The Forbidden The Catcher in the Rye Controversial themes may be difficult for children to understand or take under an educational perspective. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger creates a novel that reflects upon the questionable behavior of a defiant young adult. The unorthodox ideals, inappropriate language, and mature content represented in the novel may influence younger audiences, which result in the removal of the novel. Salinger’s novel was named one of the most frequently banned books in schools and libraries in “2001, 2005 and 2009” (Aguirre), however, during 1987, the novel was banned from a high school in North Dakota regarding the sexual content. Sexuality is a taboo subject, especially in 1987 considering that sex was not
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Holden has criticized many religious figures, referring to them as “phonies”, which is offensive to religious people and many parents would consider controversial considering that people in the 50s were heavily devoted to christianity and catholicism (Salinger 131). Through Holden, Salinger is providing an opinion about the religious community, for example, Holden mentions, “I don't see why the hell they can't talk in their natural voice. They sound so phony when they talk.”, Holden believes that some religious people are not as genuine as they claim to be, which presents how Salinger desired to critique the religious community that some people who claim to be righteous are less benevolent than those who do not observe any religion such as Holden (Shmoop Editorial Team). Although Holden once mentioned that he felt like praying, he claims that he is an atheist which may be attributed by the negative events that has occurred in his life. To the younger audience, they may also begin to question their religious beliefs considering that they are easy to manipulate, therefore parents gathered to ask the school board to ban the book from their libraries. People want to “...shelter the youth…” from the sinful acts of Salinger’s character, instead of teaching the youth about consequences, they …show more content…
Holden observes that people in society “...cry at sad movies…”, however they do not have sympathy for real tragedies in the world (Shmoop Editorial Team). The bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was in 1945, which is a few years before Salinger published his book ("Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki"). Salinger, through his character, Holden, presents the idea that people do notice or care for people that suffer a great loss, such as the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb is a sensitive topic in the 50s, therefore people were not optimistic about mentioning that bomb in the novel. Mortality is not a comfortable subject for people, therefore critics believe that the novel explores taboo subjects that are not appropriate for younger audiences. Since Holden’s younger brother passed away, Salinger reflects upon the “...morbidity…” of death and he implies that there is no hope to bring back the lives that are lost, which is a concept that Holden is attempting to accept throughout the novel (“What is Salinger's message about death in Catcher in the Rye?"). The subject matter of mortality is intense for children, therefore parents believe that younger audiences would be unable to grasp the concept of losing a younger sibling. Most of Holden’s absurd actions and ethics are induced by his effort to cope with the death of his brother
Holden has criticized many religious figures, referring to them as “phonies”, which is offensive to religious people and many parents would consider controversial considering that people in the 50s were heavily devoted to christianity and catholicism (Salinger 131). Through Holden, Salinger is providing an opinion about the religious community, for example, Holden mentions, “I don't see why the hell they can't talk in their natural voice. They sound so phony when they talk.”, Holden believes that some religious people are not as genuine as they claim to be, which presents how Salinger desired to critique the religious community that some people who claim to be righteous are less benevolent than those who do not observe any religion such as Holden (Shmoop Editorial Team). Although Holden once mentioned that he felt like praying, he claims that he is an atheist which may be attributed by the negative events that has occurred in his life. To the younger audience, they may also begin to question their religious beliefs considering that they are easy to manipulate, therefore parents gathered to ask the school board to ban the book from their libraries. People want to “...shelter the youth…” from the sinful acts of Salinger’s character, instead of teaching the youth about consequences, they …show more content…
Holden observes that people in society “...cry at sad movies…”, however they do not have sympathy for real tragedies in the world (Shmoop Editorial Team). The bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was in 1945, which is a few years before Salinger published his book ("Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki"). Salinger, through his character, Holden, presents the idea that people do notice or care for people that suffer a great loss, such as the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb is a sensitive topic in the 50s, therefore people were not optimistic about mentioning that bomb in the novel. Mortality is not a comfortable subject for people, therefore critics believe that the novel explores taboo subjects that are not appropriate for younger audiences. Since Holden’s younger brother passed away, Salinger reflects upon the “...morbidity…” of death and he implies that there is no hope to bring back the lives that are lost, which is a concept that Holden is attempting to accept throughout the novel (“What is Salinger's message about death in Catcher in the Rye?"). The subject matter of mortality is intense for children, therefore parents believe that younger audiences would be unable to grasp the concept of losing a younger sibling. Most of Holden’s absurd actions and ethics are induced by his effort to cope with the death of his brother