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Why The Catcher In The Rye Should Not Be Banned

Decent Essays

Written by J.D. Salinger, the book “The Catcher in the Rye” was published in the year 1951, and has been the subject of constant debates and controversies. The novel has not only been the target of ridicule and criticisms, but has also sparked an intriguing discussion on its validity for use in schools across the nation. The novel centers on the life of the sixteen year old Holden Caulfield. The novel deals with issues such as profanity, irrational behavior, and teenage sex and has very vital and appropriate lessons to teenagers and youth as it teaches the benefits of tolerance, discipline, religion, and rational behavior. It in particular teaches the youth that desirable behavior is more beneficial to them than to the society and as such; it should not be banned from a high school curriculum.

Non-Book 1:

Firstly, it is strictly inappropriate to ban any single book based on the reasoning that it promotes profanity because the critics who desire to restrict education to the content that upholds their beliefs have a selfish motive. The profanity that is made reference to in this case includes words like ass, sex, hell, and others. For example, “Game, my ass. Some game.” (Salinger 8). This quote shows the author’s expressive word choice and use of profanity throughout the book. The proposition to ban a book from school courses as a means of protecting children from profanity is an escapist approach by critics. Profanity is very rampant in today’s

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