The Catcher in the RyeThe Catcher in the Rye Jerome David Salinger

Zhao Zi Shuo

Banned by many schools and libraries when first

published in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye has been courting controversy for half a century.

In the deeply conservative early 1950s, many Americans were shocked by "Catcher"'s explicit language and open treatment of delicate issues such as psychological instability and sexuality. Most of the controversy nowdays, however, concerns how the book and its precocious hero are interpreted.

At the beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden has just been kicked out of yet another boarding school.

Having a few days to kill before ret

urning home for the Christmas break, he hops on a train to New York.

There he spends his time wanderin

g aimlessly from one brief encounter to another, getting progressively more disgusted with what he calls the phoniness of the adult word.

Holden craves the innocence and simplicity of childhood, while at the same time doing a number of "adult" things such as trying to get a drink in a bar and meeting with a prostitute.

Eventually, with the help of his younger sister, he comes to the realization that children cannot be protected forever from the imperfections of the adult world.

Critics generally agree that Holden is the only substantial character in the novel. However, opinions are divided on the outcome of Holden's constant raging against the hypocrisy of the adult world:

Some see his eventual acceptance of reality as a positive view of his maturation ,while others view his capitulation as an indictment of an oppressive society.

Holden, the central character in The Catcher in the Rye, has been compared with Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain's native adolescent runaway.

Both boys are trying to make sense of the world while seeking stability and independence.

Like The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye is a coming-of-age novel.

It is written in the language of its t

ime, yet covers issues that are still relevant to young people today.