Banning
The novel Catcher in the Rye has been challenged many times over and has been banned from schools state-wide. After it was published in 1951, it quickly became #1 on the New York Times best-seller list. In 1960 a teacher in Oklahoma assigned the book to his 11th grade class and was later fired by school administrators. From there, The Catcher in the Rye was the most censored book in high schools and libraries in the United States. By 1981, the novel became both the most censored book and the second most taught book in public schools in the United States.
The Catcher in the Rye shouldn't be banned, because it represents grief, guilt, and a struggle for survival in our harsh world. Holden Caulfield's life wrenches the readers emotions and captures there attention with his irony, honesty and one feels sympathetic towards the tragic events that loom around him. Holden, a young teenage boy struggling to find himself, teaches the readers to persevere and that life is all about the unexpected. The Catcher in the Rye shouldn't be banned because it restricts the readers from reading one of the best books from the 20th Century. The Catcher in the Rye represents evocative insight into Holden's conscience and consciousness during a grieving process.
Banning books, such as Catcher in the Rye, violates individuals from exploring classic literature. Readers, should have the right to read novels about characters discovering themselves and their actions that follow. The Catcher in the Rye, teaches young adults about true grief, and love, Holden Caulfield seems to never leave a readers mind once he enters. To not allow an individual to have the freedom to chose what books they read is caging their developing mind and allowing it to develop a close minded perception of the world.
Overall the book is banned for these reasons:
Here are the most recent challenges and banns of the book:
Sources:
http://world.edu/banned-book-awareness-catcher-rye-jd-salinger/
The Catcher in the Rye shouldn't be banned, because it represents grief, guilt, and a struggle for survival in our harsh world. Holden Caulfield's life wrenches the readers emotions and captures there attention with his irony, honesty and one feels sympathetic towards the tragic events that loom around him. Holden, a young teenage boy struggling to find himself, teaches the readers to persevere and that life is all about the unexpected. The Catcher in the Rye shouldn't be banned because it restricts the readers from reading one of the best books from the 20th Century. The Catcher in the Rye represents evocative insight into Holden's conscience and consciousness during a grieving process.
Banning books, such as Catcher in the Rye, violates individuals from exploring classic literature. Readers, should have the right to read novels about characters discovering themselves and their actions that follow. The Catcher in the Rye, teaches young adults about true grief, and love, Holden Caulfield seems to never leave a readers mind once he enters. To not allow an individual to have the freedom to chose what books they read is caging their developing mind and allowing it to develop a close minded perception of the world.
Overall the book is banned for these reasons:
- An excessive use of offensive language
- Violence
- Sex
- Profanity
- Encouragement of rebellion
- Promotion of drinking and smoking
- Not suited for younger audiences
- Blasphemy
Here are the most recent challenges and banns of the book:
- 2010 – Challenged and or banned for offensive language, being sexually explicit and unsuited to age group.
- 2009 – Challenged in the Big Sky high School in Missoula, Montana.
- 2006 – Challenged for sexual content, offensive language and being unsuited to age group.
- 2005 – Challenged, but retained as an assigned reading in the Noble High School in North Berwick, Maine.
- 2002 - Removed in South Carolina as a “filthy, filthy book”. Challenged and retained in Georgia due to profanity.
- 2001 – Challenged repeatedly because of complaints that the book contained sex, violence, and profanity.
Sources:
http://world.edu/banned-book-awareness-catcher-rye-jd-salinger/
DomoNation.com: Book Banning by Koontz
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