War without a causeAmerica won; humanity has lost. Although World War II led to greater prosperity for America, it ended up leaving a wound too large to heal, a wound that bleeds through the pages of J.D. Salinger's coming-of-age novel The Catcher in the Rye. Conformity pervaded American society in the 1950s, and this book is one of the few that challenged America's traditional values; delivered a shock factor with its main character, Holden Caulfield, who dared to question the status quo. Serving as a personal catharsis, Salinger used the novel to express an indictment of a corrupt and dysfunctional society. Catcher can be compared to an incisive denunciation: only in this case it concerns an entire country. The novel is indicative of a culture that could not yet understand the weaknesses and fragility of society, a culture that, in simple terms, was experiencing an identity crisis. The Catcher in the Rye serves as J.D. Salinger's personal anti-war manifesto, intended as a public denunciation of the damage war can cause. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Holden's voice was as deeply affected by the war as the writer himself. Holden speaks in recognizable adolescent language, but at the same time, he never uses vulgarity in an awkward way, as shown when he sees that “someone had written 'F*** you' on the wall. It almost drove him crazy. [He] kept wanting to kill whoever wrote it” (Salinger 268). Holden's disapproval of the word adds to his belief that everything in the world has been corrupted by vulgarity. For him: “You can never find a place that is beautiful and quiet, because there isn't any. You might think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, someone will sneak up and write “F*** you” right under your nose” (Salinger 273). War has proven to be an inevitable part of the human experience; although it may seem that people go to war to improve or protect their way of life, the outcome of war, as conveyed by Holden, will always lead to the loss of humanity and innocence. It's not simply that Holden is afraid of adulthood and is trying to protect the young; he is afraid of the war itself and its negative effects. It is clear that the war influenced Salinger's writing; if this were not the case, Salinger would not have created the main character as someone so protective of innocence. One of the greatest effects of war is the destruction of innocence, and given the way Holden behaves towards young people, it is obvious that Salinger knew this. Holden desperately tries to protect Phoebe from this foul language, as he obviously wants to protect her innocence. Deep in his heart, however, Holden knows the truth: Even “If you had a million years to do it, you couldn't erase even half of the 'F*** you' signs in the world. It is impossible” (Salinger 274). He knows that the outcome of the war is inevitable and is aware that the war is harmful to preserving innocence. The war influences his speech in this way; Holden's love of innocence would not have been so great if Catcher had not been written in the aftermath of a war. Holden's character serves as a stark reminder of the utter futility of the violence that comes with war. Holden leaves very few questions to answer regarding his view of war when he starkly states, “I am a pacifist” (Salinger 59). The love for?