The Catcher in the Rye debuted six years after World War II. During the war, the future was uncertain, patriarchal gender roles were subverted as women took on a wider range of jobs, and many veterans returned injured or traumatized. Following a period of war and, before that, economic depression, dominant American culture moved toward the reinstatement of normalcy and uniformity. Women were pressured to return to domestic roles and leave men to be breadwinners, and there was an economic boom. This led to a period characterized by pressure to conform. The rise of the television led to the homogenization of popular culture as people consumed the same media; new techniques in mass production led to people using and wearing the same items; and identical middle-class housing was built in growing suburbs as more people could afford to move out of cities and buy homes, due in part to the GI Bill providing benefits to veterans.

Holden Caulfield in the novel detests this culture of conformity. He accuses people of being “phony” and sees The Lack of Authenticity in Adult Society, and he notices the way society privileges people who conform. His red hunting hat represents his desire not to conform, as he does not wear the same mass-produced clothing as his peers.