BANNED BOOK PROJECT

1. BANNED BOOKPROJECT CATHERINE PETERS

2. Part 1 • Describe your book: What is the basic plot? Who are the protagonist and antagonist? Who are some of the other important characters? • Describe why the book was banned or challenged. Basically, what are the subjects that the books deals with that some people may find offensive?

3. Catcher in the Rye is narrated by a young boy named Holden Caulfield and is told in first person point of view. The book is set sometime in the 1950s and is located in New York. There are many important characters such as Ackley, Stradlater, Jane Gallagher, Maurice, Sunny, Sally Hayes, Phoebe, Carl Luce, and Mr. Antolini. The protagonist and antagonist of Catcher in the Rye is Holden. The antagonist part of Holden is his inability to fit in with society. I think that Catcher in the Rye was banned for many different reasons, although I do not agree with them. I can see close minded people viewing the book as vulgar and inappropriate for high school students. Also, the people who tried to ban the book probably did it because they viewed the book as immoral. The book does contain acts of violence, sex, and profanity. Also, some of Holden's views challenge God which may not please some people. Plot Banned

4. Part 2 • Information on the Author: What is the place of birth of the author? What experiences has the author had in their life that lead them to write this novel? Also, include any other interesting information on the author. Why are they considered significant? Have they written any other books that have been banned or challenged? • What is the publication date of your book? Does the author try to teach a lesson or send any messages to his readers? Also, does the author have a predominant style?

5. J.D. Salinger • Jerome David Salinger was born in New York, New York in 1919 on January 1st. Salinger started writing short stories in the 1940s in magazines then published Catcher in the Rye in 1951. Catcher in the Rye is very significance because it provokes strong reactions from readers, both positive and negative. • J.D. Salinger also wrote Nine Stories which is a collection of short stories. Nine Stories includes his two most famous short stories, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and “For Esmé with Love and Squalor.” Other books published by J.D. Salinger was Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roof-Beam, and Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction. The other published works by Salinger have not been banned to my knowledge.

6. Part 3 • Pick five passages from the novel that demonstrates the authors controversial style. • Explain how each passage could be seen as controversial.

7. Pg. 94 Paragraph 5 • “She came in and took her coat off right away and sort of chucked it on the bed. She had on a green dress underneath. Then she sort of sat down sideways on the chair that went with the desk in the room and started jiggling her foot up and down. She was very nervous, for a prostitute. She really was…” • The passage above could easily been seen as controversial because it brings up prostitution which is usually not spoken of in schools.

8. Pg. 143 Paragraph 1 • Old Luce. What a guy. He was supposed to be my Student Advisor when I was at Whooton. The only thing he ever did, though, was give me sex talks and all, late at night when there was a bunch of guys in his room. He knew quite a bit about sex, especially perverts and all. He was always telling us about a lot of creepy guys that go around having affairs with sheep, and guys that go around with girls’ pants sewed in the lining of their hats and all. And flits and Lesbians.” • This is a controversial paragraph because it speaks of sex, perverts, flits (homosexuals), and lesbians. A lot of the things spoken about in this paragraph could be against someone’s religious views or it could be against their morals to read something they consider so vulgar.

9. Pg. 150 Paragraph 1 • “Boy, I sat at that goddam bar till around one o’clock or so, getting drunk as a bastard. I could hardly see straight. The on thing I did, though, I was careful as hell not to get boisterous or anything. I didn’t want anyone to notice me or anything or ask how old I was. But, boy, I could hardly see straight. When I was really drunk, I started that stupid business with the bullet in my guts again…” • This passage is polemical because of what Holden is doing. Underage drinking is not accepted in schools so reading about a seventeen year old boy getting “drunk as a bastard” would not be suitable for some people.

10. Pg. 170 Paragraph 2 • “…So Stabile, with about six other dirty bastards, went down to James Castles room and went in and locked the goddam door and tried to make him take back what he said, but he wouldn’t do it. So they started in on him. I won’t even tell you what they did to him-it’s too repulsive-but he still wouldn’t take it back, old James Castle… Finally, what he did, instead of taking back what he said, he jumped out the window. I was in the shower and all, and even I could hear him land outside.” • This could be seen as a very controversial passage because suicide is a very polemical subject to begin with. This paragraph goes in to detail of James Castle jumping out the window and speaks of his suicide in an open way.

11. Pg. 204 Paragraph 2 • “I was the only one left in the tomb then. I sort of liked it, in a way. It was so nice and peaceful. Then, all of a sudden, you’d never guess what I saw on the wall. Another, “Fuck you.” It was written with a red crayon or something, right under the glass part of the wall, under the stones.” • This passage is controversial because of the open use of cuss words, especially the “F” word will get negative responses from some readers.

12. Part 4 • Pick five passages that illuminate a message the author is trying to convey. • Show why the book should not be banned.

13. Pg. 40 Paragraph 1 • “…When I really worry about something, I don’t just fool around. I even have to go to the bathroom when I worry about something. Only, I don’t go. I’m too worried to go. If you knew Stradlater, you’d have been worried, too. I’d double-dated with that bastard a couple of times, and I know what I’m talking about. He was unscrupulous. He really was.” • In this paragraph Holden is worrying about if Stradlater will give Jane the “time” and Holden probably cares about Jane so he doesn’t want that to happen.

14. Pg. 62 Paragraph 1 • “I think if you don’t really like a girl, you shouldn’t horse around with her at all, and if you do like her, then you’re supposed to like her face, and if you like her face, you ought to be careful about doing crumby stuff to it, like squirting water all over it.” • This passage shows that Holden has respect for women and wants to be nice. It teaches a good lesson of respect in general.

15. Pg. 173 Paragraph 6 • “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around—nobody big, I mean—except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be. I know it’s crazy.” • This passage shows the need of Holden wanting to be important and do something worth while. Many people want to be seen as important and not just be in the background for their whole lives.

16. Pg. 188 Paragraph 2 • “Oddly enough, this wasn’t written by a practicing poet. It was written by a psychoanalyst named Wilhelm Stekel. Here’s what he—Are you still with me?” “Yes, sure I am.” “Here’s what he said: ‘The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.’” • This passage, intended to teach a lesson to Holden, also teaches a lesson to the reader… Be humble.

17. Pg. 198 cont. from Pg. 197 • “…Then I started doing something else. Every time I’d get to the end of a block I’d make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I’d say to him, “Allie, don’t let me disappear. Allie, don’t let me disappear. Please, Allie.” And then when I’d reach the other side of the street without disappearing, I’d thank him…” • This passage shows Holden is still only a kid and reaches out for help in different ways. By only thinking about his brother, Allie, gives him more comfort which some people today might need.

18. Pg. 213 cont. from Pg. 212 • “…I got soaked anyway. I didn’t care, though. I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth…” • This passage is showing that just the little things can make you feel happy. In a way, it teaches one not to be selfish and greedy and to be grateful for what you have.

19. Part 5 • Research the groups that banned Catcher in the Rye.

20. Part 5 • Many groups, counties, and schools have tried, both successfully and unsuccessfully, to ban Catcher in the Rye. From parents of a high school in Columbus, Ohio to the Jamaica High School in Sidell all have found something they did not like within the book. • These groups have found many different reasons for which they disagree with the book. One case was in 1963 a group of parents from Columbus, Ohio dubbed Catcher in the Rye “anti-white” and “obscene.” Other groups simply said that the book was unacceptable (Freeport High School in De Funiak Springs, Florida) or that it is against they’re morals. The Jamaica High School in Sidell challenged the book because it contains profanities and depicted premarital sex, alcohol abuse, and prostitution. • To ban books some groups just decided to get the school or library to get rid of the book informally, other groups go much further by bringing the issue to the court.

21. Part 6 • Your thoughts and impressions of the book: • What did you like? • What didn’t you like? • Would you let your children read this book? At what age? Why/why not? • What is your opinion on banning books? • Basically, do you believe that Freedom of Speech entitles authors to write whatever they want whenever they want.

22. Part 7 • MLA citation of sources used for this project.