Reception
The Catcher in the Rye has been listed as one of the best novels of the twentieth century. Shortly after its publication, writing for
The New York Times, Nash K. Burger called it "an unusually brilliant novel,"
[23] while James Stern wrote an admiring review of the book in a voice imitating Holden's.
[24] George H. W. Bush called it a "marvelous book," listing it among the books that have inspired him.
[25] In June 2009, the
BBC's Finlo Rohrer wrote that, 58 years since publication, the book is still regarded "as the defining work on what it is like to be a teenager. Holden is at various times disaffected, disgruntled, alienated, isolated, directionless, and sarcastic."
[26] Adam Gopnik considers it one of the "three perfect books" in American literature, along with
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and
The Great Gatsby, and believes that "no book has ever captured a city better than
Catcher in the Ryecaptured New York in the fifties."
[27] Jeff Pruchnic wrote an appraisal of The Catcher in the Rye after the death of J.D. Salinger. In this article, Pruchnic focuses on how the novel continues to be received incredibly well, even after it has aged many generations. Pruchnic describes Holden as a “teenage protagonist frozen midcentury but destined to be discovered by those of a similar age in every generation to come”.
[28] Bill Gates said that
The Catcher in the Rye is one of his favorite books ever.
[29]
However, not all reception has been positive; the book has had its share of critics. Rohrer writes, "Many of these readers are disappointed that the novel fails to meet the expectations generated by the mystique it is shrouded in. J. D. Salinger has done his part to enhance this mystique. That is to say, he has done nothing."
[26] Rohrer assessed the reasons behind both the popularity and criticism of the book, saying that it "captures existential teenage angst" and has a "complex central character" and "accessible conversational style"; while at the same time some readers may dislike the "use of 1940s New York vernacular" and other things.
Censorship and use in schools
In 1960, a teacher in
Tulsa, Oklahoma was fired for assigning the novel in class; however, he was later reinstated.
[30] Between 1961 and 1982,
The Catcher in the Rye was the most
censored book in high schools and libraries in the United States.
[31] The book was banned in the
Issaquah, Washington, high schools in 1978 as being part of an "overall communist plot".
[32] In 1981, it was both the most censored book and the second most taught book in public schools in the United States.
[33] According to the
American Library Association,
The Catcher in the Rye was the 10th most frequently
challenged book from 1990 to 1999.
[10] It was one of the ten most challenged books of 2005,
[34] and although it had been off the list for three years, it reappeared in the list of most challenged books of 2009.
[35]
The challenges generally begin with Holden's frequent use of vulgar language,
[36][37] with other reasons including sexual references,
[38] blasphemy, undermining of family values
[37]and moral codes,
[39] encouragement of rebellion,
[40] and promotion of drinking, smoking, lying,
promiscuity, and sexual abuse.
[39] Often the challengers have been unfamiliar with the plot itself.
[31] Shelley Keller-Gage, a high school teacher who faced objections after assigning the novel in her class, noted that "the challengers are being just like Holden... They are trying to be catchers in the rye".
[37] A
Streisand effect has been that this incident caused people to put themselves on the waiting list to borrow the novel, when there was no waiting list before
