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Should The Catcher In The Rye Be Banned In Schools

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From the moment it was published in the 1950s, J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye has been a lightning rod for controversy. While some argue that the book is a timeless coming-of-age story that provides teenagers with a much-needed sense of empathy and that banning it would infringe on free speech and limit access to valuable literature, others maintain that its inappropriate themes and language make it unsuitable for young readers. This essay asserts that The Catcher in the Rye should be prohibited in schools and libraries due to its explicit language, frequent suicidal ideation, and inappropriate sexual content.
The book's explicit language has sparked concern among many readers, particularly due to the offensive vocabulary used by Holden Caulfield. A poignant example of this can be found in the following quote: "No reason Boy, I can't stand that sonuvabitch. He's one sonuvabitch I really can't stand" (15). This quote highlights how frequently Holden employs offensive words, such as "son of a bitch," "goddamn," and "fag," which can potentially offend readers. This has …show more content…

In one instance, he says, "What I felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would've done it, too, if I'd been sure somebody would've covered me up as soon as I landed." (136). Supporters of the ban argue that such dark themes and situations may romanticize harmful behavior and normalize it, potentially influencing young and impressionable readers. Additionally, they contend that the book's themes and characters are unsuitable for young readers who may be negatively impacted by Holden's self-destructive behavior and his tendency to rebel against societal norms. Moreover, the book's potential to undermine traditional values and promote disrespect for authority heightens these concerns, making it inappropriate for young

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Today, most teens curse for the same reasons, because they think that it makes them seem mature. Holden is also relatable to teenagers today in the way he acts in front of others. Holden is a keeps all of his emotions bottled up. He does not want to show friends, and

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Toni Morrison effectively analyzed The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, covering different perspectives and ways to interpret the novel that displays a higher level understanding of a “challenging” text. Good writing and analysis skills are crucial for a variety of different tasks students will have to perform beyond school. Additionally, challenging literature offers a great opportunity for students to learn about censorship. As many books read in schools today are being censored, any opportunity for students to directly learn more about the issue is beneficial. In the article “Schools Can’t Ban Books Because of Complaints, Court Says,” Mark Walsh addresses a woman who wishes to discard of controversial works, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, that provoke racial harassment in the school system (Source B).

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Sophomores are around the same age as the main character in the novel, Holden Caulfield. That being said, students can relate to books with characters in the same age group, thus making it an appropriate literary choice for high school reading. Holden Caulfield ventures to New York City in

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He spends the whole book trying to figure out how to navigate through childhood to adulthood. These adolescent problems include Holden’s protection of innocence, his disgust for the phoniness of the adult world, and his alienation from society. The books show that these problems have a great impact on him. Holden behaves almost erratically and impulsively and has negative attitudes towards almost everything and everyone he meets. Throughout the novel, Holden sees the protection of innocence, especially of children as a primary virtue.

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Douglas Howard presents a personal experience of literary censorship in the article "Silencing Huck Finn.", defining the decision of when choosing censorship has a greater benefit over becoming offensive. In the article, Howard discusses the benefits of establishing an open dialogue around controversial literature through instating a college English course. Additionally, the author analyzes the experience of needing to choose whether to recite aloud a profanity included in Mark Twain’s classic story “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, contemplating if staying true to a literary classic is worth perhaps offending or insulting any students. Eventually coming to the conclusion that although total censorship is not a necessity or solution,

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Facing reality is like seeing a delicious cake, finally taking a bite out of it, and realizing it tastes like cardboard. In To Kill A Mockingbird, the harsh reality is, people lie. “No I don’t recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me” (Lee 245). Under oath, Mayella knows what she says and doesn’t say affects the outcome of the trial.

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Way before all of this, the real problem occurred in1960. An English teacher was fired, later reestablished, for assigning this book to a class. Thiswas just the beginning from 1961- 1982, The Catcher in the Rye developed into the furthermostchallenged/banned book in high schools and libraries. The irony in all of this is how The Catcherin the Rye, then, in 1981, was the most censored book and the second most shown book in publicschools. (R.W. Baldassarro)The question here is evident: why did so many teachers took the effort to risk their jobsjust to teach the students about a book?

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Literature, old or modern, has always been subject to criticism and judgement due to the issues that exist within classic novels. Whether the issue contains profanity, violence, or content too mature for young readers, award-winning books’ existences receive threats to be banned and forgotten. Unfortunately for Ken Kesey’s classic, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, this may be the only course of action. While the novel displays violence unsuitable for high-school curriculums, Ken Kesey’s classic should be in every library for adult readers. Although the novel teaches valuable life lessons about individuality and is mild compared to modern media, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest should be banned in all high school curriculums because it incorporates

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Jerome B. Duesk, in a book titled Adolescent development and behavior, mentions "that sometimes siblings are [the] better communicators... Because they are closer in age [which] [makes] it easier to discuss the problems of growing up" (Duesk 299). In Holden's eyes he had no one except his little sister to rely upon for support. This proves that Holden Caulfield is relatable to many teenagers, and as such the novel should not be banned.

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but the book has also sparked wild discussions about its content and if it should be taught in schools across the country. Although The Catcher In The Rye presents strong sexual themes and vulgar language, these aspects showcase the characters ' deepest emotions while staying true to the human experience and the power of language. The very same issues that cause the catcher in the rye to climb the banned book list, sexual themes and vulgar language, are exactly the things that make this piece worth teaching in high school curriculums, as they show readers the truest

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I do think this is still relevant to teenagers today because a lot of teens today are like Holden. They are like holden because a lot of teens don’t want to grow up and go into the real world because they are afraid and they are not ready for what’s to come and Holden is just like that throughout the story he is afraid and worried for what’s to come. “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.” The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J. D. Salinger and it’s about a kid named Holden and Holden is afraid to enter the adult world and he wants to become a catcher in the rye to save kids from falling of a cliff that falls into the adult world.

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The book, Catcher in the Rye, is commonly banned all over the country; whether it’s libraries or schools. It should not be banned because overall it’s a perpetually good book with good lessons to learn. Does it have profanity and other things like it, yes, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a book worthy of reading. My reasoning for believing that Catcher in the Rye should not be banned is, first of all, it teaches important lessons, second, it’s wrong to ban any sort of possible knowledge, and third, it’s a schools job to teach about different issues and ignoring them is a bad way to go about it.

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1248 Words | 5 Pages

Whilst telling Sally his dreams of moving away, Holden’s foul language takes over his vocabulary. “I was getting excited as hell, the more I thought about it, and I sort of reached out and took old Sally’s goddamn hand. What a goddamn fool I was” (Salinger 146). There is no debating the fact that Holden has a very repetitive vocabulary which often consists of mature language. In fact, people who have attacked the novel, saying that it should be removed from high school curriculums, have counted that he says the word, “goddamn” over 90 times.

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1053 Words | 5 Pages

According to Robert P. Doyle, over forty books were restricted from schools’ curriculums. Many parents have complained to teachers that the novellas their children are learning are “too mature” or “too advanced” for their young readers. They do not want negative thoughts or outlooks to be placed into the mind of their young, impressionable children. In fact, the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck has been removed from different curriculums because the plot is too depressing and parents do not agree with its use of profanity. Although it is understandable for parents to have this view, it is also important that the readers learn the valuable lessons imbedded within the novella.

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To add on, Holden is not one to follow society’s rules. Holden is not the person to be engaged in what society calls “normal” because he is not necessarily a “normal” kid. Meaning, society believes kids around his age are interested in football games(3), going on dates (26), or just going to school (35). Society believes teenagers should attend school, and in Holden’s case, High School.

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