Influencing One Generation after Another

While reading this book, I was able to appreciate how it could be meaningful to some, but I didn’t personally find any meaning in it this time around (although I do plan to give it another try in a few years). I think this book is something that is accessible as a teenager, or at a certain time in your life, but I’m not at that time in my life where I can take something more than literary appreciation. I know many people who read the book in high school and were able to understand and relate to Holden, but I cannot. I can understand that Holden is lost and confused, and simply trying to figure out his life. I think that in high school especially people feel just as lost and confused, and it can happen at any time in life, which is why the book is immortal in a way. It really does influence one generation after another and I think that it will continue to do so, especially if it continues to be on high school reading lists.

As for this book being banned, maybe part of the reason that people want to ban it is because it is so immortal. Just like with Harry Potter, it is loved by many and can be very influential. I think that is one of the reasons as to why this book is so controversial to people. People often times automatically assume things about books without reading them, and just like with Harry Potter, people may automatically be assuming things about The Catcher in the Rye that are negative because of its reputation. I think that this book should be on high school reading lists, and I think that people should give it a chance because it could be influential or meaningful for them. I think that for older people it may remind them what it is like to be in high school, and for high school children they feel like they aren’t alone. I can appreciate what the book is about and I can understand why it is so influential, but it isn’t the book that influenced me the most.