To better understand our identity, we look outside of ourselves to compare our attributes to others. As human beings, we each require a sense of acceptance and place in society to validate who and what we are. We can better understand where we belong and who we are by watching the behaviors of the people around us. From birth we are all influenced by the behaviors of our parents. Our parents are the people who implant our values and beliefs into our existence. As we grow and develop and begin to shape our individual identity, the values and initial teachings of our parents are what determine our boundaries and limits. We can understand our place in society and who we are through understanding what these boundaries are and when we use them. As we mature and evolve, we can notice the paths taken by our parents revealing the similarities or differences to them. We can learn about ourselves through comparing the choices we make to those of our parents. When we observe different groups of people of society we often question our place amongst them. The attributes we relate to from the people of these groups speaks to our personality and nature. Reality reflects J.D Salinger’s novel “The Catcher in the Rye” in this respect. Holden Caulfield, narrator of the reflective book, goes up against a constant battle to understand where he belongs. Holden interacts with a range of characters in his search for identity and belonging yet he does no seem to share mutual values with any of them. His constant failure to make meaningful connections with anyone leaves him feeling isolated and frustrated at the ways of everybody around him. As the basic need to be accepted cannot be fulfilled, Holden goes about his life criticizing others’ behaviors and social morals, constantly labelling everyone and everything as “phony”. Holden’s way of classifying everyone who he observes into stereotypical groups deprives his personal sense of belonging a