Suitcases

A prevalent occurrence in The Catcher in the Rye is the issue of prejudices. This is not referring to prejudices based on race, it is referring to prejudices based on more mundane things. Holden talks about several prejudices that seem to be naturally rooted in humans. Holden is actually guilty of acting on some prejudices, such as when referring to someone as a "phony" before he has even had the chance to meet them. He talks in detail about the issue of suitcases. Holden recalls a time at school when his roommate, Dick Slagle, would hide his suitcases since they weren't as fancy and would actually make Holden keep his out so as to convince people that Holden's suitcases were actually his. Henceforth, Holden associated nice suitcases with being in a higher societal class. After he originally talks about the suitcase ordeal, he encounters two nuns. These nuns possessed "very inexpensive looking suitcases" and this led Holden to judge them. He eventually felt guilty after doing so due to the fact that he got to know them by talking to them and realized that they were nice people. The issue of the suitcases is an ideal example of the issue of prejudices in this novel. These prejudices contribute to Holden's opinions of others and cause him to abhor meeting new people.