The paper discusses the elements of the quest romance in Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719), Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726), Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), and Jerome David Salinger's The Catcher in The Rye (1951). It focuses on the novels' male protagonists who embark on an identity quest by distancing themselves from their family and friends and experiencing numerous adventures. The more adventures the protagonist undertakes, the more he learns about himself and the world around him. Yet, towards the end of his journey, he realizes that he does not fit into society and that he must continue with his quest. Accordingly, neither of these characters' quests leads to a closure. The analysis pays attention to both the hero's psychological development and his changed relation to society upon his return. It also interprets Defoe's, Swift's, Twain's, and Salinger's works in terms of social critique as all of them draw attention to important political and social issues of their time. Whereas Defoe and Swift expose the psychology of colonialism, corruption, and dishonesty, Twain and Salinger address racial issues, hypocrisy, and materialism of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American society, respectively. Additionally, the paper discusses the role of gender in shaping the narrative formulas and social implications of the quest genre.