Why The Catcher in The Rye Novel Should Be Banned - Essay Example

The book makes light of Holden’s lack of respect and regard for those around him. Holden seems to be comfortable with manipulating the people around him to get what he wants or needs, but when things start to feel uncomfortable or when things do not go his way, he suddenly finds rude, insulting comments to make about them. Holden freely admits that he is a frequent liar, but justifies this by stating that the people he lies to don’t deserve to hear the truth because they are trapped in their own delusive world of denial.

In this way, Holden has found a way to make himself the exception to his own rule of behavior. Finally, I believe that The Catcher in The Rye glamorizes the alienation and social angst felt by so many young people that often feeds into their outward expression of anger, and instead of truly showing the downside of such behavior and attitude, it romanticizes the problem by making Holden seem to be a rebel against the world. Because of these reasons, there is nothing in this novel to benefit a reader who yearns to explore the world through a character’s eyes and gain enrichment for having done so.

Works CitedSalinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. U.S.A: Little, Brown & Company, 1945. Dear Editor; Upon reading the novel, The Catcher in The Rye, I want to express to your readers why this book should NOT be banned, and why it should be read by everyone. The Catcher in The Rye features a main character by the name of Holden Caulfield, who is a young man on a journey of self and the world around him. Holden has often been described as a rebel without a real cause, but observed in context to his surroundings, I think he actually has a lot to reveal about how young people sometimes go through life and how they feel while doing it.

Holden often voices disdain for people who seem phony to him, and therefore often fabricates stories to tell them, feeding into their delusion. I think this is one way that perhaps adults could take a second look at how their own deeds and actions might seem hypocritical to younger people, especially when they are made to feel like outsiders. I suppose it could be argued that the anger and frustration that Holden vents throughout the novel is distasteful, but seen from a youth’s perspective, perhaps it is the only way someone so young can find to voice their confusion.

The Catcher in The Rye is much more effective if the reader views the book’s message from a young person’s point of view. In seeing how much of a loner Holden is in the story, and how he expresses his inner feelings of alienation and separation, perhaps the best thing this novel succeeds at is validating the point that young people need to be heard and need to have a voice in what is happening around them. The best point of success, however, for this novel, is in depicting what happens to a youth who is allowed to drift too far away from the pack and live on the perimeter of society for too long. Left unattended and to their own devices, the young people of any society turn inward, withdraw, and are lost.