Those who have read Catcher In The Rye, do you believe it should be banned from certain age groups?

hell no, I read it when I was 10. there’s nothing offensive in it, old fashioned slang, it’s a very sad coming of age story. It’s about a 17 year old. It’s silly to talk of banned? no one would be attracted to this book now unless they wanted to read it- and they should

Absolutely not. No book should ever be banned.

Also, I highly recommend you try real (read non-Fluther) sources such as the American Library Association’s Banned Books advocacy group.

There is no rule against homework help on this site. You are free to ask this question and don’t let people bother you about it.

The Catcher in the Rye isn’t intended for young children in the first place. It wouldn’t be taught in schools at that age. It’s for middle-school to high-school aged children. I think the book is fine for those age groups. It should not be banned just because some people see the bad words and the sexual references and decide that our “pure children” shouldn’t be exposed to it. Hiding reality from children is not a good idea, especially when they’re old enough to understand it, such as middle-school to high-school aged children. I liked CITR just because it was so different; I think kids could like it. (It seems to me people either love or hate that book).

Most people who want to ban books do not even know the plot of the books; they make ridiculous assumptions about the books that are completely unfounded or they make judgments on the books based on a few phrases or words without knowledge of the plot. Banning books is for the mid-20th century. It’s time to get with the times.

no book should ever be banned, burned, hidden or anything else.

and i know its a bit of a logical fallacy to use the slippery sloap argument. but if you start banning things, it gets more and more acceptable to do so.

everyone has a right to free speech, no one has a right to not be offended.

Banned? Hell to the no.
Suggested more strongly for older children? Sure.

try noodletools.com or an APA manual for the citation help

I don’t think it should be banned. I do believe however, that older age groups would understand the trials and tribulations of the main character better, and hence “get” what the author is trying to convey. It’s one of those books containing social commentary themes.

I wouldn’t recommend reading it if you are a teen and are feeling down or depressed though I did, and it made me feel more depressed

Banning? No, of course not.

What makes the book so great for that age group is that in reality, Holden is in the age range where young people figure out that adults don’t know everything, and that they will have to start figuring out right and wrong for themselves, no matter how Holden ends up. It’s a springboard for discussion of how people come to discover their own values.

Personally, I read it twice, at 11 after Lennon was murdered and at 16 for school. Most of the bad words weren’t any different than those I heard on the playground every day at school during recess and the others were archaic by the time I read the book.

Works Cited: Electronic Resources
This is a reference from Perdue University

No books should ever be banned.

Those who are proponents of it are generally those of limited understanding and/or independent thought.

Nor should it be restricted to older groups. There are kids who are younger that will read this book and understand it better than some adults will ever be capable of. If they encounter it and don’t understand it or if they do, either way, curiosity and learning should be encouraged.

WHAT??????????????????????????????

I wouldn’t ban it, but I sure as fuck wouldn’t recommend it to anyone of any age. Ugh.

Laff.

It is (as @holden called it elsewhere) a great American novel. Banning it for the eff-word/prostitutes/mental illness/etc. isn’t justified. And anyway what with the moral message of the book, the whole Christianity thing, you’d think it’d be good for kids of any age to look at.

The age group that’s ready to read it is the age group that picks it up in the library or the bookstore and begins reading it. I’m anthropomorphizing age groups here but you get the idea. That novel helped me appreciate my youth (kind of) when I was still young, which is pretty cool.

No! I can think of a lot of stories I would be uncomfortable with a child reading. Catcher is not among them.

I don’t think it is “homework help” of the kind that is frowned upon if you begin by saying “I am writing a paper and would like some opinions”—that is not asking someone to do your homework for you, it is doing research.

As an answer to the question, my answer in general is no. While there are some books I think are better read only when you are a bit older, I think it is the job of parents and other adults in the child’s life to make this call, not any sort of official ban.

Which leads to another question: what do you mean by “banned for a certain age group” exactly? Would parents be fined if they let their child read the book? Would libraries be persecuted if they let parents of small children borrow it?

Banned? No. But anyone under 13 should probably be guided while reading it.
Catcher is one of my favorite books, and it has a lot to say to young kids, but they need to discuss it with someone older who has read it.

No ban. Kids who are too young won’t be able to follow the writing for very long. They either get bored or lose their concentration. Kids who discover it’s a page turner are old enough.

It’s inappropriate for people over the age of 101 years.