In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger tells about a 17 year old boy who is always observing people around him and picking out flaws in human nature. The boy, Holden Caulfield, symbolizes a typical confused teenager who is trying to understand why he is so different from everyone else. Salinger illustrates the difficulty in growing accustomed to society in the transition from childhood to adulthood.

One of the many flaws in human nature is insecurity. People are always making sure not to expose their weaknesses to the rest of society. Holden tells about one of his roommates, Dick Slagle, who felt it was necessary to make everyone believe that Holden's suitcases were his because Holden's were nicer. Holden sees that people can be insecure about their belongings because they think it resembles what kind of person you are. He laughs at that thinking how unimportant material...