it, but I liked it that way. I looked good in it that way” (Salinger 17-18). This is one of the many times Holden decides to do something because he enjoys it a certain way, instead of the conforming to society’s standards.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word individualism means the desires of each person appear more significant than the desires of every person in a society or a group. Holden exemplifies the idea of individualism with his judgments towards the previous prep schools he attended and the people who went there. In chapter four Holden states, “Pencey was full of crooks. Quite a few...

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...lity and individuality play an important role in allowing oneself to learn from all decisions and actions one may make in life.

Works Cited

Bloom, Leonard. Some Comments Upon Recent Trends in Social Psychology. N.p.: Journal of Social Phycology, Apr. 1961. PDF.

Haun, Daniel B. M., and Michael Tomasello. Conformity to Peer Pressure in Preschool Children. N.p.: Society for Research in Child Development, Inc., 2011. Pdf.

Lucibella, Katie. Consequences of Conformity. N.p.: Young Authors Foundation, Inc., n.d. PDF.

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.

Twain, Mark, Sculley Bradley, Richmond Croom Beatty, E. Hudson Long, and Thomas Cooley. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Criticism. New York: Norton, 1977. Print.

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