Catcher In The Rye Essay

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 12th grade February 2008

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Books that contain highly controversial material often are banned or censored in some schools. The novel The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger has been censored in many schools due to its explicit material. This banning is unjust due to the respect for women, the negative aspects of underage drinking and the situations that high school kids can relate to in the novel.

To begin with, The Catcher In The Rye should not be banned because of the respect for women like Sunny, Sally and Pheobe. Holden, in chapter 13, has a prostitute named Sunny in his room. After spending a small amount of time with her, he began to feel sorry for her. As he hangs her dress up for her, he ponders painfully, "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's a prostitute and all"(97).

This shows how he sees her as a real person and not just an object. Clearly, the respect for women is one reason why The Catcher In The Rye should not be banned.

Secondly, as well as the respect for women The Catcher In The Rye should not be banned because it shows the negative effects of under age drinking. Drinking impairs Holden's balance, vision and overall judgment. In chapter twenty, Holden is very drunk.

He has just stumbled out of a bar and is going to give Sally Hays a call. He tells pathetically, "I had to dial about 20 numbers before I got the right one. Boy, was I blind"(150). This shows how the alcohol has greatly affected his vision because he cannot see the buttons well enough to push the right ones. Still in chapter 25,