History+of+the+Novel

= History of the Novel =



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-The years following World War Two are commonly known as a period of cultural conformity. After seeing many gruesome sights that ruined stable and familiar cultural aspects, many Americans wanted life to become normal again, through stability, home life, and financial security. These aspects made up the qualities they associated with the “good life.” =====

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The people of the era did not value The Catcher in the Rye’s universal message, They were afraid that people would disrupt the “perfect world” that they lived in. Between 1966 and 1975 the book was one of the most banned books in American schools. ===== =﻿ = =__Why was it Banned? __=

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- The Catcher in the Rye was banned because of its obscene language. Many parents complained that the book promotes premarital sex, homosexuality and perversion. =====

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- Many parents in the United States complained to the school board about the teachers assigning the book to their children. To satisfy the angry parents the board agreed to ban the book. =====

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- Students in the Advanced Placement program were allowed to read the book in their classes because many felt they could understand the novel’s message. Even then their parents were allowed to prevent their child from reading the novel. =====

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- Today there is still controversy surrounding the novel, some parents do not want their children to read the book because of obsessive fans who have gone on a more destructive path. =====

- Many don’t believe that Holden is a good role model do to the fact that he smokes, flunks out of school and has anti-social behavior.
=__Reviews: __=

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-Critics argue the morals of the novel and its uncommon writing style. Some argue that J.D. Salinger's book is "fascinating and enlightening, yet depressing" when speaking of Holden's condition. The psychological troubles of this young protagonist are well worth the conflicted opinions. =====

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-That's the way it sounds to me, Hel said (a friend of the author), and away she went with this crazy book, The Catcher in the Rye. What did I tell ya, she said the next day. This Salinger, he's a short story guy. And he knows how to write about kids. This book, though, it's too long. Gets kinds of monotonous. And he should have cut out a lot about these jerks and all at that crumby school. They depress me. They really do. Salinger, he's best with real children. I mean the ones like Phoebe, his kid sister. She's a personality. Holden and little Phoebe, Hel said, they kill me. This last part about her and this Mr. Antolini, the only guy Holden ever thought he could trust, who ever took any interest in him, and who turned out queer -- that's terrific. I swear it is. (5) =====

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-Some critics have argued the erratic behaviour that Holden possesses because he has many of the middle-class values he claims to reject. The critics also relate the novel's structure with Holden's unsteady state of mind. =====

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-Around the time of The Catcher in the Rye's publishing in 1951, Paul Engle of the Chicago Tribune said that the novel was "emotional without being sentimental, dramatic without being melodramatic and honest without being simply obscene" (3). Engle praised the book for its authentic protagonist and how it was modeled after the typical teenager, never written down as anything younger. =====

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<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">-Some critics have reviewed saying, "Holden has flunked out of three Pennsylvania prep schools, and use it to symbolize the fact that he is not truly ready for adulthood" (Davis 318). =====

=__Letters to J.D. Salinger__=

====<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Many letters have been written to Mr. Salinger over the years since he published The Catcher in the Rye. Some letters congratulate him for his literate works: ====

Dear Sir,
=== What right do I have, in any case, to address you at all? … I should have declined Chris Kubica’s request to contribute to this book. But at this point in a still-young career, I don’t quite have the guts to deny myself the opportunity to publish… even at the expense of my good sense and dignity… ===

Dear J.D. Salinger
=== Wazzup nigga. How’s Cornish this time of year? New York is fine, also. Please excuse me for assuming you’re not a real hermit and that you do keep in touch with some closer acquaintances. Some people make it seem as if you’re totally cut off. I guess meeting new people must be a little strange when you assume they’ve read your book. A lot of paranoids, schizophrenics and the socially paralytic choose to become celebrities instead of going to the trouble of introducing themselves at parties. Are you any of those things? Probably you are, but you’re pretending to be an important and famous writer instead. Don’t you think it’s a little bit pretentious to make such a big about not publishing anymore? You chose to publish in the first place, and you wouldn’t be nearly as famous if you didn’t fight it so much. You probably wouldn’t admit to getting off the reaction of your first book. Not to mention the cash and ho’s. You’re not the Dalai Lama and you’re not Oprah. She’s a chunky black woman on TV, which I doubt you watch anymore. You can’t make yourself un-famous. Cough it up. Either publish everything you’ve got left in you or hurry up and die. That’s about all I wanted to say. Drop me a line if you’re coming through the city. ===

Dan Paton
=__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Interesting Facts: __=

====- John Lennon's assassin, Mark Chapman, asked to have Lennon sign a copy before murdering him later that day. Police found the novel in Chapman's possession upon arrest. However, it has not been proven that The Catcher in the Rye had any affect on Chapman's mentality. The idea of a psychological breakdown in the novel has convinced the public that the novel is a disturbance to the mind of its readers.====

-The Catcher in the Rye has created the highest sales figures of any serious American Novel. It has sold over 250,000 copies a year since it publication in 1951.
====-Some of the minor details in the last 50 years, such as wearing a hat backwards like Holden as a sign of rebellion, have been diminished in popularity. Today, the gesture is seen as a fashion statement.====

-Each critic has remarked several different parts of the novel. One fairly recognized section that has been discussed is the sexuality of Mr. Antolini from Elkton Hills.
=__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">bibliography: __=

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Davis, Robert Con, ed. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 56. Detroit: Gail Research Inc., 1989.

Stern, James. "Aw, the World's a Crumby Place." Rev. of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. New York Times Book Review 15 July 1951, 5.

Engle, Paul. "Honest Tale of Distraught Adolescent." Rev. of The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Chicago Sunday Tribune Magazine of Books 15 July 1951, 3.

Behrman, S.N. "The Vision of the Innocent." Rev. of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. The New Yorker, Vol. XXVII, No. 26, 11 August 1951, 71-6.