Since then many
libraries have lifted banning and have allowed people to read the book. The
Catcher in the Rye should not be banned because it opens reader’s eyes to the
moral senses of the day, tells the truth about the adolescent experiences, and
provides readers with sincere humor.
Also, The Catcher in
the Rye tells the truth about adolescent experience. Holden Caulfield knows
there are two different groups of the in-crowd and the out-crowd.
“Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays
according to the rules. Yes, sir. I know it is. I know it. Game, my ass. Some
game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all
right-I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any
hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game (pg.8).”
Holden Caulfield knows
for the in-crowd life is a game, it’s fun. Ironically however, he’s not part of
that group and find himself in the out-crowd. Where life is not a game.
Throughout the book
Holden Caulfield is running, wondering around, and not really talking to anyone
but you as a reader. He’s like a nomad, but he is looking for something.
“Anyway,
I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of
rye and all. Thousands of little kids and nobody’s around-nobody big, I
mean-except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have
to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff-I mean if
they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from
somewhere and catch them. That’s all I do all day. I’d just be the catcher in
the rye and all (pg. 173).”
Holden’s in a war and
he’s trying to save others. He’s looking for kids to make sure they don’t fall
off the cliff and lose their innocence, joyful spirit, and honesty. Holden’s
like a vigilante and he’s lonely because he’s chosen this life to help many
others. But in order to be a protector he has to be on the out-crowd. He’s
transitioning from being this carefree person to seeing these kids running to the cliff and that ages him a
little outside of adolescent to adulthood. It makes Caulfield mature but with
maturity comes responsibility and the weight of that.
The Catcher in the Rye
should not be banned because it opens reader’s eyes to the moral senses of the
day, tells the truth about the adolescent experiences, and provides readers
with sincere humor.
“My parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I
told anything personal about them. They’re quite touchy about anything like
that, especially my father. They’re nice and all-I’m not saying that-but
they’re also touchy as hell (pg. 1).”
It doesn’t seem like
Holden’s parents are very close to him, which isn’t good, but he makes out of
it something funny. Even through this unpleasant experience Holden finds
something in it that he can laugh about. One good reason why not to ban this
book is that my experience has shown me this is very similar and he’s telling
nothing but the truth. Does J.D. Salinger feel that he is the catcher in the
rye and his way of catching people is by giving them the book?
