Overprotected

The Catcher in the Rye is a very relevant book of our time; for starters, even though the book is set in the nineteen fifties teenagers all over the world can still relate to it. It is also one of the first books to touch so many coming of age issues in such a public manner. The Catcher in the Rye has been causing controversy for more than fifty years; I think that a book with such power is obviously relevant to our time.

When published in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye caused immediate controversy all across the United States and around the world. The book was banned from many libraries and school.  Adults where outraged by the books openness towards subjects that where almost never spoken about at that time. In the present some people still think this amazing piece of literature should not be taught in schools. I, on the other hand, think that The Catcher in the Rye should be taught in schools.

To begin with, The Catcher in the Rye was banned because its use of profane language, premarital sex, alcohol abuse, and prostitution (Chasan 2); but if you know anything about today’s teenagers, and if you have read the book you can tell that kids today see and hear worse things, on TV, the internet, and even in their own school hallways. In the book Holden, the main character, can`t even stand the words f*ck you written on a wall: “I saw something that drove me crazy. Somebody had written “Fuck

You” on the wall it drove me near crazy” (Salinger 201). Therefore trying to protect kids from this book is ridiculous since they are already exposed to many other things, that compared to the book are much worse.

The Catcher in the Rye is also said and thought to be to anti- almost everyone, whites, homosexuals, African Americans, and authority in general. It has also been accused of being a communist plot (Chasan 2); but compared to the book, which shows the point of view of fictitious character from the fifties, what is really an act of communism is banning a book because it opposes your beliefs, much like Hitler did during the holocaust and many other communist dictators throughout history. Banning a book, any book, goes against the United States’ constitution (freedom of speech).

Many people belief that The Catcher in the Rye should be banned and not taught in schools; however not teaching this wonderful piece of literature to middle school and high school students would just make them miss out on one of the greatest stories of our time. The Catcher in the Rye is a story that everyone can relate to in way or another, and analyzing it in school so that students can really understand its meaning is better than banning it, and kids reading and misunderstanding the book.

The Catcher in the Rye has caused polemic for many years, since the fifties up to today. Many people think that is should prohibited in schools and libraries; but is uselessly overprotecting teenagers and depriving them of understanding such an amazing piece of literature really what adults want to do for the younger generations?