Catcher In The Rye Should Be Banned

If I was the librarian, I would not get rid of (or censor) any of the books, excluding “Catcher in the Rye.”

Many schools throughout the United States have banned The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger from their curriculums. There has been much debate on whether or not teachers should be able to include it as a part of their lesson, and if copies should be allowed in libraries. However, without a doubt, The Catcher in the Rye should be apart of schools’ curriculums for anyone above elementary school. There are very few inappropriate themes, banning the novel would be neglecting the First Amendment, and would also ignore a good chance for teens to relate to a character their age.

The resistance of maturity and adulthood is greatly expressed throughout the novel. “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. Both fear and trauma created during past events can cause a delay or rejection in maturity. Holden is unable to let go of his past and is constantly trying to live in a memory, this causes him to want to stay with his childhood and never transition into adulthood Holden’s fear of adulthood causes him isolate himself from society in order to preserve his inner child innocence. Furthermore, Holden’s resistance of maturity, also leads him to constantly wanting to protect innocence. Lastly, Holden’s inability step out of his immaturity leads him to act impulsively and self-deceive. All these actions and thoughts are signs of immaturity and are the outcome of a fear and trauma that occurred in the past.

The Catcher in the Rye has always been a book of controversy. Schools have banned it due to its vivid description of how a teeneger observes the world. Holden who is The protagonist’s sees the world as very morbid place for young people. Many people believe the book brings up controversial topics that should not be discussed among minors such as Holden Caulfield. Most of the topics expressed in the book could be acceptable in today's society but it caused many concerns and issues around the time it was released, 1951. In my opinion however this book has one of the greatest qualities in literature and thats relating to the reader. It should not be banned because adolescents have been able to identify with Holden’s

From its publication, The Catcher in the Rye gained widespread aversion from schools through its blatant profanity. But despite the time gap since the publication in the 1950s until now, the book explores immortal themes of adolescence and maturing still relevant today. Symbolizing the average teenage life, adolescents throughout the country are able to connect to Holden without question. As Holden agonizes over his purpose and depression, teens relate to this some intangible part of themselves. Holden frustrates over dating, drinking, low grades, switching schools, and life in general. Suddenly, in a second, as the adult world threatens the once serene childhood, as the weight of responsibility of being an adult crashes, Holden crumbles.

The novel The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, contains many complex symbols, many of the symbols in the book are interconnected. A symbol is an object represents an idea that is important to the novel. I believe the most important symbol in this novel is Holden 's idea of being the "catcher in the rye".

A very popular book that is also one of the banned books in schools is “Of Mice and Men”, by John Steinbeck. Recently, there has been debates on whether or not students should be able to read it in school because of its ending. Some parents believe the ending is a justification of murder, but is it really? After reading the book, I believe George wasn’t justified in shooting Lennie.

“Are you crazy? Fahrenheit 451 should not be banned! This is an astonishing novel, written by the ingenious author, Ray Bradbury. He is the one who wrote the novel with so many beneficial, underlying messages, which happen to be true about our lives and even more so about our society. It offers so much more than what you think”, I disagreed as I interjected the outraged crowd of opinionated individuals, who protested outside of the Wheatfield Public Library. As most in this community can tell, the banning of Fahrenheit 451 has caused a tremendous outbreak within the people, and it has caused for everyone to either choose to encourage the banning of Fahrenheit 451 or to oppose it. As a definite result, I am against the banning of Fahrenheit 451, and it is not just for pity reasons. I am opposing the banning for so much more than that. My first reason to oppose the banning is that so many people think the theme of this book is about rebelling, which this is not the case. Instead, the theme is about having the courage to make a drastic change within yourself and society because you solely believe it is right no matter what the consequences are. Even from the quotes you find within the book, you can tell the progress that Montag makes towards change, and from those quotes are not signs of destruction. It is signs of self-assessment and coming to reality to admit he needs to make the transformation in his life for the better of him and those of his society. From this underlying

J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye is widely recognized as one of the most self-destructive novels ever written. The novel’s protagonist Holden Caulfield is known for his anti-social behavior and his self-loathing, self-isolating character in the book. Holden’s traits could widely be compared to Napoleon Dynamite the protagonist of the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite directed by Jared Hess. Napoleon is characterized by his clichéd “school nerd” behavior and of course his own self-isolating habit just like Holden. Like Holden, Napoleon tries to put down people to isolate him from others. But even though Holden and Napoleon are alike on how they assume the traits of the people they meet,

The profanity used throughout the novel is at same level of the profanity often heard in a PG-13 rated movie. A PG-13 movie is intended for audiences ages 13 and older. In a typical high school, the student body is over the age of 13. Therefore, since the vulgarity in The Catcher In the Rye is at the level suitable for teenagers 13 and older, using profanity as the basis of censorship and scrutiny is not applicable. Profanity is not a valid grounds to ban nor censor literature.

There are people who would like to see The Catcher in the Rye banned from our schools because it contains disturbing issues. In my opinion they are overlooking the message that J.D. Salinger was trying to communicate. In this novel, the characters exhibit a wide scope of behaviors from honorable to ignominious. The novel presents issues such as respect for religion, or lack thereof. As though these issues were not enough by themselves, there is also the subject of intolerance of others. How, may you ask, should this novel be allowed in our schools? Well, the answer lies deep within the symbolism of the novel,

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel about a teen/adult named Holden Caulfield that took place in the 1950’s in New York which is the perfect setting for a kid to become an adult because of its size, but Holden Caulfield was telling the story in a mental hospital in California. Throughout the novel Holden is transitioning from a kid to an adult and he takes us along with him to experience what it is like to become an adult. Due to the fact that Holden is maturing, J.D. Salinger, the author of the Catcher in the Rye, decides it is appropriate to disregard censorship and so the book contains a lot of vulgar and inappropriate scenes. J.D. Salinger published the Catcher in the Rye and about ten years

67% of Canadians say they have personally known at least one woman who has experienced physical or sexual abuse. Holden sees no issue in the fact that most guys don’t stop when asked to and as a young female, I would not want any man to think that not having consent is okay. This text also reveals to me that rape was maybe normalized and even compromised in the 1950s. Perhaps this is part of the many reasons this book was banned when it was published. In the 1950s the percentage of sexual assaults that went unreported was shocking, being raped was a personal shame for the victim because their reputation would shatter. In “The Catcher in the Rye” rape and consent are both topics that seem unfamiliar or swept under the rug.

J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, is one of the most controversial books ever written. The book has been banned in many places, while at the same time being viewed as an American classic. There is a great deal of controversy on banning the book in schools across America, due to it’s content. The story follows a mentally ill teen, Holden Caulfield, delving into his thoughts and feelings. The Catcher in the Rye should be banned for it's many controversial views and topics, including the use of vulgar language, illegal activities, it’s association with assassinations and its suicidal content.

Holden Caulfield, a boy who struggles with his mental health, starts his story by saying, “I’m not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything. I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas” (Salinger 3). Published in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger depicts a three-day journey of Holden as he tries to find out more about himself. Through his struggle, Holden experiences many obstacles and events, such as depression and profanity, that take place in most teenager’s lives, making the book a primary target for banning due to offensive language, suicidal tendencies, sexual content, violence, and outright negativity (Information). Though The Catcher in the Rye contains controversial topics, such as depression, vulgar language, and sexual discrimination, the novel is still relevant and relatable to teens today; therefore, the story should remain an option for students to read.