Holden Caulfield Individualism

Throughout the years people have established their own philosophies filled with their own insight on how everything should be looked upon. Some philosophies are similar while others are different, but there is no correct one philosophy that everyone should believe in. Existentialism, a philosophy that began in the 1800’s as a European movement, became popular in the 1940’s through the 1960’s during World War II. Since war was going on Americans felt the government contradicted what was actually going on in combat. This ties into an Existentialist point of view since they prefer freedom over being controlled by laws. The main concept of this philosophy is individualism and the power to make a decision that solely reflects oneself. These ideas and more are included in author J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, where a young man named Holden Caulfield is coming to terms with the transition from childhood to adulthood throughout this novel. In the story, Salinger portrays existential elements through the pressure of social expectations and the struggle of individuality. …show more content…
During Holden’s time at Elkton Hills, he roomed with Dick Slagle who had “inexpensive suitcases [that he kept] under the bed, instead of on the rack, so that nobody [would] see them standing next to” Holden’s suitcases that were from Mark Cross (Salinger 120-1). The cause of Dick Slagle’s insecurity is due to society looking at him differently which cast this essence of him not being wealthy. Existentialists believed social structure should exist but they were against the purpose of classifying people based off an individual’s income. Dick Slagle who might not have a prosperous income feels the pressure that society has put on the non-wealthy