The setting in Catcher in the Rye really effects how Holden and the other characters act. I am going to focus on only Holden because he is the protagonist. He does things that are only really acceptable during that time frame. The novel is set in the late 1940s to early 1950s, which makes the customs very different from today. Holden does many things that someone of his age should really not be aloud to do, but he gets away with it because the laws were not enforced as strong as they are today. He buys a prostitute and gets really drunk. Things that a seventeen year old could only get away with during that time period. He also says things that are acceptable at this timeframe but not in today's world, this is called moral blindness. He calls a gay person at the end of the bar a derogatory term that is completely not acceptable in today's culture.
This is only acceptable because of the timeframe, it directly effects Holden's actions. Another area affected by the setting in Holden's mind. He thinks the way that they would in the 50s. Naïve to what is really going on in the world and knows only what he has experienced and what other boys at his various private schools have told him. There was no internet to confirm his thoughts about life, just what people have said. The setting of the novel greatly effects the way Holden acts and thinks.
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