Abstract: Through an interpretation of Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and an analysis of Holden's psychological development, the paper tends to survey the longings of American youth amid deep spiritual crisis of American society beneath material prosperity after WWII, uncover the imbalance between material and spiritual development, explore the protagonist's rebellion against the dubious values of the adult world and his attempt to search for and establish a moral order beneficial to the young generation based on his mediation on nature, the others and life.