Why Ban It?

This is my first time reading The Catcher in the Rye, and I am trying to understand why this book is banned so often. Yes, there is foul language, and some sexual content, but thus far there is nothing in this book that I find shocking or out of the ordinary. I’m pretty sure I heard most of my guy friends in high school say far worse things than Holden. I don’t find the profanity shocking because it is heard all over our culture these days, and I don’t find any of the relationship or sex talk shocking because sex is everywhere as well. So far, the most shocking thing is that he hired a prostitute, but he regretted his decision immediately and didn’t even do anything with her. Therefore, I don’t really see the harm in this part either.

I suppose it is just difficult to imagine why this book is so vilified when it seems so ordinary to me. Maybe it’s because I am closer to the high school age than the parent age, but I don’t find anything in this book that seems controversial. I know kids in high school still smoke, they drink, and they have sex, what a revelation. The ones that don’t do these things are not going to feel the pressure to start after reading this book. I suppose I just think that the people who ban this book are being naïve about how kids act in high school. It’s going to take more than a book to change how someone acts, and I don’t think that this book is going to somehow make someone start spouting out swear words or act out against others more so than any other book out there. Every idea in this book that seems to be so offensive to people is also readily available in movies, magazines, comics, and the internet. I frankly can’t even remotely fathom why this book is banned because it seems so harmless to me in this day and age. There are far worse things out there that kids can become exposed to than a book.