Catcher In The Rye Censorship Essay

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“Raise High the Bookshelves, Censors”
Little did J.D. Salinger know in the 60+ years since the publication of his novel, The Catcher in the Rye, that it would become one of the most commonly censored books in America. What is even more interesting than its censorship history, is despite that fact, it is still one of the most frequently taught novels in the public school system. Frequently targeted books by censors often include sexual explicitness, offensive language, or moral objections. Lucky for censors, they can find all of those in The Catcher in the Rye, but does that give them the right to censor it?
In order to understand why there have been attempts to censor The Catcher in the Rye, one must first understand what censorship is and the various …show more content…
The Bill of Rights had the following to say on the topic of censorship, “Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment,” (“Library Bill of Rights”). Censorship was not just a 20st century issue, although censorship seemed to explode during that era; it has spun almost all of written history. One of the earliest examples of censorship is the death of Socrates in 399b.c. for “corruption of the youth…,” (Spielvogel 232). Censorship history is as long as the fight for intellectual freedom. The creation of the printing press spurred attempts at censorship as more and more people had access new materials. In 1559, Pope Paul IV published the “Index of Prohibited Books, with its last publication in 1948, (Hilgers n.pag.). Censorship has always been a persistent and controversial issue in American history especially in the field of Literature. Long have great works of American Literature been censored, yet ironically, many have also held positions on bestseller lists. Censorship violates the First Amendment, as Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, pointed
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