The Catcher in the Rye, a novel by J.D. Salinger explores the struggle of seventeen-year-old Holden Caulfield as he tries to resist the adult world by swimming in conformity and dishonesty and preserve the innocence of those younger than him. Holden becomes anguished and cynical when he realizes that he is losing his childhood innocence, and this, in addition to what may be a case of severe depression after witnessing the deaths of several people dear to him, leads him to challenge social norms and therefore not to conform. Alternatively, the poem "Once Upon a Time" by Gabriel Okara is told from the point of view of an adult, a father who narrates and warns against ways of conforming to his son. This father begs his son to both remain innocent. This theme could be that of conformism. For example, while Holden from Catcher in the Rye says he doesn't like the way he often says "Glad I met you" to someone he's not at all happy he met, which has a parallel in Once Upon A Time" when the The speaker says he has learned "to say, "Nice to meet you," / without being happy." (Salinger, 87), ("Once," 30-31) This shows the common theme of conformity, because both Holden and his father in Once Upon a Time they regret that to conform to society they have to lie in this case would be to express pleasure in meeting someone who may not be pleasant At first glance, after all, one is a novel and the other a poem.Of course, this is a superficial difference that would not reflect well in an academic setting, but there are others, as highlighted above The general idea is the same, but one main character comes from a completely different background point of view from the other, making it appear that they are very different. However, when analyzed, both Catcher in the Rye and "Once Upon a Time" could be spoken by the same person at different times in their life. Therefore the comparison takes place through