Did you ever think that books that have sex, obscene language, and immoral subjects can make a good book? The Catcher in the Rye has been on the banned reading list for exactly those reasons. The book was mainly put on disapproval from between 1966 and 1975 in almost every school district in the United States. The book was said to be so bad that in 1960 a teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was fired for assigning the book to an eleventh-grade English class. Despite some opposition to the novel, however, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye should be on a reading list for the freshman students because it gives a crystal clear image on how the world is in violence, sex, and obscenity and the book also teaches the motifs of lying and deception.
The world is not perfect, it is filled with violence, sex, obscenity, and immoral values. It is true, if you believe it or not the world is indeed filled with these bad traits of mankind. Holden Caulfield is no exception to having these traits. The following quote explains why: “‘You do? Why? No kidding, they better for sex and all?’ ‘Listen. Let’s get one thing straight. I refuse to answer any typical Caulfield questions tonight. When in the hell are you going to grow up?’ I didn’t say anything for a while. I let it drop for a while. Then old Luce ordered another Martini and told the bartender to make it a lot dryer”(Salinger 189). Parents are not protecting children better if they can not let the children face the truth on how awful the bad side of the world is. Sex and libations are common bad habits of the human race. If a parent does not allow a child to face those bad ideals, is the parent doing a kid a favor? No she or he is not. Eventually the child will find out sooner or later on those topics from a bad source of information. Not only is sex and drinking in the world, violence is also in it too. The book also has violent scenes, like as follows: “‘Now, shut up, Holden, God damn it- I’m warning ya,’ he said- I really had him going. ‘ if you don’t shut up, I’m gonna slam ya one.’ ‘Get your dirty stinking moron knees off my chest.’ ‘If I letcha up, will you keep your mouth shut?
Despite being a worldwide best seller, J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye has been on the banned books list since 1961 ( (Baldassarro). The Catcher in the Rye tells the short journey, of anti-hero Holden Caulfield, between the end of the fall semester and Christmas break (Salinger). The story begins when Holden is expelled from his school, Pency Prep, for failing a majority of his classes (Salinger). Holden knows he must return home, so he attempts to prolong the scolding he will receive from his parents, for being expelled, by venturing around Manhattan until it becomes necessary to return to his home (Salinger). Holden tells his story in the most vulgar way possible. Holden accounts being offered a prostitute by an elevator operator when he asks, “Innarested a little tail t’night?” (Salinger 91). Offensive language is also used throughout the book, for example, “You’re a dirty stupid sonuvabitch of a moron” (Salinger 44). Underage drinking is also one of Holden’s favorite passtimes as evident in the quote, “I ordered a scotch and soda, and told him not to mix it- I said it fast as hell, because if you hem and haw, they think you’re under twenty-one and won’t sell you any intoxicating liquor” (Salinger 69). These three quotes express the precise justifications for banning books: sexually explicit content, offensive language, and underage drug use (Association). Although, many consider The Catcher in the Rye to be morally wrong, it should not ...
Some people may question why Salinger has Holden Caulfiend cursing so much. Some may see Caulfield’s persistent offensive language as unnecessary and unbecoming for a young person of Holden’s age. As an example, on page 129 when Caulfield is comparing his and Sally’s skating skills to the rest of the people at the ice-skating rink in Radio City. He says “...we were the worst skaters on the whole goddam rink.” He further accounts about Sally’s ankles bending under her weight in the ice skates saying, “They not only looked stupid as hell, but they probably hurt like hell, too.” These three cases of offensive language were all within the same paragraph. Which would obviously lead some parents to question the necessity of this overflow of profanity. If I were to make an assertion as to why Salinger gave Caulfield the mouth of a sailor it would be because that most young adults do actually use profanity this much. Granted, it does not add much, in terms of meaning, to the sentence, nor does it make the sentence more interesting aside from getting a chuckle from the reader every so often. In that respect, I can see both why Salinger made his character like this, but I can also understand why people would be offended by Holden’s language.
For many years people have argued about the inclusion of The Cather in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger in the high school english curriculum. This is such due to the inappropriate and adult oriented themes within If considered, many times within the novel the main character will face situations in which that the negative and vulgar themes will blossom into something meaningful that the reader can benefit from as a person and as a student. While the vulgarity and adult themes in The Catcher in the Rye are indeed inappropriate for adolescent students, ultimately its underlying themes of self discovery and possessing moral values provides life and ethical lessons that can be applied in the classroom as well as on a daily basis and therefore, the novel should be included in the high school curriculum for students to learn.
First off, he is a teenager, which is on average, most of the people who has read and is reading The Catcher in the Rye. Young teenagers can relate to Holden quite easily, mainly due to his speech and actions. Holden Caulfield is a young lad, who swears in just about every other sentence. An example of Holden 's usage of swear words would be, “It was a funny thing to say. It sounded like a real kid. You 'd think a prostitute and all would say "Like hell you are" or "Cut the crap" instead of "Like fun you are” (Salinger 51). Instead of speaking politely, Holden uses his own normal vocabulary, or instead, most of the teenagers ' vocabulary. It is so common to just walk into a high school and hear people use swear words left and right. Salinger’s purpose is to create a chain of connection between Holden and the reader, so that way, the reader can feel in place when reading the novel. Another way Holden connects with the reader is through his actions. Holden dropped out of high school, and occasionally got into fights. According to a quotation on page 5 of The Catcher in the Rye, it states, “Well. . . they 'll be pretty irritated about it," I said. "They really will. This is about the fourth school I 've gone to." I shook my head. I shake my head quite a lot. "Boy!" I said. I also say "Boy!" quite a lot” (Salinger). Now, before we all criticize Holden for
Since its publication in 1951, The Catcher In the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger has served as a conflagration for debate and extreme controversy. Although the novel has been the target of scornful criticism, it has also been the topic of wide discussion. The novel portrays the life of sixteen year old, Holden Caufield. Currently in psychiatric care, Holden recalls what happened to him last Christmas. At the beginning of his story, Holden is a student at Pencey Prep School. Having been expelled for failing four out of his five classes, Holden leaves school and spends 72-hours in New York City before returning home. There, Holden encounters new ideas, people, and experiences. Holden's psychological battle within himself serves as the tool that uncovers the coming-of-age novel's underlying themes of teen angst, depression, and the disingenuous nature of society. The novel tackles issues of blatant profanity, teenage sex, and other erratic behavior. Such issues have supplemented the controversial nature of the book and in turn, have sparked the question of whether or not this book should be banned. The novel, The Catcher In the Rye, should not be banned from inclusion in the literature courses taught at the high school level.
Banning and challenging books started to become recognized almost as a problem in 1982, when the largest number of books at the time had been challenged as not suitable or appropriate for an age group. Ever since then books are criticized for sexual content, going against religious beliefs, language and vulgarity, violence, drugs, self-harm, racism, occult/satanic views, promoting gangs, and going against community standards. An example of a book that has been banned is The Catcher in The Rye by J. D. Salinger, since it has been banned from multiple libraries and schools for sexual and vulgar content (Santipr). Many people whose books have been challenged or banned have argued that the first amendment says something different. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
In the novel, Holden is a conflicted 17-year-old teenager that discriminates, has low self-esteem, and seems to be depressed. The way the author dexterously uses his words depicts how Holden feels, purposely summoning emotions within the reader to understand the situation the character faces. “Then, all of a sudden, I started to cry. I couldn’t help it […] but once you get started, you can’t just stop on a goddam dime,” (Salinger, 179). The use of the profanity in this quote is so that the reader realizes how conflicted Holden is about crying. It produces emotions in anyone who reads it. Students can learn from this storyline because it gives them the ability to feel what they are reading – to understand. This is not flawed writing, nor is it meant to be offensive; it is purely the objective of this form of literature – to present an artificial reality and to inv...
“Catcher in the Rye”, written by J.D Salinger, is a coming-of-age novel. Narrated by the main character, Holden Caulfield, he recounts the days following his expulsion from his school. This novel feels like the unedited thoughts and feelings of a teenage boy, as Holden narrates as if he is talking directly to readers like me.
The Catcher in the Rye was a novel written by J. D. Salinger sometime in the 40’s, but it was not published until 1951. The Catcher in the Rye has been banned throughout schools multiple times, for its profanity alone. The levels of profanity vary, but it is not just the actual language that got the book banned. It will always be an important book in American literature, banning it is just keeping students away from one of the best books ever written. The Catcher in the Rye should be kept in classrooms throughout schools because it teaches us so many life lessons. A few lessons that this novel teaches are that profanity and violence are everywhere, things will
The banning of books has long since been a tradition for the censorship of the media, and no book has seen the red tape more than J. D. Salinger’s picaresque novel The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger’s Catcher examines Holden Caulfield, an emotionally conflicted teenager takes New York City after leaving his prestigious school to find his way back home. Upon the opening of the novel, Holden explores controversial slang, curses, and sensitive topics. The language of the novel, which includes but is not limited to, curse words, coarse language, and slang all are a major factor people often have for disputing Catcher. Holden often uses common curses from “hell” (234, 4, 74, 173), to the shortened “damn” (72) from “goddam” (234, 97, 185), as well
Books are banned for many reasons but more times than not it is because of the sensitive information found within the novel that agitates the reader. As long as people have been able to develop their own opinions, others have sought to prevent them from sharing. At some point in time, every idea has ultimately become objectionable to someone. The most frequently challenged and most visible targets of such objection are the very books found in classrooms and public libraries. These controversial novels teach lessons that sometimes can be very sensitive to some but there is much more to challenged books than a controversial topic. What lies within these pages is a wealth of knowledge, such as new perspectives for readers, twisting plots, and expressions that are found nowhere else. For example, To Kill A Mockingbird, contains references to rape, racial content, and profanity that have caused many to challenge the novel in the first place. The book was banned from countless
In conclusion, the novel The Catcher In the Rye must be banned from the eighth grade curriculum. The story is a negative influence to young readers. It contains countless profane words. Lastly the amount of sexual references is absurd for an eighth grade classroom. Schools, as well as teachers must realize the undesirable content of this novel and protect, the student from its damaging influences.
For example, Holden is shown as being intolerant to everybody, disrespectful, and hateful. He hates the use of certain words. Besides religion his intolerance is based on the fact that he has a problem with everyone since he lacks respect and does not admit to any mistakes. In addition, he is so much into teenage sex as revealed in his words, “Sex is something I really don’t understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away. Last year I made a rule that I was going to quit horsing around with girls that, deep down, gave me a pain in the ass. I broke it, though; the same week I made it – the same night, as a matter of fact” (Salinger). His intolerant personality is unacceptable, and the book teaches that this is not
American Literature is widely known for possessing themes of disillusionment. Faulkner, Harper Lee, Fitzgerald, and Hemingway dominate this category of literature. However, the most influential piece of American Literature is arguably J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. What makes this piece of art stand so far out from any other work of literature is the attributes that make this novel so relatable. The source of this raw, real emotion that completely captivates the reader is Salinger himself. The Catcher in the Rye ‘s main character Holden Caulfield is undeniably Salinger. This work of fiction nearly resembles an autobiography. J.D. Salinger uses his novel to express his disillusionment through motifs, pathos, and symbols.
Holden would often mention about how lonely and depressed he was, “It was against my principles and all, but I was feeling so depressed I didn’t even think. That’s the whole trouble. When you’re feeling very depressed, you can’t even think.” (Salinger 91). This quote shows that because of Holden’s isolation, he becomes so depressed his morals bend and becomes more corrupted. Holden often repeats himself when he wants to emphasize something important. J.D Salinger’s tone sounds like a typical teenager using many slang and vulgar words such as, “chrissake” and “goddam.” Today, the lexicon Salinger used seems normal since the literary period was pre-modernism. However, when it was first published in the 1950’s it was offensive, caused a lot of controversy, and was even banned in several countries. The Catcher in the Rye was first banned after its publication for nontraditional or unpopular viewpoints, which many other classic writers faced such as William Shakespeare and Mark Twain. The book is known for being obscene and profane that teachers have been fired for allowing their students to read it. However, with Salinger’s coming-of-age-feel, it is still a popular book and is read in schools