Banning The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

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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?

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