JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is set against the fear of lavender and sexual psychopath laws of the 1950s. During this time, the United States at large was horrified by the apparent increase in sex crimes in the country. Holden Caulfield, Salinger's protagonist, was undoubtedly greatly influenced by these events; in fact, such events would have been almost inevitable with the amount of media attention they received at the time. Homegrown anxiety about sexual psychopaths was a major factor contributing to Holden's mental breakdown, which ultimately led to him being admitted to a rehabilitation center. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Beginning in the 1930s, there were growing concerns among citizens of the United States about sexual deviants and dangerous perverts infesting New York City. Several tragic murders of young girls were widely publicized in 1937, terrifying parents across the nation. Concerns about public safety continued to grow until more than a decade later, in 1949, when John Edgar Hoover published his article in The American Magazine entitled "How Safe Is Your Daughter?" According to Hoover and the series of sex offender articles that followed, young American women were not safe at all. In fact, between 1935 and 1965, the New York Times published hundreds of articles about the rise of homosexuality and sex crimes in the United States. Until 1952, criminal crimes were significantly underreported in New York City. Starting in 1949, New York began to improve its collection system so that, by 1950, more and more sex crimes were properly reported; however, it seemed to New Yorkers that sex crimes in the state had skyrocketed, thus fueling the country's fear of the “sexual psychopath” (Lave 553). Newspapers and politicians used this new data to their advantage, and the propaganda that followed urged support for the policing of a wide range of sexual nonconformists. In 1950 the District of Columbia defined a sexual psychopath as an individual with a “lack of power to control his sexual impulses” (Sutherland 548), or “anyone who commits several serious sexual crimes” (Sutherland 549). These sex crimes include but are not limited to: harassment, statutory rape, forcible rape, homosexuality, distribution or possession of pornography, and prostitution. Anyone deemed a sexual psychopath would be subject to extensive psychiatric examinations, rehabilitation and imprisonment. The country's anxiety about sexual psychopaths led the United States to the Lavender Scare in 1950. In April 1950, Guy George Gabrielson made his famous accusation that homosexual people are "perhaps as dangerous as real Communists." Gabrielson, who served as Republican national chairman from 1949 to 1952, spoke out against these “sexual perverts” who, he said, were “working against their country.” it was Holden Caulfield. Holden demonstrates a strange fascination with people he deems perverted and flits about The Catcher in the Rye. He enjoys observing various sexual encounters from his hotel room window and, despite his discomfort with "naughty" and "perverted" people, repeatedly seeks out people he considers sexually ambivalent, first when he meets Carl Luce, then when he does visit Mr. Antolini in his apartment. Holden spends his first night in New York at the Edmont Hotel, where he sits and stares out the window for a while. Beforedescribes a man in disguise, seen through the window of his hotel room, then right above him briefly describes a couple he sees splashing water on each other: "You'd be surprised what was happening on the other side. They didn't even bother to lower the glasses. I saw a guy, a gray haired guy, very distinguished looking, with only his Put on your shorts, do something you wouldn't believe me if I told you. First he put the suitcase on the bed. Then he pulled out all these women's clothes and put them on. Real women's clothes: silk stockings, high heels, bra and one of those corsets with the straps hanging down and everything. Then she put on this very tight black evening dress. I swear to God. Then he started walking up and down the room, taking these little steps, like women do, smoking a cigarette and looking at himself in the mirror, too" (62-63). Holden introduces this series of observations by explaining that the room was "very dilapidated" and that he had nothing else to look at, but he was too depressed to care or to do anything other than watch the "perverts" from the window. Yet, as depressed as he is, Holden is clearly fascinated by the cross-dressing man in particular. It took a while for the man to dress in women's clothing and seeing him strut around would take more than just a glance out the window. Holden is fascinated by the cross-dressing man, and then admits that he feels there is something wrong with his sexuality: “I mean, that's my big problem mind you, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you've ever seen. Sometimes I come up with very naughty things that I wouldn't mind doing if the opportunity arose" (63) He even expresses a sort of envy of the couple he sees squirting liquids on each other. He admits that it could be a thing fun to do, but then he corrects himself and says that it would be a sleazy thing to do to a woman you care about. Holden actively represses his sexual desires because he knows it is unwise for him to admit that he deviates from society's sexual norms (Beslagic 19). ) Holden then declares that everyone in the hotel is a pervert and that he must be the most normal person in the building, thus completely eliminating any connection he may have felt with these people. Later, Holden decides to call his student advisor from when he attended Whooton. Carl Luce agrees to meet Holden at the Wicker Bar. Holden thought he would like to spend some time with Luce because he liked his stories about homosexual people: "He knew a lot about sex, especially perverts and everything else" (145). Luce scared all of Holden's classmates with her stories of men who turned into besties overnight. Holden, however, suspected that Luce himself might be homosexual. It is interesting that Holden sought Carl Luce's company, considering that he suspected Luce of being homosexual, and considering that Luce made him uncomfortable by hitting him and using the bathroom with the door open. When Holden meets Luce at the bar, Holden immediately tries to turn the conversation to gay men, but Luce is not amused. Their conversation isn't going well. Luce wasn't interested in talking about perverts or flirting, and Holden keeps forcing the conversation in that direction. Luce suggests that Holden receive psychoanalysis, which suggests that Luce believes Holden is queer, as psychoanalysis was a common method of treatment for homosexuality in the 1950s. As Luce leaves the bar, Holden asks him if he has ever been psychoanalyzed. Luce replies that he was simply "fit" and Luce recommends that if Holden is so interested, he should consider going.