Americans today tend to believe that normality is expected, while individuality is often rejected. Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger, the author exposes the reader to the character of Holden and his coming of age story. 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 take in life. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, conformity means actions that replicate the acts of the majority of people in a society or group; the condition of obeying or agreeing. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden faces situations that force him to make his own decisions. Often refuses to make a decision based on what others believe is correct. For example, Holden buys a hat but doesn't wear it the way someone would normally wear it. In the third chapter, Holden states: “The way I wore it, I moved the old visor to the back: very banal, I admit, but I liked it that way. I was fine with that” (Salinger 17-18). This is one of the many times Holden decides to do something because he likes it a certain way, instead of conforming to society's standards. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word individualism means that each person's desires appear more significant than the desires of each person in a society or group. Holden exemplifies the idea of ​​individualism with his judgments of the previous prep schools he attended and the people who went there. In chapter four Holden states, “Pencey was full of crooks. Quite a bit…middle of the paper…individuality and individuality play an important role in allowing yourself to learn from all the decisions and actions you may make in life. Works Cited Bloom, Leonard. Some comments on recent trends in social psychology. Np: Journal of Social Phycology, April 1961. PDF.Haun, Daniel BM, and Michael Tomasello. Compliance with peer pressure in preschool children. Np: Society for Research in Child Development, Inc., 2011. Pdf.Lucibella, Katie. Consequences of compliance. Np: Young Authors Foundation, Inc., nd PDF.Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster and Web. April 15, 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. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: an authoritative text, backgrounds and sources, criticism. New York: Norton, 1977. Print.