JD Salinger

JD Salinger became pubically known when his novel, Catcher in The Rye, came out in 1951. The novel remains widely read and controversial, selling around 250,000 copies a year. Salinger was quite different from others. He didn't just write for the money or for the fame, he did it out for his own purpose and pleasure as he told a New York respondent in 1974. Salinger did publish other books such as A Perfect Day for Bananafish, but Catcher in the Rye stood out the most and led to public atttention. Salinger really valued his privacy and became so antisocial, though I don't understand why he wouldn't want the media to be around when all they wanted to do was tell him how much of a great novel he wrote and acknowledge him. This novel is very controversial due to the fact that back then around the 1970s, it was one of the most censored books and it is now read in school. It is said that the protagonist's life, Holden, is based off of life issues that many teenagers have today. The argument for this book include the vulgar language, violence, rebellion, and sexual scenes.

It is a widespread belief that much of Holden Caulfield’s candid outlook on life reflects issues relevant to the youth of today, and thus the novel continues to be used as an educational resource in high schools throughout the nation. Teenagers read this book and have an understanding of where Holden is coming from since they can put themselves in his shoes. This is where critics come into play and point out different qualities of Holden that they think mislead teenagers today. David Stevenson commented that the novel was written "as the boy's comment, half-humorous, half agonizing, concerning his attempt to recapture his identity and his hopes for playing a man-about-town for a lost, partially tragic, certainly frenetic weekend." Generally the critics see this book as Holden's struggle to survive in the adult world.