J. D. Salinger Controversy

People need to read Catcher in the Rye at least once before they die. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, is a book that takes the reader inside the head of Holden Caulfield, a depressed sixteen-year-old, who enters a strange series of adventures in New York City. Holden writes his story from a mental hospital in California, about how he was expelled from a fancy prep school, his experiences after spending a few days in NYC. The book has had critical success since its publication in 1951, selling sixty-five million total copies, after a splendid review from the New York Times. Catcher in the Rye is a great novel because of its subtle symbolism, amazing portrayal of Holden Caulfield and ends on a higher note than most people realize.

Holden doesn’t want to talk about his life, or go into any personal details. Salinger tried to avoid any interaction with the media, and didn’t want to talk about his life. In 1987 Salinger inhibited the publication of his biography by Ian Hamilton. He didn’t want his biography published, nor talked about, like Holden.

J.D. Salinger was most known for The Catcher in the Rye but he also composed other short stories. He officially began his writing career when he took a short story course at Columbia University, where he had an opportunity in publish in Story magazine (Telgen 117). After that, his literary career became increasingly more popular, appearing in numerous

The Catcher in the Rye was J.D. Salinger’s first step onto the literary playing field. This commencing status left Salinger, as a serious author, unique as a sort of liberated agent, not confine to one or more schools of critics, resembling many of his contemporaries were.

He was the youngest in his family with his parents having a thriving import business. Despite his apparent intellect Salinger flunked out of school, his parents ent him to Valley Forge Military Academy. After graduating from Valley Forge his father encouraged him to head to Europe to learn another language and learn the art of the import business. Upon returning home Salinger mad another attempt at college at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania and taking night classes at Columbia University. There Salinger met Professor Whit Burnett who also happened to be the editor of Story magazine. Burnett sensed Salinger's talent for writing and pushed him to use his creativity to the very limit. His work was finally gaining attention until WWII following the attack on pearl harbor he was drafted into the military serving from 1942-’44. During his time in the military Salinger continued to write, assembling chapters for his new novel who contained a very complicated teenager afraid to grow up. After the war Salinger was checked into a hospital for trauma and suffering a nervous breakdown. Not many people are sure what happened around that time but soon after he married a woman named Sylvia their time together was short only eight months. He married again in 1995 with Claire Douglas they had two children together, Margaret and

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,

Jerome David Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, is a work of fiction and a

After his “escape”, from World War II -- Salinger returned to the United States in 1946 -- Salinger’s writing changed drastically again; it no longer reflected a man ashamed of who he was, rather a man with serious mental health issues who was tired of hiding behind a mask of conformity. Nicolaus Mills writes, “By his own admission, Salinger had come back from World War II… a changed man” (Mills). During his time back, Salinger compiled and edited many of his short stories into what became his best-selling novel, The Catcher in The Rye. The author adapted Holden Caulfield to represent himself again, although the war had left its mark on Salinger’s psyche, turning Holden into an angsty, depressed teen with a tragic backstory of loss and abandonment. Holden’s idiolect changes; the protagonist frequently uses profanity, talks about how depressed he is, and calls other people “phonies” for not seeing the world in the same way that he does. Additionally, the point-of-view changes back into first-person, closing the fissure between Holden and Salinger which Salinger created in his choice to use third-person in “Slight Rebellion Off Madison”. The reader gets the chance to see Holden’s inner, often hypocritical, thoughts like the following: “I am always saying Glad to've met you to somebody I'm not at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you

Jerome David Salinger was an American writer born January 1, 1919 in Manhattan, New York. Mr. Salinger is known for his very popular novel “The Catcher in the Rye”, the book has been banned in many schools for profanity minor and major it is also banned for in the book the main character “Holden” technically disses minorities, the mentally disabled and physically disabled, and also women and he uses God’s name in vain all throughout the book. The book was banned or challenged in North Dakota for multiple reasons mainly revolving around sex and sexual intercourse it features multiple scenes and references to prostitution and premarital sex. In 1992, the book was banned in a high school in illinois because of alcohol abuse for in the book Holden is in New York for two nights and both of those nights he was there he was intoxicated at the ripe young age of 16 when the drinking age back then was 18, he was underage drinking in the book for he apparently like to drink A LOT. The book was also banned in the state of Florida for apparently being “unacceptable” but in many occurrences after the book was banned, it was reinstated because apparently the book is in fact very important to american literature.

Jerome David Salinger, also known as J. D. Salinger, is a fascinating author best known for his novel, Catcher in the Rye. Although Salinger only published one novel, he wrote several short stories for magazines like The New Yorker and Story. A large number of these stories went on to be compiled into books such as Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey, and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction. Despite the fact Salinger has not published any stories in over 45 years, his reputation is still quite popular. Salinger's stories are studied in high schools and colleges, introducing thousands of individuals to his writing and ultimately increasing his fan base. Catcher in the Rye continues to sale 250,000 copies a year

When Salinger attended McBurney School, he tried to conform so he can fit (one way was calling himself Jerry). While at this school, he also acted in plays and wrote the school’s newspaper. This is shown through Holden as he doesn’t try to conform (which could be representing Salinger’s regret to try and conform), hates phoniness (as acting as a character [for example: in a play] is considered being phony), and likes writing (as shown in the beginning of chapter one as he tells the audience his story and how he admires his writer-brother, D.B.). Salinger himself stated, “My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book, and it was a great relief telling people about it” (interview by Shirlie Blaney).

J.D. Salinger (Jerome Davis Salinger) was said by some people to be one of the best American Authors of past century. Salinger’s works reflects the many experiences he had as a child. One of the more common focuses tends to be his fascination with protecting the innocence in children.

J. D. Salinger "The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it." -James Bryce* In 1945, a novel was published that would forever change the way society views itself. The book, entitled The Catcher in the Rye, would propel a man named Jerome David Salinger to fame as one of the most famous authors of the twentieth century. This same man, not ten years after the publication and while still in the peak of his career, would depart from this society- the one that he so greatly changed leaving nothing but his literature to be his lasting voice. However one may view this mysterious life of J. D. Salinger, there is but one thing for certain: J. D. Salinger has provided the reader with a

When something mortifying occurs to you it can really have a negative impact on you when you are growing up. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger introduces Holden as a very troubled student and as a result, he is being expelled from a boy’s college preparatory school. As a matter of fact, the author J.D. Salinger wasn't the brightest pupil in his school “Despite his apparent intellect Salinger- or Sonny as he was known as a child- wasn't much of a student” (Biography). Salinger presents the protagonist Holden Caulfield as a disgruntled, rebellious and problematic adolescent. It’s further explained in the Psychoanalytic Theory, by Sigmund Freud which he provides a wide selection of information to view Holden in a psychological

Salinger, J(erome) D(avid) (1919- ), American novelist and short story writer, known for his stories dealing with the intellectual and emotional struggles of adolescents who are alienated from the empty, materialistic world of their parents. Salinger's work is marked by a profound sense of craftsmanship, a keen ear for dialogue, and a deep awareness of the frustrations of life in America after World War II (1939-1945).