Catcher In The Rye Banned

The Banning of The Catcher in the Rye
Banning a book means someone disagreed with how a story presents itself. A lot of the time it’s the parents who challenge the books because they feel their children should not read such books. Which is somewhat understandable considering most of the time the books that get banned share the topics of promoting and or encouraging profanity, explicit material and homosexuality. Banning a book does not do anything but give the author some bad cred. Eventually, sooner or later the children will hear about or see such things, so cradling them from it in books will not do much. The only thing banning a book will do is keep people from reading about some interesting classic themes. Take The Catcher in the
Rye for instance, yes it contains sexual references and what not but it is a likeable book and easy to make a strong connection to.
Jerome David Salinger set a new course for literature with his publishings. Born on January 1, 1919, in New York. His landmark novel was of course the Catcher in the Rye, and that vaulted himself to the heights of literary fame. As well as his short stories that appeared in the New Yorker which is what got him noticed in the first place. Salinger was the youngest of two children, he was the only boy but dearly loved his sister, Doris. Their father was a rabbi who ran a successful ham and cheese import business. And their mother, Miriam, was actually scottish but they had lived in a time where mixed marriages were frowned upon. J.D. actually did not find out about his mother's roots until after his bar mitzvah at the age of 14.
Salinger was not much of a student according to the author of the biography webpage. He flunked out of the McBurney School near his home in New York on the West Side, and after that he was shipped off by his parents to Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Once Jerome graduated from there he went back to his hometown for about a year to attend at the University of New York before he left to Europe to learn about the importance of business. Even then, he got distracted and learned more about language than what he actually went there to learn about. Again he went home and attempted once more at college but this time in Pennsylvania and took night classes at Columbia University. There he met a Professor Whit Burnett who apparently made a big impact on his life. Burnett was the editor of Story magazine and he saw much potential in Salinger. So much that he had J.D work hard enough to get his work published not only in Story, but in big-name publications as well. Just as J.D. Salinger’s career started to take off he got pulled into World War II, as well as the attack on Pearl Harbor. He served from 1942-44, and then he soon fought in the Battle of the Bulge. However, he continued to write during these tough times and eventually came up with a witty, charming character by the name of Holden Caulfield. It is creative and mind boggling at the same time knowing that J.D.
Salinger is based on The Catcher in the Rye on himself. Salinger started to write this novel as soon as he was released from a mental hospital. He had written a few chapters here and there, but he started this unforgettable story then. It had been a significant influence on society and their conservative values in the 1940's-1950s. Salinger used Holden (the main character) to make a point and break barriers to the American people. This story made a significant impact mainly because no one had read anything like it before. It was different from most, and it was evident it was a book out of the
ordinary. Catcher in the Rye is an extraordinary novel, again I might add. Even though it is still known and taught as a classic, it has been banned and challenged in many schools throughout the United States. Also, even with this book being written in 1951, many teens can relate to this novel's perspective which is being told by Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old. J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is a quite complicated story being told by a teenager who seems to have somewhat of a challenging life. Not so much as a “difficult life” actually, just that he makes it all the harder for himself. This story is being told from his perspective but in a bit of a unique way. He tells about a flashback, for all but three days before. He then skips to the present which is where he is telling the story from. What the eye- opening part is, is that he is telling his story using modern terms now and then but is still talking about his future as if he doesn't have one. Except he is already living in it! Holden could be described as an average teenager or the complete definition of vulgar. In this story, Caulfield is very thorough with his storytelling. Describing details wasn't a weakness of J.D.’s. Holden’s story retells Salinger’s life. This book includes references to Salinger’s school and many to his personal life. The most common question that could be asked is, “Why is Holden so messed up?”. Well, my answer to that is when all the people pay attention to is the drinking, smoking, and swearing they’re not looking at why he does such things. At why he acts such way. Allie (His brother) died of leukemia; even though he is dead, Holden still talks to him. Prays to him even and asks for Allie to “save him.” Which kind of shows you that Caulfield knows what he is doing with his life, and it’s not that he does not care it is just that he has nobody to tell him to do otherwise. Being that he even though he is white and privileged the story merely screams at the readers that he is hurting and invisible. Which is understandable being that his parents sent him away to a boarding school, his older brother is out pursuing his career, and his peers are too messed up themselves to even help save Holden. In the book, you meet a little girl by the name of Phoebe. That is Holden’s sister, and they share a close bond which is a little amazing to read about; being that the readers of the book have noticed when it comes to interacting or even making a connection with people it is not much of Holden's strong suit.
This novel merely shows that failings of Holden are not of his making but of the world that is out of joint. It is very much of a realistic story actually; where one is only trying to find himself but instead he only learns to escape himself by using liquor, sex, night clubs and antisocial-ableness. When reading about Holden’s adventure, it had been noticed that he has a particular way of communicating and in no way is it censored. There are many cuss words and wrong statements, which is only a couple of the reasons why this book is banned. This novel is prohibited for its profanity alone. Not only the language is what got this story banned, but what Holden is saying. He does crazy and outrageous things throughout the book, uses God’s name in vain. As well as making statements against minorities, women, and the disabled. In conclusion, The Catcher in the Rye is a classic story with the distinction of at one point in life being the most various censored books across the country.
With this story being so out of the ordinary with its uniqueness and all, it became very well-known and had an extensive list of people who wanted it banned or challenged. Not all for the right reasons, though. I mean yes, parents do not want their children reading about such things, but in all reality, the parents just do not understand the character. They do not know the story, the reasons for Holden's actions or what he could be thinking, so how could they possibly like something they do not get? The Catcher in the Rye may have been useless to some, but to others, this story was something epically easy to connect with. This book should not have been banned just because it was
different.