Being an active reader, I decided to read more classic novels, and so the first I’ve chosen to start with is “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. Besides being a classic, it is a controversial book and has been banned in classrooms, as well as school and city libraries throughout the country.  In fact, in 1960, an English teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma was fired for assigning this book to her eleventh grade English class. She eventually got her job back, but the book was permanently banned from many teaching programs. This is just one of the numerous cases in which “The Catcher in the Rye” upset parents and as a result was banned from the school that their children attended.

“The Catcher in the Rye” is about a teenage boy, Holden Caulfield, and the weekend he has after being kicked out of his school, Pencey Prep in Pennsylvania. He is the narrator and throughout the whole book he tells his story of what happened to him. In the beginning, he mentions how he had just been kicked out of his school and then talks about being kicked out of other schools prior to that.  His concern is that his parents will find out he’s been kicked out yet again and so he refuses to return home right away. He travels around New York using up any money he has and meets a lot of interesting people.

The main reason this novel is often banned is because of the language Holden and the other characters use throughout. Although it’s not as vulgar as some other books, it is still not viewed as appropriate by certain school administrators. Another reason it’s banned is because there are many instances where Holden talks about sex and how he wants to experience it. I don’t think this book should be banned because it shows students a different type of writing and can help them improve their own writing skills. I agree it should be banned to students in elementary and middle schools, but I think that high school seniors and juniors are mature enough to read this book in class.

I have both a like and dislike for this book. Teens today are used to books where the author gets right to the point and events happen very quickly. The complete opposite happens in “The Catcher in the Rye.” The whole book only consists of one weekend and every single thing that happens to Holden. Salinger details everything, and to some readers it might become a little boring. For me, although I was hoping Salinger would eventually get to the point, I enjoyed reading a different type of writing style. It made me want to keep reading because I wanted to see what Holden would get himself into next. Even though this book has been banned in multiple places all around the world, I think everyone should take to time to read it because it is a classic and is an interesting read.