Social Issues In Catcher In The Rye

In Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield, undergoes a challenge to face the world around him. He constantly faces social issues throughout the novel, such as insecurities, loneliness, and uncertainty. One of the main issues he faces is “Caulfield constantly feels as if he is being surrounded by his enemies. (Huber and Ledbetter 254)” Accordingly, this leads to his self-isolation because he views everyone in society as a phony just going through life as a fake. Thus, what he perceives as fake is really the normal world around him. Bickmore and Youngblood state, “An honest hypocrite, Holden is the very essence . . . of adolescence. (253)” Because of his negative perception towards life, he feels insecure about himself around others. Thus, Holden Caulfield is a hypocritical adolescent who isolates himself to feed off of his negativity.

Very often throughout the book, Holden isolates himself because he enjoys staying by himself to dwell on negative parts of his life. For

For example, when he calls the prostitute to his room, Holden says, “I know you’re supposed to feel sexy when somebody gets up and pulls their dress over their head, but I didn’t. Sexy was about the last thing I was feeling. (Salinger 123)” This exemplifies how Holden struggles when dealing with females. He is so insecure about himself that he does not know how to handle himself in uncomfortable situations. Holden believed the only solution to his problem was to try to slow the prostitute by talking his way out of the situation. Thus, “Caulfield may be classified as one who avoids life problems, by hesitating . . . (Huber and Ledbetter 252)” His hesitation allows him to make up a temporary fix for his problem, only making things worse in the long run. Holden’s self-insecurity only magnifies the problems and worries in his life ten-fold, further sourcing his