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The benefits of sexual education for adolescents
Why the catcher in the rye should be banned
The benefits of sexual education for adolescents
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“ 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 are under twenty-one and won’t sell you any intoxicating liquor.” Quoted from Holden Caulfield the smoking, cursing, drinking prostitute soliciting, protagonist of the novel, The Catcher In the Rye. The novel follows only a few days of Holden’s life, but exploits Holden’s reckless behavior and poor decision making skills; therefore encouraging bad behavior on young readers. The story also follows a constant repetition of inappropriate words and swears; that one might consider profane. Lastly the story contains inappropriate scenes and dialogue that is sexually explicit. The adult content found in this novel makes it unsuitable for eighth graders. The Catcher In the Rye must be banned from usage in the eighth grade curriculum and the school environment. The eighth grade curriculum should not include stories with as many sexual references as the novel The Catcher In The Rye. Examples of the book’s sexual explicit content would be when Holden Caulfield solicits a prostitute. About one-third of ninth graders in the nation have sexual encounters and the statistic has a decreasing trend when age decreases. This shows that sex is an unexplored topic for many eighth graders; therefore the topic should be brought up to them in a way where the young students can learn to respect the action and learn the responsibility of when it should take place. The story portrays the idea of sex through the protagonist, Holden, who has a deep lust for sexual intercourse. To further prove Holden’s lust for sex in the story he states “I’m a sex addict.” A person with a deep longing for sexual intercourse is not the correct w... ... middle of paper ... ... disagree with a faith, it is a whole other story when one insults a religion. Parents do not want their children to believe insults are the way to voice your opinions. Consequently making The Catcher In the Rye a book not to be read by eighth graders. Further illustrating Holden’s flaws as a role model; also stated by Holden were the following quotes “Girls. Jesus Christ. They can drive you crazy.” And “I'm seventeen now, and sometimes I act like I'm about thirteen. “ 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.
The novel The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger depicts a journey of a young man named Holden Caulfield where he encounters many of life’s challenges. As Holden has been bouncing between schools all his life, he just recently got kicked out of his current one: Pencey Prep. He has trouble focusing in school and has experienced many traumatic events in his life, like the death of his little brother Allie. Many believe the novel should be banned, but there is an underlying message Holden is trying to communicate. Throughout Holden's journey many feel that there were ban-worthy moments, but the traits he demonstrates are most powerful: compassion, maturity/coming of age and intelligence.
Catcher In The Rye was written in 1951 and for this time period, the book’s content was extremely ahead of its time. Its frequent foul language and sex-driven themes led it to be banned by several school systems across the country since its release. Some people may question why Salinger has Holden Caulfield 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, Caulfield compares his and Sally’s skating skills to the rest of the people at the ice-skating rink in Radio City.
The form of diction used in The Catcher in the Rye is a topic on which many people are strongly opinionated. Because the narrator speaks solely in the vernacular, the novel is ripe with vulgar language. Most of this language is used to characterize Holden, the protagonist and narrator, as a typical American teenager living in the late 1940s or early 1950s, but some of it is utilized to convey Salinger’s theme of innocence versus corruption. When Holden is walking through his sister Phoebe’s school, he sees a scrawl on the wall saying “Fuck you.” He imagines the writing was etched by “some perverty bum that’d sneaked in the school late at night to take a leak or something” (260-61). Again in the museum, Holden encounters another such sign. Both the school and the museum are places he identifies with his childhood, but they have been perverted by the corruption of the world. He is concerned for the children who will inevitably see these signs and be told what they mean by “some dirty kid…all cockeyed, naturally” (260), spoiling the children’s innocence. This is just one more step towards adulthood and corruption. He is disgusted by the people in the world, saying “You can’t ever find a place that’s nice and peaceful, because there isn’t any. You think there is, but once you get there, when you’re not looking, somebody’ll sneak up and write ‘Fuck yo...
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is an enthralling and captivating novel about a boy and his struggle with life. The teenage boy ,Holden, is in turmoil with school, loneliness, and finding his place in the world. The author J.D. Salinger examines the many sides of behavior and moral dilemma of many characters throughout the novel. The author develops three distinct character types for Holden the confused and struggling teenage boy, Ackley, a peculiar boy without many friends, and Phoebe, a funny and kindhearted young girl.
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.
Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.
Innocence lies within everyone in at least one point in their lives, but as reality consumes them, that purity begins to vanish slowly as they learn new experiences. In the coming of age novel set in the nineteen-forties, J.D Salinger writes about a sixteen-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield who stands between a road that separates childhood from adulthood and is confused about which path to take. On a three-day trip in New York away from his family and fellow peers at school, Holden encounters many situations in which lead him to think twice about who he wants to become and how he wants to guide others who are in the same situation he is in. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger utilizes symbolism, vivid imagery, and slangy diction to expose Holden’s struggle to preserve the innocence of the people that he loves while alienating himself from the adult world he calls “phony.”
In JD Salingers' Catcher in the Rye, a troubled teenager named Holden Caufield struggles with the fact that everyone has to grow up. The book gets its title from Holden's constant concern with the loss of innocence. He did not want children to grow up because he felt that adults are corrupt. This is seen when Holden tries to erase naughty words from the walls of an elementary school where his younger sister Phoebe attended. "While I was sitting down, I saw something that drove me crazy.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is a coming-of-age novel set in New York during the 1940’s. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the story, is a detached seventeen-year old boy harboring feelings of isolation and disillusionment. He emphasizes a general dislike for society, referring to people as “phonies.” His lack of will to socialize prompts him to find nearly everything depressing. He’s alone most of the time and it’s apparent that he is very reclusive. This often leads him to pondering about his own death and other personal issues that plague him without immediate resolution. Holden possesses a strong deficit of affection – platonic and sexual – that hinders and cripples his views toward people, his attitude, and his ability to progressively solve his problems without inflicting pain on himself. The absence of significant figures in his life revert him to a childlike dependency and initiate his morbid fascination with sexuality. In this novel, Salinger uses Sunny, Sally Hayes, and Carl Luce to incorporate the hardships of discovering sexual identity and how these events affect adolescents as they try to understand their own sexuality.
In a novel, the theme is the insight of real life. J.D. Salinger’s initiation novel, The Catcher In The Rye, describes the adventures of 16-year old Holden Caulfield, the protagonist and first person narrator, who refuses to grow up and enter manhood. The most important theme developed by Salinger is Holden’s problem of dealing with change; he has trouble dealing with death, he refuses to accept children’s loss of innocence as a necessary step in the growing-up process, and has difficulties with growing up.
The book, Catcher in the Rye, has been steeped in controversy since it was banned in America after its first publication. John Lennon’s assassin Mark Chapman, asked the former Beatle to sign a copy of the book earlier in the morning of the day he murdered Lennon. Police found the book in his possession upon apprehending the psychologically disturbed Chapman. However, the book itself contains nothing that might have lead Chapman to act as he did. It could have been just any book that he was reading the day he decided to kill John Lennon and as a result, it was the Catcher in the Rye, a book describing a nervous breakdown, that caused the media to speculate widely about the possible connection. This gave the book even more recognition. The character Holden Caulfield ponders the thoughts of death, accuses ordinary people of being phonies, and expresses his love for his sister through out the novel. So what is the book Catcher in the Rye really about?
He even condemns people he doesn’t know as phonies, such as the man that his
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 ...
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.
Over 50 years ago, an author named J.D. Salinger wrote one of the best novels that I have ever read. This story is entitled, The Catcher in the Rye. The Catcher in the Rye is an excellent story narrated by the main character, Holden Caulfield. Holden is a confused 16 year old, who is struggling to find himself. He is a very cynical and hypocritical young man. Throughout the entire story, Holden points out all of the flaws of every person he is associated with, and actually says that he dislikes almost every one of them. The funny thing about that fact is that, after you have finished the book, you realize that Holden possesses similar qualities to all the people that he claims to hate, and you also realize that this is quite possibly the reason that he does in fact hate each of them, because I believe that Holden is dissatisfied with himself.