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Essay / Life Lessons and Profanity in The Catcher in The Rye
Considered one of the best novels of the 20th century, The Catcher in the Rye continues to affect readers around the world since its publication in 1951. While The vulgarity and adult questions in the book are undoubtedly inappropriate for young students, its underlying themes of self-discovery and maintaining moral values contribute to the life lessons. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The novel deals with issues such as profanity, irrational behavior, and ethical lessons. Such questions led to the controversial nature of the book as well as the question of whether or not this book should be banned. With previous and logical information, The Catcher in the Rye should not be banned. For starters, banning a book on the grounds that it encourages profanity would be an irrational decision on the part of those who wish to limit beliefs that do not align with their own. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caufield is the main character and also the main individual using profanity. The level of profanity used in the story is almost on par with that applied in a PG-13 rated film, meaning it is acceptable for anyone over the age of thirteen. Holden has so much anger and hatred towards the world that his chosen way of expressing his feelings seems to be through foul language. Remove certain words from the story and Holden would become a completely different person. More than likely, this would cause readers to misunderstand what Holden really feels and change the overall message. Salinger chose words that were less offensive than others and words that are part of many people's everyday language. Therefore, profanity is not an appropriate reason for restriction and does not validate the banning of The Catcher in the Rye. Secondly, The Catcher in the Rye offers many life lessons that one can learn and these are positioned around respect, intolerance, education, etc. Throughout the novel, Holden is presented as intolerant and disrespectful to everyone. Yet, Holden's lack of religion makes him intolerant as he considers himself an atheist as he cannot encounter any religion. One of the lessons expressed in the novel is that you are not alone in your frustrations. Holden spends the majority of the book complaining. It's annoying at times, sad at others, but overall it makes him a somewhat provocative character. Yet his frustration with others, and particularly his struggles with dating and lost love, can help readers understand that they are not the only ones facing problems, big or small. A second lesson revealed in the novel is the importance of maintaining healthy relationships with others. One of the most important principles anyone can learn is the need to build some sort of strong relationship. Seeing Holden's character develop, one could definitely understand the basic idea of the need to connect with other people in order to make life moderate in this world. A third lesson shown in the novel is that living in the past leads nowhere. The fantasy in which Holden describes reflects his bitterness at having been left alone into adulthood. Keep in mind: This is just a sample.Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.Get a Custom EssayUnfortunately, Holden's inability to cope with adult situations led him to fall back into a childish state of mind where the..