As I read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger ,a coming of age novel in Mrs. Meadows, I first thought it was too graphic and not relevant for our age, but as the book went on and the discussions kept going, I realized that eight grade is the time were teenagers need to understand and fell open to talk about sex, and understand what they are reading in a proper way. I believe that school should keep reading this book in class, but making sure there are class discussions so that the students are able to understand the content in a better way. It should start being taught around eight grade because most students are mature enough to understand the material that this book contains.
The Catcher in the Rye should be read and taught in schools for many reason. One of the main reasons I believe this novel should be taught, is so that kids can get a better feel for sarcasm. Holden Caulfield the main character of The Catcher in the Rye uses sarcasm in most things he say. “He never stopped talking, and what was awful was, he never said anything you wanted to hear in the first place.” P. 161. This quote is an example of how Holden uses sarcasm because most people know that nobody talks and doesn’t stop like Holden made it seem, and besides, Harris Macklin, the guy Holden described probably said many interesting things in his conversations, but Holden, like most other people only remembered the negative. If schools teach this book, students will be able to get a feel for how much sarcasm is used if the world. It would teach kids that not everything said is true, and that many things are said in different ways and tones of voices which can help identify whether it is sarcastic or not. If a kid is able to difference when somebody is being sarcastic, it will help them a lot in the rest of their lives with a better sense of humour and would not have the need to keep asking if someone is joking of being real.
As well of teaching sarcasm, The Catcher in the Rye teaches students how to read behind the lines. The Catcher in the Rye takes a lot of thinking and interpretation. If a class reads it as a group, there will have to be class discussions which will help most people understand the novel better than if somebody reads it by themselves. Most likely if somebody reads a story they will not put much thought or time into the interpretation of the novel the way we did in class. It also shows people how it helps to understand a book. When you understand a book, it makes it so much easier to keep reading than if you don’t understand. If you start learning at a young age to understand what you are reading, later on in life everything you read will become easier to understand, and you will learn how to read faster and more fluently.
I believe The Catcher in the Rye has to many visual part which aren’t very appropriate. For this reason I think it shouldn’t be taught in schools, and I understand why some people in the 1950’s weren’t in agreement with kids reading it. The world has developed since 1951 in the sense of swearing and sexual contact is not a big deal anymore, so that plays a big part in making The Catcher in the Rye be appropriate for more ages know than it was.
Schools should have the right in teaching The Catcher in the Rye. They should start teaching it at the ages around thirteen. If books like this one never get taught in schools, kids will never learn and come to understand that sexuality is normal in a teenagers life.
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