Holden Caulfield Conformity

During the 1950s, the aftermath of World War and the Cold War brought about the fears of communism among the American public, pushing them to have suspicions among their own people in the nation. Americans began to push towards the “Age of Conformity” that quickly permeated throughout American society in the 1950s. Many people followed group norms, mostly trying to fit into the middle-class, American lifestyle, rather than striking out on their own, to avoid being seen as eccentric and foreign. However, there were some who refused to change themselves just for the sake of fitting the norms of the group, such as Holden Caulfield in J. D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger uses Holden to expose the false advertisements of the benefits …show more content…
At the beginning of Salinger’s novel, there is already a pushback against the American culture of conformity when Holden reveals that he was expelled from Pencey Prep after flunking four subjects; however, Holden has no regrets in leaving Pencey Prep. Holden is able to see behind the school’s prestigious mask and calls out on Pencey Prep’s false advertisement on shaping students into intelligent young men, arguing that they “don’t …show more content…
Under the normative influence, Americans are peer pressured into trying to get a job in order to make money and guarantee of living a better life. In Paul Goodman’s “Growing Up Absurd” sheds light on how middle-class affluence affects the American society, arguing that “the ‘social balance’ that [the people] have allowed to become lopsided and runaway in the present abuse of the country’s wealth” (Goodman, 668). In Salinger’s novel, Holden is also scornful of wealth and power because he feels that money creates social barriers and cliques, thus associating it as a catalyst of phoniness since everyone aims to obtain wealth and power. Holden recognizes that money does not necessarily make one happy, commenting “Goddam money. It always ends up making you blue as hell” (Salinger, 113). Another evidence that proves Holden’s disdain for affluence is his distaste in Hollywood movies and celebrities as he considers it inauthentic for people to sell out for money, fame, or and applause. Despite his socioeconomic background also being upper-middle class, Holden does not see himself in fitting that role, so he seeks to escape, which explains why he left Pencey Prep as he could not stand the popular crowd within a majority of the

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