Catcher in the Rye...is this still controversial?

[pryncess527]

I don't find this to be true at all. The majority of my students love reading. Many of my students love To Kill a Mockingbird (they read it on their own). We also do a contemporary novel unit, where students get to choose which novel they are reading. We read The Outsiders (required core novel), and The Giver. Nearly every student I have ever had in class has adored The Outsiders. My elementary school aged son is reading WONDER in class, which is an amazing book that every adult should read.

This was my personal experience too. I had the same, amazing teacher for Literature for 6th, 7th, and 8th and I will forever be grateful that she nurtured my childhood love of reading instead of killing it. I did not like everything we read, but she never killed my passion.

I read To Kill a Mockingbird again last year and that book totally holds up. It is one of the best novels I have ever read. Anyone who did not read it in school (or even those who did) should seriously consider giving it a try.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I enjoyed most of my required reading with the exception being The Iliad and the Odyssey.

 

[Princess Mulan]

I tell students that they will not like everything they are assigned to read, and I also tell them that I do not like everything I ask them to read. But the books are on the reading lists for a reason, and it's important for the students (and the teacher) to try to identify those reasons and understand why the books are considered necessary for a well-rounded education.

The purpose of literature class is to teach students how to think critically and analytically. Through reading and discussion, students learn to articulate why they like or do not like a particular work. In turn, we use those critical and analytical thinking skills every day at work and home throughout our lives.

One final point: If students read only what they like, they are limiting themselves to one point of view (their own) and are not challenging their minds. By reading "difficult" works, they are gaining lifelong benefits of stretching themselves and learning that they can complete any task.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I tell students that they will not like everything they are assigned to read, and I also tell them that I do not like everything I ask them to read. But the books are on the reading lists for a reason, and it's important for the students (and the teacher) to try to identify those reasons and understand why the books are considered necessary for a well-rounded education.

The purpose of literature class is to teach students how to think critically and analytically. Through reading and discussion, students learn to articulate why they like or do not like a particular work. In turn, we use those critical and analytical thinking skills every day at work and home throughout our lives.

One final point: If students read only what they like, they are limiting themselves to one point of view (their own) and are not challenging their minds. By reading "difficult" works, they are gaining lifelong benefits of stretching themselves and learning that they can complete any task.

I think there's a balance that you have to try to achieve if you're going to be successful. Honestly, I got NOTHING out of my required reading in school, and I was a good student. And while letting me choose all my own books would have created other issues, allowing me to choose NONE of them didn't do me any good, either. It just made me hate English class & reading in general.

 

[ariel71]

I am absolutely blown away by the fact that so many of you don't like Catcher in the Rye. Have you read it since high school? If not, I urge you do re-read it sooner rather than later, as it's a masterpiece of contemporary American literature. And to the poster who mentioned To Kill a Mockingbird: yes, that is also an excellent novel, but Catcher is 100 times better, in my opinion.

And thus the saying, "To each his own". Yes, I've reread Catcher as an adult and would have rather gouged my metaphorical eye out. It was as bad as I remembered, and I truly don't understand its "status" in American literature. I don't think it's well-written, and Holden is so insufferable that he's purely one-dimensional as a character.

Interestingly, I found this review that sums up my thoughts pretty well.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...127c00-0f5b-11e3-85b6-d27422650fd5_story.html

From the article -
"Rereading "The Catcher in the Rye" after all those years was almost literally a painful experience: The combination of Salinger's execrable prose and Caulfield's jejune narcissism produced effects comparable to mainlining castor oil."

Yup.

I can remember the tattered copy of "Forever" by Judy Blume that got passed around by us girls in 6th grade....because we heard it had been pulled from shelves. Best way to be sure a book is read LOL.

OMG, Forever! I probably learned just as much about "growing up" from Judy Blume as I did from my own parents (OK, maybe not "as much" but you know what I mean). She filled in the blanks.

 

[DopeyDame]

Middle School to high school reading lists - No wonder many kids do not like reading. With all the fabulous books availabe to draw students in and get them excited about reading, we make sure those books are not covered in class. Instead, we shove in front of them Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, Beowulf, classics of all sorts....

Lord of the Flies is one of my all time favorite books! I devoured it. One of the first books that I really remember just not being able to put down.

I'm with the others who find Catcher in the Rye overrated, boring, and annoying.

 

[LBIJim]

OK....all this talk makes me want to read Catcher again after close to 40 years.

I liked it in HS, but it wouldn't surpise me if I only lasted 10 pages this time.

Maybe I should try Billy Budd or Fall of the House of Usher instead.

 

[E&Cmom]

I remember reading it in high school but honestly can't remember anything about it or if I liked it or. It. Lol. I do rember reading "Animal Farm" in grade 8 and absolutely hating it. I also read 1984 and it was 1984 so they made a big deal about it.

I did like "Lord of the Flies" others That we read was "Death of a Salesman" and "The Crucible.".

 

[Princess Mulan]

Gumbo4x4, I believe I understand what you're saying, and I agree that students should have the option to choose some of their own reading along with the assigned books. I am sorry that your literature classes were not beneficial to you, and I'm sure there were days, if not entire semesters, that felt like torture.

I've gotten away from the OP's question, which is whether "Catcher" is still controversial. The short answer is "yes." The longer answer is that the printed word has a long history of controversy and bans, and we all have our own opinions as to what is appropriate for ourselves and our children. Those of us who live where we have the freedom to choose what we want to read are very fortunate indeed.

Now, whether "Catcher" still is relevant and should remain in the literary canon is another debatable topic. Literature classes also teach us that language, writing styles and questions of taste are changeable. "Catcher" might disappear from the canon and never be heard of again. Students 100 years from now might not be reading Shakespeare. "Harry Potter" might be considered the crowning literary achievement of our time. Who knows?

 

[Diznygrl]

I remember liking Catcher when I had to read it in HS. It was one of the few summer reading books that I remember actually reading all the way through, LOL. I have no idea if it would hold up if I read it now, but I still have my copy so maybe I'll give it a try.

I hated reading pretty much all of the books I was required to read in school, though I loved to read. I think maybe at that age I just wanted to read "fluff" and nothing too challenging. Also factor in the reading deadlines, the assignments, the tests, the papers...it was enough to make reading ANY book become a stressful chore instead of an enjoyable experience. I LOVE reading the classics now, not just because I'm older and more mature, but also because I don't have to worry about any of the added pressures that come along with reading them for a class at school.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I think the controversy surrounding some of the "classics" is at the heart of what props them up so many years later. The Scarlet Letter featured such a scandalous topic at one time. Maybe that's all that ever really made it a "classic" in the first place. Maybe the youth of the time viewed it the way we currently view 50 Shades of Gray. Maybe such books became reading list "standards" not because they're "classics", but because at the time it was easy to get kids to read them.

Today, these books are pretty tame. Maybe in an attempt to stand up to "censorship", the schools have failed to notice the students are no longer titilated by such books, and actually in many cases, find them quite boring.


Edit: I should add my main beef with The Jungle was trying to keep all the characters straight. I couldn't figure out the pronunciation on all those Slavic names

And I never really gave Grapes of Wrath a fair shake. I pulled an all-nighter on that one in college.

 

[NobleAlyssum]

I tell students that they will not like everything they are assigned to read, and I also tell them that I do not like everything I ask them to read. But the books are on the reading lists for a reason, and it's important for the students (and the teacher) to try to identify those reasons and understand why the books are considered necessary for a well-rounded education.

The purpose of literature class is to teach students how to think critically and analytically. Through reading and discussion, students learn to articulate why they like or do not like a particular work. In turn, we use those critical and analytical thinking skills every day at work and home throughout our lives.

One final point: If students read only what they like, they are limiting themselves to one point of view (their own) and are not challenging their minds. By reading "difficult" works, they are gaining lifelong benefits of stretching themselves and learning that they can complete any task.

How eloquently stated! And I agree completely.

I actually do not recall any "banned" books being a problem growing up, though I have read most of the books listed in this thread that are supposedly banned. I think my school managed to get away with it because instead of announcing it in the syllabus like "hey! this is a banned book, so let us know if it's a problem!", they just put it the reading material in a list and if the parent had a problem with it, the parent would have to know ahead of time that this is a book that is "banned." I think perhaps one or two students a year in the regular English classes had to substitute books, but it never really made big news in my classes.

 

[mnrose]

Ya know, maybe my D's Language Arts teacher is using a bit of reverse psychology on her class.....make the book seem "enticing" by hinting that their parents may not like them reading it. LOL. Could work.

 

[Oodalally13]

Did anyone or their kids have to read "Alas Babylon" ? It is my favorite book to this day?

 

[georgina]

Did anyone or their kids have to read "Alas Babylon" ? It is my favorite book to this day?

Yes, it was on the summer reading list for my kids and I believe my DS read it.

Most of the books mentioned here I read in a Catholic high school in the 1970's. I guess parents complained less then. I don't think they knew what I was reading.

 

[DandYAndy]

I liked the book, loved the progression of his breakdown. The end really didn't do it for me.

 

[Gigi22]

I loved English class. Loved it. The only thing I ever found boring was "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" which we spent about two weeks on in Grade 11. It was very densely written. Of course, because it was a long slog, a major portion of the English exam was on it. You practically had to memorize the thing to do well. Ick!