"The Catcher In The Rye" is a novel that has always attracted controversy.

Authors Avatar

“The Catcher In The Rye” is a novel that has always attracted controversy.

When J.D. Salinger’s novel, “The Catcher In The Rye” was first published in 1951, it caused a storm in both the literary world, due to its unusual content and style, and the American social scene. In a list of the most controversial books ever written, it is claimed that, “this immediate best seller almost simultaneously became a popular target of censorship” (1) and that it was banned due to its “profanity, reference to suicide, vulgarity, disrespect, and anti-Christian sentiments” (1) . The main aspects of this novel which make it controversial are; the language and style Salinger chooses to use, the comment he makes on 1950’s capitalist America, Holden’s state of mental health, Holden’s opinions on sexuality and treatment of women, his relationships with children and his portrayal as a Christ-like figure. Many of these issues are still controversial today and more recent events, such as the assassination of John Lennon in 1980 by a man carrying a copy of the novel and wearing the red hunting hat that Holden talks about in the book, have only served to attract further controversy to “The Catcher In The Rye”. It is still a controversial novel containing issues and language that still offend.

 The language Salinger uses in the novel is immediately recognised as controversial, even in today’s society where “serious literature” has been given almost sixty years to develop. Some critics argue that the profanities and casual language are only there to shock the reader whereas others state that they serve to make the teenage character of Holden Caulfield appear more realistic. Literature critic, Michael Cooper claims that “J. D. Salinger’s genius use of language throughout the novel made Holden Caulfield human.” (2). This honest, realistic portrayal of Holden makes the book stand out in its literary context because Holden does come across as speaking like a normal teenager most of the time, even if what he has to say is not exactly “normal”. Holden even makes the comment that he does not want to talk about “all that David Copperfield kind of crap” (3) which is a direct literary comparison to a Charles Dickens novel. As Holden is the one telling the story, his language is of vital importance and it plays a key role in the controversial nature of the book. Holden regularly uses several words which could be considered as swear words; such as “ass”, “hell” and “goddam”. These words were a driving force behind the calls for censorship of the novel.

Join now!

 There are several instances in the novel where Salinger is clearly making his own comments about the post-war American capitalist system which could be attributed to the bitterness he felt after spending time in the army during the Second World War. At this time, America was going through a period of new growth in the aftermath of the war. Business was booming and with that comes great wealth and increased living standards for the people of America. However, there are downsides too, as Holden points out, people can become “phoney” because they want to maintain their current success, even at ...

This is a preview of the whole essay