As many a high-schooler knows, Catcher in the Rye is a classic novel of a 17 boy caught between innocence and experience; adolescence. The novel was included on Time’s 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923. It deals with complex themes like belonging, growing up, etc. but also features profanity and portrayals of profanity. So when a teacher in the 1960’s assigned it to his class, it was considered positively scandalous.
Between 1961 and 1982, The Catcher in the Rye was the most censored book in high schools and libraries in the United States. However, in 1981, it was also the second most taught book in United States public schools. Through the years however, the ban has been lifted in more and more American schools.
