It has probably been 5 or 6 years since I’ve read The Catcher in the Rye and I had all but forgotten everything about the book except the memory of enjoying it in high school. So going into this reading I was really curious to see if my taste has changed much since then. I was worried that this character I had liked so much would now seem obnoxious or impossible to relate to. Luckily, I found that I still get a kick out of Holden Caulfield. I think the fact that he is such a blunt and open narrator makes him likable, and to be honest I think he is somewhat of a badass. Not to mention his characteristic language makes him so quirky: lousy, crumby, phony, corny—all these great words that aren’t used very often. They give Holden a really distinctive voice. I think he is a pretty convincing narrator as well; when he describes Ackley I really sympathized with his annoyance and disgust towards the guy.
As far as this book being censored in high schools goes, I guess I can see where some parents would get nervous about it. Between the cursing and smoking and sexing, most people probably wouldn’t want teenagers emulating Holden. Then I thought back to high school, when I read it for the first time. Did Holden Caulfield have anything to do with me trying a cigarette for the first time? Seriously doubtful. My opinion is that, when it comes to activities like those of Holden Caulfield, there isn’t a huge connection between what teenagers read and what they do. It's like blaming video games for school shootings or violent lyrics for suicides. I think the reality is that people's behaviors are much too complicated to be caused by a book, song, movie, etc. and to point the blame in that direction is to oversimplify the issue.
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