In a society of the 1950´s where the life of a teenager was kept a secret and when parents thought that their children would forever be innocent, it is obvious that a book like The Catcher In The Rye would be banned. But themes like sex, alcohol and usage of swears are and have always been part of a teenager´s life, the only difference is that society knows that now, but they didn´t know it back then. The themes that J.D Salinger discusses in his novel are not new to me, and I guarantee they were not new to anyone else who has read The Catcher In The Rye. This book hasn´t introduced me to any “filthy” ideas, but has actually taught me valuable lessons. That is why my opinion on if the book should be banned hasn´t changed at any time.
Salinger was a teenager during the mid 19 hundreds, he was inspired of the themes by his own experiences. His experiences corroborate to the fact teenagers have always dealt with the same problems, (since he couldn´t of been the only one dealing with so at the time.) Back in those days, teenagers were not allowed to discuss sex or booze because talks about so were considered despicable in society, so their actual life and interests pretty much were kept secret. Parents had no idea what their teenage daughters and sons were up to, they didn´t have the guts to discuss what would confront them in the future. So if parents couldn’t teach their kids a lesson, why ban the book that could? For teenagers in our society today, it is a completely different story. We learn about sex and booze through TV shows, books, and the one and only “The Talk” we receive from our parents when we reach puberty. But again, there are the cases where some teenagers do not have any sources to learn about what they must confront. For example, a girl doesn’t have any money, so she decides to be a prostitute. But her parents never advised her on anything because they felt awkward doing so, and she never saw a TV show or read a book for guidance.
“I took her dress over to the closet and hung it up for her. It was funny. It made me feel sort of sad when I hung it up. I thought of her going in a store and buying it, and nobody in the store knowing she was a prostitute and all… It made me feel sad as hell – I don´t know why exactly.” (pg. 125)
That one paragraph Holden Caulfield stated his opinion on Sunny, a prostitute, could of changed her mind.
The truth is, that every teenager knows about sex and prostitution, they have all at least tasted alcohol, and if they haven´t already, will be offered drugs by others in their age group. So why are these themes that J.D Salinger discusses so despicable, especially when they are nothing but truth? Nowadays, Catcher is still banned in some states in the US, which I find is hypocrisy. While in those states teenagers aren´t allowed to read a book that they can relate to and find comfort in, a dirty song like “I Just Had Sex” is allowed to be played in the streets. Catcher is a book that teenagers can think of as therapy, while a song like so was just written as a joke. Does it make sense to allow a theme to be talked about because it is funny, but not because it is consoling? Absolutely not, it just doesn´t make sense. Salinger was obviously trying to teach teenagers that everyone goes through problems at that age, some may undergo it in a more extreme level like Holden Caulfield, the main character of the book. But bottom line is, all teenagers go through problems, no one is alone. There was no scene in the book that was too dirty or violent, but it is still considered “filthy” by some people. Yet the shows with the highest ratings are Jersey Shore, The Secret Life of The American Teenager, Pretty Little Liars, etc. These shows are accepted in society, but do go highly in depth with the topics. Why is it that we accept them but not a simple coming of age novel?
Time has changed, and maybe Catcher In The Rye back then was meant for an older crowd. Today in 2011, a group of eight graders were able to read the novel, discuss and understand it, no matter how “obscene” it would be. But yet, in 1960, a teacher in Tulsa, Okla was fired for assigning Catcher to an eleventh grade class, because it was too much of a “mature” read. What I am trying to say is that maybe the time periods have affected the way the novel has been seen. Honestly, teenagers have always dealt with the same problems like I said before. But today, those problems become part of the daily news, and they are not considered good, but not despicable either.
Teenage generations need something to relate to, something to find comfort in. If a book like Catcher wasn´t allowed doing that back then, which it should of, it has become part of the past and must be allowed now. If dirty TV shows, commercials, music videos and songs are allowed in the media, Catcher In The Rye should be able to teach lessons. J.D. Salinger wrote his masterpiece as therapy for teenagers, not to cause controversy throughout the world. I believe Catcher is a fantastic book, not only entertaining but also containing a mountain of lessons. I believe Catcher In The Rye should be used to teach us, the teenagers of the 2000´s, what is waiting ahead of us, because it has exactly what we need. The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger has themes of our everyday life in a realistic manner that we can learn from.
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